In the upcoming four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas break, many students are preparing for the grind that comes with the workload.
There are many jokes and comments that high school students often hear people make about this time of year.
Across TikTok and social media platforms, people post about the work that they have coming their way during this time of the school year.
Teachers see this time of year as a cramming period, trying to finish up learning new things before Christmas break and leaving enough time to review before finals in January.
Rebecca Hasz, the Spanish teacher at Lakeland High School, sees this time of year as stressful for many different reasons. She teaches a subject where her students need to cover a lot of material in the short two years they get her, and in the three or four weeks before break, she has to cram.
“You have the small window between breaks where we’re trying to finish and clean things up because we know when we come back from Christmas, we have to wrap things up before finals,” Hasz said.
On top of trying to speed up the learning process and cram on material, students and teachers alike are focused on the holidays and all other events that come with the upcoming winter season.
Hasz explained that it is especially difficult the week before Christmas break because everyone is focused on preparing for the upcoming holiday or traveling and missing school.
“We don’t always have the attention we would like from the students, and it’s stressful trying to stay on top of things,” Hasz said.
School can be stressful sometimes, but students need to stay on top of things to better their education. So, what better time for students than these few weeks to get on the grind, maintain and boost their grades?
Daniel Killian is a sophomore at LHS and an extremely gifted student. He describes this time of year as a crunch time because there are too many things to do and not enough time to do it.
“I feel extra motivated because I know the semester is coming to a close, so I keep my grades up,” Killian said. Many students can work like Killian to find motivation right now with the end of the semester approaching.
“I lock in and study up so I can prepare for tests,” Killian said.
Some students push themselves and work extra hard during the harder times of the year.
Killian explained that he thinks teachers push extra hard during this time of year with lots of tests and new units that are often rushed.
Gavriel DeLaLuna, a senior at LHS, also has ways he works through the difficult academic times of the year. He explained that this time of year is difficult because of all the things happening at once.
“With the four weeks specifically, I just go with the flow, and if I struggle, I take more time on my work,” DeLaLuna said.
Students need to balance all the things going on during this time of year and get on the grind.
