The sigh of relief I let out after my last exam was something most high school students can relate to. No more random review sessions to attend or having Heimler’s voice echoing throughout your mind as you try to remember random events in US or world history. In other words, no more stress.
Once I arrived at the final congratulations screen after finishing my last AP exam, I thought the grass was going to look greener and that the air was going to taste sweeter. Unfortunately, nothing changed. But the school day sure did, like it always does around this time of year. Teachers have to deal with the lack of motivation students feel towards the end of the year. However, some methods are more useful and effective in their pursuit of arousing student interest in learning than others.
1. Course related films
The art of picking an end-of-year movie is thoroughly taken for granted. Teachers have to find a balance between picking a film that will entice a room full of teenagers as well as make sure that the film is actually relevant in some way to the course. However, once this balance is reached, it brings about an entertaining as well as a meaningful educational experience that the student will remember every time they see the poster for that movie or read about a topic related to it. Special shoutout to the AP World History teachers who showed their classes “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Ètat”, the 2024 documentary film that paralleled the US Civil Rights Movement, the Non-Aligned Movement as well as 1960s jazz in a captivating manner while still being relaxing compared to an actual assignment.
2. Art projects
These are the assignments that my peers and I love to hate. “Why are we doing art projects in an English class?” I mumbled to myself as I finished up my post-exam assignment. But then I realized, I would much rather be toiling over a drawing than a five-page article on the most obscure topic I’ve ever heard about in my life. As annoying as they can be, art projects are still more relaxing than an actual assignment. In addition, the creativity one gets to exhibit while doing the assignment is something that doesn’t often get exercised much during the school year.Their only downside is the effort you feel forced to put in.
3. Presentations
Though they are controversial, presentations are one of the most useful activities we do at school that actually serve us in the future. They help get students comfortable with speaking in front of an audience. In addition, these presentations are often less specific in their topic selection, giving students more freedom to research what interests them. Nonetheless, one cannot ignore the stress and anxiety that comes with presenting. From having to memorize dialogue to avoid score deductions to trying to remember said dialogue under pressure, presentations can be extremely stressful for many students.
