Nearing the Closing Stretch

Dave Johnson bellowed "and down the stretch they come" during the Kentucky Derby from 1978-2017.  I watched the Derby with my grandparents for years, so every time something is nearing a finish line, I always think of that line.  That line also makes me think of another sports cliché I love, which is to finish strong.  The current changes to online learning may have distracted many from the reality that the semester is in the final turn, and we are about to be in the stretch run.

The end of the semester is only a few short weeks away.  My school is coming back from Spring Break this week, and finals begin at the beginning of May.  Some schools will have a reading period, so many places only have 3-4 weeks of instruction left.  Finals are closer than most think.

With finals so close, I encourage everyone to begin testing knowledge and receiving feedback.  If finals start in 5 weeks, then everyone can get feedback on 3-4 practice problems in each subject.  Try to complete 3-4 problems a week.  Pick the most likely tested topics in each of your classes, starting with the material early in the semester, and write an answer in timed conditions.  Send your answer to your professor or Academic Support person.  The goal is to both work on essay writing and knowledge of the material.  Do that every week through the end of the semester.

Distractions abound in the world right now.  Most of them are very serious and need attention.  Everything changing makes it easy to forget critical components for finals preparation.  Don't forget to continue to prepare for finals because they will be here in just a few furlongs.

(Steven Foster)