Susan in TN Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Do you have any particular words of encouragement for your students as they enter their last week(s) of classes and finals? The only thing that comes to mind right now is what ds's history/literature tutorial teacher would say about this time: "finish strong". Any others to add? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I just sent DS back to school with only a "good luck." And enough clean laundry and healthy snacks to last through exams. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I just DS18 back to school after the four day weekend. He has a new alarm app for his phone, a big bottle of vitamin D, new socks (his keep disappearing!) and a box full of food. We had a long talk about pushing thru to the end and getting enough sleep. He had just two and a half weeks until finals are over, so his plan is just to survive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I can't think of any specific words of encouragement but I am going to try to be more helpful to my DD. I am going to help do her laundry, make sure her favorite foods are stocked in the cabinet, take her daughter whenever I can, and simply try to make her home life easier so she can concentrate on her exams, papers and final projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 It's only a few weeks of your life. You can survive anything for a little while... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Not really anything besides "Hang in there - you can do this. Two more weeks, and then it's Christmas break" (which means you get to sleep in your own bed and bake in a well stocked kitchen to your heart's content.) And we reassured her that her lifestyle of sleeping eight hours on most nights is exactly the right thing to do, and that all-nighters are overrated, inefficient, and unsustainable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmgirl70 Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Saying hang in there to mine, too. She has three papers totalling between 25-30 pages altogether in the next few days, plus another large project due a week after that. She worked all Thanksgiving Break, other than the day itself. She's in tears tonight over a linguistics paper, she's so tired. She's rallying and pushing through, but it is hard to watch. I'm telling her, "Hang in there. You can do it. You've done it before and you'll do it again." Trying to promote confidence on the outside, while my heart goes out to her on the inside. Is it hard for any other parents here to watch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 That sleep is NOT overrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 We gave our guy hugs, I love yous, and good lucks for the next 3 weeks. I'm not so sure what we did made any difference though. He was already on a high as he received an e-mail from one of his profs telling him he had received a 9.9/10 on a paper he had submitted with the note that the professor doesn't give 10/10s. The prof told him he has an A in the course and doesn't need to take the final in the class - but that he might still want to attend the last couple of classes as he'd likely find the content interesting. My guy has no intention of skipping the classes. He does find them interesting. But it sure made his start into these next few weeks get off on a good foot! Maybe he heard what we said or felt the hugs, but I wouldn't guarantee it. He doesn't come home until Dec 22nd... three weeks... but who's counting? Youngest comes home on Dec 11th. That's next Thursday - the day before his birthday - how ideal! I'll have to start thinking about what to do for his birthday, but I suspect one of his best presents will be being allowed to sleep in as long as he wants that day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysteryJen Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I said what I always say to him, "work hard." And his dad said, "finish into the wall." I guess we will see. He is happy and having a great time, loves his classes, and feels like he is truly learning. So, no matter the grades, a pretty good first semester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I've never heard of colleges excusing students from finals This seems to be a prof's option at my guy's school. Some choose papers or presentations instead of written finals too. This particular prof (Czech native, so not just a US deal) allows students to drop one test of their choice and the tests are not cumulative. Since my guy has high As on the previous (3?) tests and got his 9.9/10 on the paper, his taking the final test is pointless as that would be the one he dropped if he didn't do as well on it. Overall, the e-mail was needless as it's all spelled out in the syllabus, but it sure gave my guy good feelings to get feedback/kudos from the prof directly. It wasn't a generic e-mail. It had specific comments relating to his paper. It was a nice touch from the prof. It's also a class in my son's major and deals a little bit with what his research is doing, so all of that could have come into play as to why he got the e-mail, but regardless, it gave him a great high for the morning yesterday - probably beating out our hugs and love yous. It now means my guy has 3 finals, one paper, and one presentation left for his other classes. He's on the countdown. Getting to drop one final sure helps him time-wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I've had classes where the departmental policy was that if you had a sufficiently high grade that it would require failing the final to cost you an "A", you did not need to show up. I know it was the policy at the modern language department at UM-TC when I took classes there. I liked that policy -- it encouraged the A+ students to work very hard all semester ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I've never heard of colleges excusing students from finals, tho I know it was common in the high schools back in TX. Depends on how the course is set up. In our department's intro courses, we give three exams and a final, with the lowest test score being dropped to account for illness, family emergencies and whatnot - with 500+ students, there is no way we can arrange for makeups every time a student has to miss a test. So, any student who did well on the three regular exams may elect not to take the final exam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Go get 'em! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I had an instrumental methods class prof who dropped the final. There were 15 of us,all really strong musicians who played numerous instruments and had previous teaching experience so we all had high A's going into the finals countdown. He announced we were all getting A's and that we should show up for doughnuts,milk, and hot chocolate. We had a great time just spending an hour listening to him talk about his experiences and interacting with him. Great man! It was a welcome reprieve, most of us we carrying 18 or more credit hours, had juries and or recitals that week, and enough exams to make our brains bleed! It was the only time I had a professor drop a final, but I did have a few that opted for end of term projects or presentations.As for words of encouragement, we just always told dd that we were her biggest cheerleaders and that her best was all we asked and then the chips could fall where they may. We also gently reminded her to not be tempted to pull all nighters...stay well rested, hydrated, and full of healthy food. She had good study habits so did not cram like many students do. ETA - I am tired, very tired of the autocorrect on my kindle. Apparently, this turned "cram" into "dream". It's always, always, always doing something like this, and then I have to wait to get on the laptop in order to fix it since the autocorrect is sooooooo stubborn. ARGH!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanitaL Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I've been telling mine to "enjoy the struggle!" (I recently finished reading Carol Dweck's Mindset.) He tells me that he does, but I don't always believe him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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