As the end of the school year wraps up, it can be tense for both teachers and students. It can be hard for students to realize all of the hard work teachers put in near the end of the year. From printing out copies of papers to teaching their students, their determination can go unnoticed by students.
Students are often burnt out by their own schoolwork, especially at the end of the school year, but what they don’t realize is that teachers are also juggling their own deadlines. Approaching deadlines means that grading ramps up for teachers.
Jeffery Surratt (he/him), a math teacher at Liberty, puts a lot of effort into trying to help his students understand a challenging subject.
“I have two goals in my math classroom for my students,” Surratt said. I hope that I am preparing them for their next math class, and I’m hoping that I’m teaching them how to think critically so they can use those skills in life.“I don’t think it’s all about grades, I think it’s about thinking critically.”
The school year only consists of 180 days, so for teachers, it can be difficult to teach challenging topics with constraints on learning time.
“The state requires that math teachers teach many standards, and there aren’t enough school days to teach them all really well,” Surratt said. “We prioritize certain standards, but we are still always constantly feeling rushed.”
This kind of pressure isn’t limited only to math class; it’s something that teachers across all subjects are trying to balance as well.
Nicole Donnenwerth (she/her), a new English teacher for Liberty, explains the hard work that she puts into her students.
“I love to create. It’s probably one of the best qualities that has served me the best professionally, ” Donnenwerth said. “My brain is just very creative, so I spend a lot of time creating things or finding something new to present things that have fallen a little bit flat.”
Teaching isn’t always about grading or giving a lesson; it’s about adjusting to students’ needs and understandings in order for them to succeed in subjects.
“We are constantly trying to make things engaging and relevant, but also accessible to students at all different levels academically, which can be a difficult task,” Donnenworth said. “If you’re creative, it can be a really, really fun challenge.”
At the end of the day, the school year isn’t just about finishing assignments or counting down the remaining months; it’s about recognizing the shared effort of both students and teachers.
For teachers, it can be rewarding to see their students succeed in their subject, and for students, it can be exciting to feel a sense of accomplishment when nearing the last couple of months of the school year.
