Students at Minarets scramble to finish their work, and teachers scramble to grade, as the end of the first quarter quickly approaches. The school as a whole is affected by this checkpoint- but how are those effects different for teachers, as opposed to students? It is commonly known that the end of the quarter represents a time of stress for students, as they must put in extra effort to prepare for any midterms they may have, get in a final project in time for the deadline, or finish any late work they may still have. But is this stress also shown by the teachers?
All of this work, submitted at the last minute, also needs to be graded at the last minute by said teachers. While the quarter is only a checkpoint, and doesn’t appear on any final records, it does represent an important psychological moment for most students, allowing for a refresh in the middle of the quarter.
This isn’t necessarily the truth for teachers; David Elm teaches Math and Programming at Minarets, says, “In the past I used to give a lot of paperwork, and I would have stacks of ungraded assignments I had to catch up on. I decided giving that much work was a mistake.” The end of the quarter is a stressful time for teachers as well. Enough that Mr. Elm felt the need to change the amount of graded work he gave out to make it more manageable, not just for the students, but for him.
The end of the quarter is on October 19th! Time is of the essence for both students and teachers alike. Time is a resource, one that is often misused, but now is the time where that time becomes most valuable.
