As the first semester drew to a close, students crammed for end-of-quarter tests, losing sleep to study especially hard for a last minute boost to their semester grades. However, with that end-of-semester stress came an important opportunity for reflection. Reaching the zenith of the school year provides a chance for students and faculty to look back and set goals for the next semester. To better understand these student reflections, The Jabberwock surveyed a group of 43 students on their feelings about the past semester and their plans to thrive in the future.

When asked to rate the difficulty that they expected for the second quarter, exactly half of the participants answered a 4 out of 5 difficulty. About one-third of the responses were 3s, while only a handful answered either 2 or 5 and none responded with a 1. Compared to the ratings for the actual difficulty of the quarter, the number of 4s essentially stayed the same while the number of 2s and 3s slightly decreased. Meanwhile, the number of 5s increased to account for just under one-sixth of the responses. Respondents also shared their experiences with time management, and over half selected that it was “somewhat” of a struggle for them. Over one-third answered that time management was “definitely” an issue, only 11% answered “not really,” and no one selected “not at all.” These findings correlate to the responses concerning any changes in workload from the first quarter to the second, in which over two-thirds of participants said they saw an increase. Additionally, almost 60% of respondents felt that the second quarter was more strenuous than the first, and just over 20% felt that it was about the same.

The survey also sought to highlight the experiences of freshmen in their first semester at Maggie Walker. The class of 2025 was asked whether this semester was a significant change in difficulty from middle school, and the answer, including over 85% of responses, was a resounding “yes.” Madeleine Dunaway (‘25) expanded on her answer to this question by adding that she finds it “kind of crazy that we spend seven hours a day at school, then go home and do three more hours of homework.” Although she understands the necessity of working hard in school, she noted,“It seems a little excessive to sacrifice so much time and effort and stress towards something when I’m so young.” Furthermore, Madeleine voiced her concerns about school-based anxiety and that she “hate[s] how normalized it is” at Maggie Walker.

As for the rest of the student body, a very similar sentiment arose in response to the question of whether they experienced a significant change in difficulty this semester compared to their last non-COVID semester of school. Over 86% of the respondents (including sophomores and juniors) answered “yes.” However, coronavirus was not the only thing skewing this semester and the second quarter. Leah Winder (‘24) noted that because of “winter break and all the snow days, this semester has been pretty on and off, not really allowing classes to get into a consistent flow.” This problem likely contributed to the common complaint that teachers were piling too many graded assessments onto the last week of the quarter. Another student, Emiley Griffin (‘24), brought up the issue of teachers underestimating the amount of time it takes students to complete assignments. She shared, “Some of my teachers assign what they think takes an hour but really takes everyone several hours to complete, which is very frustrating.” When combined with time-management struggles, this can make it difficult to get work done on time for all students alike.

Yet the difficulty in grappling with the workload this first semester did not overwhelm positive perspectives. While students struggled with the load of compiling work the last week of the two quarters, some acknowledged the helping attitude of teachers. Preston Huyard (‘24) comments on this saying, “I honestly think all of my teachers have been really helpful this year.” He further goes on to add that teachers provide assistance “not only academically, but they always try to connect with us and ask questions if they feel something is wrong.” Furthermore, managing the workload of 7-8 classes at Maggie Walker is not an easy feat and the transition back from COVID for a full academic year is a difficult task on its own. Nevertheless, students recognize the advantage of in-person instruction. Charlie Haacke-Golden (‘24) observes, “Teachers were definitely more understanding last year for due dates and stuff, but I’m able to take in what they’re saying so much more.” Though a significant portion of sophomore, juniors, and seniors agree the difficulty of this semester has gone up from the COVID year, as Charlie says, perhaps it’s also easier to grasp the material and stay focused in class.

Even so, the first semester has ended and a new semester is here–meaning it’s time to look ahead and aim to go into the next semester with lessons learned in the first. Sympathizing with this, Luna Forlano (‘24) says, “I hope I can use the skills I learned from the first semester and apply them to the second semester.” The survey spoke to these feelings and asked students what their goals are for the upcoming semester. A large portion of the respondents echoed aspirations to either improve or maintain good grades and others highlighted the time-management aspect once more. Rahmat Okegbenro (‘25) makes a point of the importance of time management voicing, “I want to be able to find out what time management style works for me the best so I don’t need to worry about it in my future years of high school.” Moreover, Heather Lang (‘24) comments, “I hope to find a balance between handling my workload and managing stress.” Intellectually, students are hoping to further continue their learning and gain more knowledge. Speaking to this, Briana Lawson (‘24) remarks that she hopes to take part in “more engaging and interesting activities, and a more thorough understanding of topics.” 

Above all, students at Maggie Walker are showing motivation to carry on successes from the previous semester while also making sure their mental health is prioritized. For freshmen particularly, many hope to reverberate the attitude of learning from the first semester and apply those principles to the second. For sophomores, juniors, and seniors, though they are aware of the Maggie Walker workload, they still have crucial goals they hope to achieve. Based on the statistics and input gained by the survey, the first semester did put a notable strain on many Dragons. However, with goals of better time management and more balance in sight, the student body has what it needs to flourish for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year.