WOODBURY – With the Ides of May closing in on NHS students, student motivation dwindles with each passing day. This time of year can hold students back in a type of trance, keeping them from giving their full attention to academics and other extracurricular activities they do throughout the year.
Chalk it up to allergies or just pure apathy, the loss of motivation is contagious.
When students reach that “only one more month” marking period, their mindset tends to switch. With summer getting closer, they tend to act less focused and behave on a lower level.
However, that is just not the case.
Joshua Kornblut, A NHS faculty member observes a drastic change in students behavior from fall to spring.
“As spring starts to come and the weather starts to get nicer,” Kornblut said, “students start to become a little antsier, less attentive, and sometimes with that there is a little less motivation.”
This shift is something many students recognize in themselves as well; once it gets closer to summer, students start setting lower standards for themselves and their priorities tend to slip away.
“I tend to rush my work and try to get it done as quickly as possible without fully trying,” said Hope Davis, a freshman at NHS. “I am just so excited for summer; I can’t think about anything else.”
Some also may say the combination of spring break and anticipation for summer break makes it harder to stay engaged in class.
“Nicer weather at the end of the year is insight so students think about summer,” said Konblut.
Despite this common shift in mindset, the final quarter is just as –if not more important– as the rest of the school year. It is the time of year for finals and last opportunities for students to improve their final grade.
“I feel stressed because classes tend to get behind and classes pile up with work,” said Taylor Carella, another freshman at NHS. “I am so excited to get out that I can never focus.”
As the school year comes to an end, students are facing the challenge of keeping up the motivation to focus on academics while summer break is getting sooner. Maintaining focus during finals weeks makes a significant difference, helping students finish the school year on a strong and successful note.
