All the students groan as the teacher announce there will be a math test the day after tomorrow. The announcement meant that there would be more time to study, nothing more. I stare at my textbook in front of me. The title reads, Math for Challenge and Enjoyment. I think to myself, “if only that was true.”
After another tedious school day, I walk home, not mentally prepared to waste hours on homework again. I put my backpack by the bedside, turning on my computer, and get my homework books. These tasks were easy enough for an 8th grader, but after that year, that’s where the real trouble begins.
To be honest, finishing my homework after weeks of completing this routine isn’t so bad. The only troubling thing for me, and my classmates, is whether we should study for the math test. We’re all filed with anxieties about what questions will be on this next test. Thoughts spiral in my head.
Would I know how to answer every question my teacher puts on the test?
What grade would I get if I don’t study?
How hard is the test going to be?
What questions will the teacher even put on the test?
How long should I study?
What should I do?
Oh, I’m definitely going to fail, right?
The list is endless. These thoughts circled around my head like a toy train, I can’t blame this on anyone but myself, not even my math teacher! Studying for the test is my own responsibility. I’m scared that my laziness and procrastination habits will drag me down into a dusty hole of failure.
In the end, I think to myself, it would probably be alright if I just skim over the previous homework assignment and read a few textbook pages.
I was satisfied enough when I finished. Taking a break was the only thing I wanted to do after cramming information into my small brain for hours.
Before I knew it, I fell asleep in front of my work and woke up the next day with my head in my textbook.
“Great, another day, another test,” is what I always say.
I do my usual school routine. I wait for the morning bell to ring in the cafeteria, put my bag in my homeroom, hang out with my friends, and return before the homeroom bell. After, I go to my classes, and patiently wait for the moment I’ve been dreading all day.
The math test.
Everybody is in a state of panic. I hug my friends for reassurance. We whisper to each other that we’ll all do great, although I know I would definitely fail. I heard from the previous math class that the test was terribly difficult, which didn’t help my confidence at all, but I shrug it off anyway, it can’t be too bad, right?
“Pass the papers back and then you may begin,” stated the math teacher in a calm manner, while my hands shake uncontrollably.
I looked at the first page. It wasn’t too bad. I completed all the questions with ease. As I flip through the four-page assessment, my confidence grows. My half hour of studying last night seems like it was worth it after all.
Twenty five minutes into the period, I finish the exam alongside two friends. I turn off my calculator, put my writing materials back into my pencil case, and I place my test in the collection basket.
Shortly after, everybody finished. Almost immediately after we’re dismissed, everybody asks each other what answers they got for certain questions. This is a habit of ours, and we know it’ll continue doing it until the end of the year.
After another tedious school day, I walk home, not mentally prepared to waste hours on homework again. I put my backpack by the bedside, turning on my computer, and get my homework books. These tasks were easy enough for an 8th grader, but after that year, that’s where the real trouble begins.
To be honest, finishing my homework after weeks of completing this routine isn’t so bad. The only troubling thing for me, and my classmates, is whether we should study for the math test. We’re all filed with anxieties about what questions will be on this next test. Thoughts spiral in my head.
Would I know how to answer every question my teacher puts on the test?
What grade would I get if I don’t study?
How hard is the test going to be?
What questions will the teacher even put on the test?
How long should I study?
What should I do?
Oh, I’m definitely going to fail, right?
The list is endless. These thoughts circled around my head like a toy train, I can’t blame this on anyone but myself, not even my math teacher! Studying for the test is my own responsibility. I’m scared that my laziness and procrastination habits will drag me down into a dusty hole of failure.
In the end, I think to myself, it would probably be alright if I just skim over the previous homework assignment and read a few textbook pages.
I was satisfied enough when I finished. Taking a break was the only thing I wanted to do after cramming information into my small brain for hours.
Before I knew it, I fell asleep in front of my work and woke up the next day with my head in my textbook.
“Great, another day, another test,” is what I always say.
I do my usual school routine. I wait for the morning bell to ring in the cafeteria, put my bag in my homeroom, hang out with my friends, and return before the homeroom bell. After, I go to my classes, and patiently wait for the moment I’ve been dreading all day.
The math test.
Everybody is in a state of panic. I hug my friends for reassurance. We whisper to each other that we’ll all do great, although I know I would definitely fail. I heard from the previous math class that the test was terribly difficult, which didn’t help my confidence at all, but I shrug it off anyway, it can’t be too bad, right?
“Pass the papers back and then you may begin,” stated the math teacher in a calm manner, while my hands shake uncontrollably.
I looked at the first page. It wasn’t too bad. I completed all the questions with ease. As I flip through the four-page assessment, my confidence grows. My half hour of studying last night seems like it was worth it after all.
Twenty five minutes into the period, I finish the exam alongside two friends. I turn off my calculator, put my writing materials back into my pencil case, and I place my test in the collection basket.
Shortly after, everybody finished. Almost immediately after we’re dismissed, everybody asks each other what answers they got for certain questions. This is a habit of ours, and we know it’ll continue doing it until the end of the year.
