Mid Terms and Semester Finals

So the way my mind works this week really annoys me. I will try to explain. I like every semester to be treated the same way. No one semester is more important than another. After all, students are awarded 1/2 a credit each semester. Some classes are only a semester long classes well. And yet, to save money on a bus run, we stopped requiring first semester "Finals" several years ago. Teachers are allowed to give them and maybe even encouraged to, but we are not allowed time to grade them nor are students allowed time to prepare or study. As a result, in the Spring students have half days which give them time to prepare and study and gives us time to grade them. Not so for semester one, we have regular classes as usual. I have mentally gotten over the idea that semester 1 is treated differently, even though I think we should have the half days in January (as many High Schools do), but I hate the idea that we can still offer Finals without the time and maybe are encouraged to do so. I believe the school should either say no semester one Finals or go back to having the half days and require them. I doubt very much either one will ever happen!

Now that my rant is over I can comment on the week of Finals. This included some tests and some projects.For my classes that are only one semester, students had to do project Finals. They had to make a documentary film in History v. Hollywood comparing 2 historical films. In Ethics they had to analyze a current ethical dilemma in a slide show. My other two classes are year long and those students had tests this week.

I like the end of the semester and winding things up, but its very busy. Without the half days we try and do the same things we always do, plus issue new schedules and handle schedule changes for the next semester, and make plans for the new semester. This makes things very difficult and stressful! I am greatly looking forward to starting new classes next semester. I already have some exciting plans for both Ethics and Psychology. I will miss the students who are leaving me now, but I also look forward to meeting some new students this semester. Plus some of the students are the same just taking a different class. Next week will be very exciting! For now, I am grading the Finals!