Oh, man, my name morning coffee, please, quick busted pencils fully loaded education
educated educated talking education. Yeah, it's home room. It's Monday and Johnny across
the country and say here, you know, coming into the, you know, the second week of
December, I'd say, you know, particularly in colleges and universities, this is
probably either finals week or the beginning of getting ready for finals week. In
other words, holy crap, that 32 chapter book that you're going to have a test on on Wednesday,
you should read it at this point because, you know, it time is a click and man, you know,
no, no joke, though, Tim, I mean, I mean, if, if these youngsters can read, right, we just
have shows like that's, that's me trying out the sarcasm, folks. I don't know if it landed
Tim. It was at least funny, but, you know, we spent, you know, last week, we talked about
it and comes up often, you know, if you, if you, according to the news, which is based
on assessment and gathering of data, 36% of, you know, the young people in schools, at least
in Wisconsin, and this is a trend around the country are, you know, destined to be non readers.
And that's me exaggerating a little bit, but, you know, they get tagged early. So I made a funny
about that, you know, only if only our students could read, they can actually read. But Tim,
you are right, it is final season. And that means it's pretty stressful for students. I don't know
if you can remember finals in college or, you know, might be your high schools also on a similar
schedule as the college calendars. But it's stressful. It's high stakes, right?
Assessments, you got to get a grade at the end of the term that can really determine your grade,
even if you have an A going into a final, and you can drop a letter grade or even more sometimes
in courses. So it is a pretty stressful time for students. It's a busy time. I don't think it's
as stressful for professors, at least that's me speaking, you know, from my experience, I wouldn't
compare it to the stress our students are under. But it is a busy time. I go to my file cabinet,
man, I got a final I put together in 1992. It still works, man, bring it up. No, you know,
what I'm thinking, I was talking to my daughter, you know, over the weekend. And yeah, she's
at it, man, finals week. You know, she has four finals on one day. I think it's Wednesday coming
up. And, you know, she's she's feeling it because this is she's she's graduating at the end of
this finals week. So, you know, I'm pretty sure I'm still going to be attending graduation.
I think, but but but I mean, those, as you say, those are those kinds of things, you know,
he wake up Monday morning, he's like, oh, crap, it's finals week. I just wonder, though, too,
you know, just a little bit here, like, have things changed, maybe going into this finals week,
with, yeah, I'm going to go there is is AI maybe helping out to a point where maybe
kids aren't as stressed because and I'm not saying they're, you know, that they're doing
negative cheating types of things, but have some students started to find some benefits and how
AI might help reinforce and create deeper learning so that maybe they're more prepared than
they've ever been. Maybe Tim, are you insinuating that if I was a student kind of stressing about my
exams coming up, I could, I could, you know, just like input a prompt help design a study plan
for me for my bio 105 class that my, you know, is a pretty high stakes or, you know, or I think
as a tool, it probably helps. I can't see it being being something in the arms. I still think
it's a pretty stressful time for students and with AI. So I just kind of plug and remember,
like, show a little bit grace and then as an educator, if you're out there, if you're parent,
you know, get some leeway to that that learner in your life who's stressed out about finals week
and then and then also if you're a student, listen, and you're out there, you know, stressed about
this, give yourself some grace, you know, you're going to do what you're going to do. Study hard,
put your best foot forward, but you know, it's only just one moment, even though it feels like a big
defining one right now, you know, take care of yourself, make sure you hydrate, make sure you sleep,
and make sure you show yourself some grace. Don't be a perfectionist during finals week.
Okay, I got a question though for both of you. A question A memory of finals week and I will
go back, oh my god, I can't believe I'm going to say this 1985 freshman year in Schaefer Hall
at Merrill University is my first freshman first semester of finals week. And it was in the dorm
room that week it was 24 hours of coffee and the RA relaxed the rules about being able to visit
people all hours of the night. And I thought finals week was kind of fun my first year because
it was like, man, who knew that all this stress could be turned into a whole week long of 24 hours
of socializing. That's my memory of finals week. Jacob, what about, you know, thoughts? Tim, I
I don't know how you could possibly not have been that stressed because I know this was 1985.
You were aware that you needed to pass the final to help contribute to defeat the reds.
And the Soviets were going to win the war if Tim flunked the finals and couldn't contribute to
our great country. That sounds tough to me Tim. I'll give you a little secret though over here in
Jacob land as a communication student. Most of my finals were essays or projects. So I did not
have a lot of those high stakes final exam papers to do in college when when I was at least going
for my bachelors when I was in community college. There were more, okay, actual tests. I always
found this is a tangent. I found community college way harder than going to a university a state
school because everyone is really buckled down going going for things at the the local school.
And then it was more, yeah, man, this paper tell me how you felt about the course. What? That's
not an essay. What are you talking about? Anyway, that was my experience of college finals, Tim. High
school, super stressful, super stressful with those those midterms and those finals. They
really hammered it home to us that your life is over. You understand me? You failed this big test
we're doing. You're done. The school will lose funding and we're going to cut you first. We
know who did bad. We're going to cut those kids. You're gone. We're going to keep people who
succeeded. So yeah, you're right about that. And I wasn't even a fourth grader, but still it was
stressful. Johnny, come on, man, memories of your first finals week in college.
Man, in high school, remember it, man. Oh, I do. I mean, in high school, especially I was stressed
about them, you know, but my freshman year of college, I was actually really stressed out
about my files. It's probably why I said, you know, show yourself some grace show your students
some grace because I cared a lot about my grades, but I also felt like as, you know, first generation
college kid, like first year away at school, like I felt like if I don't do good, I'm letting
everybody down. And it was a heavy week. It was a hard one. And I mean, I studied and it was
stressful. And I think I probably would have been fine. I mean, moderately studying, but there's
an extra weight to like finals week. Don't don't don't high stakes. The stakes are high. It's
it's worth a lot. So I mean, I remember feeling really stressed and a different kind of stress
than, you know, like the stress you have if you know, your the bases are loaded. There's two
outs and you're up to bat. That kind of stress that I had, you know, experienced as an athlete
and a competitor. This was a different one. It might have been the first time in my life.
I felt that heavy, heavy weight like these are going to be hard. These tests are going to be
difficult. I got to put in this work. And that's that's I mean, that's my memory that stands out,
man. Okay. So that's your memory. But now let's just make me think. So okay. So now you're an
educated educator who talks education. How healthy and what kind of, you know, example is putting
such high stakes on a single end of the course assessment. Is that good teaching and learning?
Johnny. You know, it is not the best. Okay. It's not the best. But I think you do, you do have to have
some summative kind of like culminating capstone experience and the courses. And so I know it's
shocking as much as I talked about the stress of it and everything. And you know, I have like a
portfolio assignment in my classes that students have been working on for the past week and
app. And you know, it's not it's it's not the same as sitting down and taking an exam. I think
there's a balance and there's there's got to be something heavily weighted at the end. For me,
I do think it's important because hard work, you know, is part of the process. And and I think
culminating to something to keep your focus to keep their like the eyes on the prize. I don't
think it should be something that can can destroy a whole week, a whole semester's work. Like,
it shouldn't bring you down. Several grade, you know, grades drop you from an A to a C.
Probably shouldn't even drop you necessarily from like for like an A to a B minus. Maybe a half
a letter grade, wait it around there. But I like I think it's good teaching to have some
summative end of the semester assignment project final exam that is weighted with that
importance because I think it it caps off the learning. It really sort of brings it all together.
On the same side of that Tim, I've been held to that by students who say, if this is weighted so much,
do I have to be here or can I just take that test at the end and can I get it early and be done
now? No, like, you know, the magic happens here together in the classroom. So, you know,
I'm a both-hand. I like there to be maybe it's a traditionalist or maybe it's a sadist, like I
like to be some pain at the end, no pain, no gain. But I also like it to be meaningful and connected
to the learning and sort of celebratory. So you had to work hard at the end for something that
together we experienced and you, you know, you can say, I did that and I did well on it or I did
okay on it. I have my B or my C plus or hopefully my A or A minus if you're in my class,
I think I can predict my prediction is that my students are working hard and hopefully there's
always to be given. And then like clockwork, this is fun for our listeners. I'm sharing inside
our info like clockwork. I get called in, don't I get called into the chair's office at least once
a year. We have to talk. How is it that all the students in your classes got an A last semester?
They don't know. This doesn't always happen. But when I when they do all get an A or at least A's
and A minuses, I get a call and it's of course too easy. And I have to have the conversation that
every educator out there knows us. You know, we save artifacts from our students work.
All of our assessments are aligned to our teaching and learning like the objectives that we have
in our syllabus and that like they work their butts off for those A's. But yeah, everyone did it.
And I make and I look always at my my boss and I say, isn't that my job?
It's not to get a couple of these students to the finish line. It's the program all.
And there you have cases. You're you're you're a different kind, man. He's like, but we talk about it
and I show I show evidence that this isn't just a case of giving out A's. It's a it's absolutely
a story that gets retold over and over again when it happens. It's a case of students in the class
working hard and all of them earn in that A. Well, I will say right now.
Get those A's busted pencil listener for this finals week. You're only final because you
already got an A because all of our listeners. You're the most awesome A's for awesome
and Jacob with that. Now it's time for your moment of zin.
Patriotism doesn't mean support of government. Patriotism means support of the principles it's
supposed to stand for. Oh, Johnny, I think it's time for you to end the show.
Well, thank you for helping me remember to end the show. No, I'll thank you,
listeners for tuning into today's home room. And remember, you can grab great podcasts,
chuckful of more fully-led education talk on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or of course, you can
always find us on the civic media website. And hey, don't miss Wednesday's class in session.
And don't you dare miss Friday's producer Jacob's choice. And listeners, you can always,
always catch us. Busted pencils at three p.m. Central time across all the civic media network
stations on Saturdays for one hour of your favorite blue color scholars.
Him and Johnny, they keep busting pencils.