One Marking Period Down, Three to Go!
This mound of papers is just one small fraction of what Mrs. Bergen has to grade for one of her classes!
Congratulations Madison High School body, we have made it to the end of the ever-so stressful first marking period. The school year is officially a quarter of the way over, and those three remaining marking periods are so anxiously awaiting our arrival.
The end of the first marking period is no doubt an achievement to be proud of. We made the successful transition from summer back into regular school life, and remembered how to write again after months of dormancy. You’ve probably made new friends in your classes, and feel like best friends or worst enemies with all of your teachers for the year. We’re proud of you, we know it’s hard to get back to work!
The first marking period can arguably be the hardest for those said reasons. Even though the work may be easier because everyone is settling into the year, the true stress comes from being back in the competitive school environment, and relearning how to manage your time in a healthy way. MDO asked Senior Alex Gonzalez how her first marking period went for her, and Alex knew she learned some valuable lessons to remember for the rest of the year. “I learned that sometimes I might need more than an hour or two for homework and I learned that the hard way. What could have been fluff points turned into grades that hurt my average.”
The shock of returning to school work has been hard for everyone, teachers included. Mrs. Bergen, an English teacher at MHS, is no exception to this stress. The first marking period is always extremely busy for her, from trying to learn the names of 5 classes worth of new students, to assisting multiple seniors with their college essays and supplements. She said that, “I meet with students during all of my lunch periods, before school, after school, and every tutorial I have for college essays, and this is a very gratifying process as I am able to see my juniors from last year applying their knowledge,” but that time she spends helping others is also cutting down on her time for grading.
The end of the first marking period is also a great time of stress for students and teachers alike. As soon as teachers put the final grades in, there are students on Genesis seeing how it changed where they stand. Every single point matters. Senior Meera Parikh stated “Because a lot of my teachers leave a lot of grades and major assignments for the end of the marking period, so I don’t really know what my grade will be”. Students wait on the edge of their seats until there is no going back, and grades are final.
But that’s the beauty of the first marking period. There are three more chances to get back on the work grind, and enjoy the ease of having a schedule. Senior Katie Kern discussed the relief of all of her college apps are done, adding that “I want to enjoy all the things senior year has to offer. I’m going to try to go to as many sports/schools events that I can and enjoy the limited time we have left.” It’s important to work hard, no matter what grade, but to also enjoy the high school experience while you can.
Alan Schiller • Nov 27, 2017 at 10:24 am
Nice article, but I have a different take on this:
” the true stress comes from being back in the competitive school environment ”
True stress doesn’t come from competition in my point. It’s more broad than that. I think that the true stress comes from being thrust back into this process again. That’s what it is, really-a process. And the process is stressful because it’s disturbing. Some people are trying to be better than everyone else and that’s one thing, but it’s a whole other thing to realize how strange this process is. How can anyone expect a teenager to decide things about their life , i.e. career path, focus of study, “life goals” etc. If anything the first marking period is the point of the year where people are the least drone-like, which is a good thing. I can’t speak for seniors, but for juniors, surely right now we’re not nearly as consumed by the process as we will be later in the year, for we’ll grow numb and resign to it eventually. Everyone does.
Aidan Fetterly • Nov 26, 2017 at 9:10 pm
This article was truly honest about the beginning of the school year in a way that I feel many other pieces are not. While I am sure for some the first marking period is an exciting early step to a great school year, to most it is very stressful and filled with challenging work. I feel you captured these emotions well, and instilled a sense of hope in the reader for the marking periods to come.
Courtney Bland • Nov 26, 2017 at 8:46 pm
I really enjoyed reading this article, and find it to be a nice reminder that I am not the only one stressing out during this time. It demonstrates an optimistic outlook on the year ahead which can often be hard to do. I also agree with how important it is to focus on enjoying the high school experience outside of school while still working hard because too frequently students miss out on memories that would last much longer than an extra point here or there is worth.
Michelle Montes • Nov 26, 2017 at 7:11 pm
I completely agree, the first marking period is one of the most difficult marking periods throughout the school year. Students have just come back from a two month vacation and have not been going through the daily school routine, which may throw them off balance when school starts in September. As Alex Gonzalez said, one to two hours is not a sufficient amount of time to complete the amount of homework, projects, and research papers given. I have learned especially from joining volleyball this year, and with the addition of extracurricular activities, time management is definitely an essential part of being successful. Although, as mentioned, the first marking period is just the beginning of what lies ahead, and allows students to learn from what they feel they could have done better.
Alessandra Pagano • Nov 26, 2017 at 3:27 pm
I thought the title of your article was very intriguing because it was obvious that you were writing about the first marking period but I didn’t know how you would turn that into a great article. I liked all quotes you integrated because they were very relatable for any student at MHS.
Leah Rutland • Nov 26, 2017 at 1:31 pm
Great article! It really made me see what an accomplishment it is to finish the first marking period and the potential of the next three.