Finals week is fast approaching and with it comes all-nighters, stress crying, and more work than students can handle. Every quarter, I see students working themselves harder than the should in order to maintain grades and meet the expectations for their professors (and themselves). While there's nothing wrong with hard work and pushing yourself to do well, I've found that professors often don't have a lot of sympathy or understanding for what exactly their student's go through in order to get that A.
And yes, before you say it, I know that professors have all gone through this before. They've dealt with the late nights, the stress, and the exams. But having gone through it, they should know the toll it often takes on students. However, I rarely see professors being sympathetic to their students about the enormous workload they are given around finals week.
This workload isn't all school, either. Students are often working part-time or full-time jobs while balancing school, family, friends, and their own well being. Sadly, many students put off taking care of themselves and instead prioritize the other aspects of their lives which leads to students who are exhausted, burnt out, and emotionally and mentally drained. When finals come around and students are writing twenty-page papers, studying for that cumulative biology test, and going over all the notes they've written in the last ten weeks, this stress is only amplified.
I know this workload is inevitable and finals are going to happen and students are going to have to work as hard as they can to keep up with the demands of both school and life. I'm not asking for professors to lower their workload or to give student's easy As.
What I'm asking is for professors to realize that their students have a life outside of that classroom; a life that is full of other things that take up their time and cause stress.
While it might seem like they are just being lazy, zoning out or aren't all the way there during class, professors need to remember that each student has an entire life outside of school. Finals week doesn't mean that the rest of the world stops so they can take a couple tests and write their papers.
Professors: this finals week, remember what it was like to be a student and show a little sympathy for the people struggling with it now.
