Each year, as we creep towards Winter break, some students begin to complain that our finals take place in January.  Many of my peers feel that if Parker held its finals in December, they would both score better on them and get to enjoy a more relaxing holiday vacation.  As I struggle through these four weeks, I would beg to differ.

I understand the argument for earlier finals, which seems to come in two separate pieces.  Most obviously without a two week gap in our studies, it would perhaps be easier for some students to remember everything on their tests.  Then, with the extra time in January we could implement some sort of “project week,” during which students might pursue individual interests using Parker’s resources while not taking any regular courses.

While I understand the argument that we might retain more knowledge from the semester before a two week break rather than after, I don’t think this would be helpful.  Excluding math courses, almost no Parker classes give comprehensive exams that cover every topic from the semester. Instead, they tend to give projects that encompass the course’s overarching themes or regular unit tests.  At worst, a teacher might give an exam that covers the big ideas from the semester. We don’t actually need to remember everything we’ve learned, so this increase in knowledge of the minutia would not make our lives easier.

I, personally, enjoy the perspective that the Winter break gives me before finals.  I get to step back from my classes and re-evaluate what I have studied, allowing me to more accurately understand what I will need to know for my finals.  Of course, I am not studying during break, and anyone who says they do is a liar. It is simply that, rather than feeling clouded by all the knowledge I have been soaking up for four months, I am able to review my notes with a clear head once I return to Parker.  This simply would not be possible without the established break provided by the school.

In the same vein, Winter break reinvigorates me and allows me to study more productively when I return.  To put it bluntly, I’m burnt out right now. I barely have the energy to write this “Weekly” article. If I was asked to grind through 10 hours of studying on both Saturday and Sunday, I simply couldn’t do it.  Or, if I could, I know I would be far less efficient and productive. Taking this two week break allows me to re-charge without the consistent demands of homework and upcoming tests so that I can study well before finals.

Specifically for seniors, if we had finals in December, they would coincide with Regular Decision applications to create a nightmarish workload.  Any senior who wasn’t lucky enough to be admitted early decision/action would be forced to double down on work. With most seniors barely sleeping, already, I dread to think what this added pressure would do to our mental and physical health or our grades.  I am certain that senior grades would see a significant drop. Either that or we would write poor college applications. Equally bad outcomes.

Even if we managed to resolve all of these issues and moved finals to make space for project week, it wouldn’t be worth it.  Given how much we struggle to pull together thirty acceptable Cookies proposals every year, how would we manage to get every student to come up with a week or more of independent work?  As fantastic as having a project week looks on paper, I doubt we could successfully pull it off in practice.

As tempting as it seems to finish the semester in December and have a fresh start in January, we have to look at the consequences.  Student performance on final exams and projects would not increase, meanwhile seniors’ health and grades would actively plummet. Then, our new projects week would fail.  All in all, our finals schedule is as good as any schedule of exams can be.