Supporting Your Student Through Finals Week
A student's perspective
While students are away at college, parents and families often only see them through a small screen for a few minutes exchanging small anecdotes of their day.
What families cannot see is the hours students spend in front of their computers working both in and out of the classroom. They do not see the long walks to the library in the morning and back again at night clutching their backpacks. They do not see the pages of notes taken in lecture halls shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of their peers. They do not see the flashcards worn out from constant flipping. They do not hear the alarms students set to remind themselves to eat or else they will forget to. They do not see the energy drink cans and coffee cups stacked in their waste bins. They do not see all 2,500 words of the first draft marked up in red ink. They do not hear the heavy sighs late at night following the realization that the work is not close to finished. They do not see the bitten nails, bouncing knees, and bite marks on the ends of their ball point pens as professors pass out their exams.
While parents can empathize with the experiences of the modern college students, they cannot fully conceptualize exactly how heavy the weight of finals week is. Every year we witness the tenacity of students here on campus who’s responsibility and discipline maneuver them through the most challenging portion of the year.
Families back at home only see the rewards of student’s efforts when the effort itself should be worth award enough. And to these loved ones, their student’s work may not look like work at all. Staring at a screen while intermediately typing and clicking around may look like mundane digital activity. The modern college student has traded their notebooks, three-ring binders, and pencil pouches with laptop computers and tablets. Even educators have replaced physical worksheets and assignments with digital modules and video lectures. A student relaxing streaming a show they enjoy may be confused with a student studying a video lecture from their Chemistry class.
It is essential for parents and families to understand the nature of the work that students do, the attention and care it requires, and the support systems students need in order to be successful. All students function uniquely with different preferences and practices in absorbing information and applying it to their work. The best thing loved ones can do for their students is to cater to their needs. Some students may need a daily phone call to detach from their day. Some students may need letters in the mail with words of encouragement. Some students may need their space and a quiet environment in order to function. Some students may not know what they need.
While they will face these finals on their own, it is essential to remind students they have a safety net beneath them. Put simply, loved ones should support their students the way the student wants and deserves to be supported.
- Olivia Eiler, Office Assistant, Office of Student Orientation
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