Happy Finals Week! Don't Forget to Breathe

Finals week.  One of the most stressful and simultaneously relieving weeks of the school year.  By this point, your tests have been prepared and are ready to be proctored, your end-of-semester evaluations have been distributed and filled out, and your grading brain is in full-blown working mode.  You’ve been preparing your students all semester to demonstrate what they’ve learned, and now the time has finally come for them to show you.

Even though this week is a marker of the end, full of spring sunshine and soon-to-be graduates smiling from ear-to-ear, you may still be experiencing a lingering feeling of panic joined with the feeling that perhaps setting up a cot in your office may not be such a bad idea after all.

That’s why I’m here to tell you to stop.  Take a deep breath.  And remember that you are doing great.  I’m not just saying that, you truly are doing great.  You are the instructor who worked with your students all semester long, reading this blog for tips and ideas on how to become better at what you are already doing.  You’re the professor who might have extended their office hours, offered review sessions, or provided students with studying tips in order to better prepare them for what lies ahead of them.  You are a professor who should be recognized and applauded for all that you do, especially during the hectic final hours of the semester.

So, keep on wading through those mixed emotions of “Ahhhhh!” and “Whoo hoo!” and above all, don’t forget to breathe.

Happy finals week, everyone!

Written By: Jessica Moser