Do you think finals are necessary? Well, teachers and students all have different opinions on finals. The dates at Parkway South High for first semester finals are Dec. 17-20. The finals for next school year could be more difficult due to the type of classes you take.

Also, due to the calendar change for the 2020-21 school year, first semester finals will not occur till after Winter Break.

All of the people interviewed have agreed finals can put stress and be hard for students and teachers, in different ways. Finals can really impact students and teachers in a way; depending on the class and their skills.

A speech examiner Special School District teacher, Sally Greg, said finals are stressful for students than teachers because of all the work students have to do to recover all the things they learned. 

“I’ll say that finals mostly affect students because of all the work they learned throughout the semester. Just hearing the word ‘final’ can give a student negative energy because of all the things they have to recover in seven classes,” she said.  

Greg said she knows how it feels doing finals, so she understands the pressure students go through to make sure they pass. 

Sophomore Kendra Johansen said finals can be stressful and time-consuming. Also, you have to learn everything throughout the semester. 

“It’s a lot of stress on me and my family and its time consuming,” she said. “Having to know the things you learned throughout the whole semester for seven classes.”

Johansen knows from experience that finals are stressful and can cause stress on family and others. On the other hand, finals can be great to see how far an individual has accomplished.  

However, Sarah Boyce, an English teacher,  said students and teachers are affected equally by finals. 

“Teachers and I have to take their time to grade students finals after students take the test. While students worry if they did well on the final in those particular classes,” Boyce said. “Finals are a great way to see if students are actually learning, instead of passing them to the next grade, without knowing if they reached those skills.”