As we near the end of the school year, I have seen two different patterns for students begin to emerge. Students who want to push themselves typically use the 4th quarter of the year to lock-in and excel.  However, other students who simply are exhausted and tired of their school work often “check out” of their school responsibilities.  

I understand students who tune out toward the end of the school year. The weather is beautiful and a break becomes more appealing. There are more distractions during this time than ever with graduations, holidays and vacations. Some students ask themselves, if I have good grades, then what harm is it to tune out a little bit? After three quarters of hard work, it is easy to feel owed a break. While I understand this mindset, I think we should use this time to hone in our study skills and finish strong. 

One of the reasons that I believe we as students should lock in during the 4th quarter is that it will improve overall academic performances. For students who may not be doing as well as they hoped, it is the last ditch effort to improve their grades. Tuning out right now would only make their grades worse, and that is something everyone should strive to avoid. Even if someone is doing well, they should not want to jeopardize that just because they are starting to get tired. We are almost done with the year so it is better to keep the good streak going.  Finals are also at the end of the year, so starting to slack off now is not the better choice.

Staying locked in is not just a skill needed in school, but in life.  With very few exceptions, most employed adults do not get summers off and many high school students work during this time as well. If we all just checked out when we felt like it, our lives would turn to chaos. The last thing to do is quit when so close to the finish line. So Norsemen, stay dialed in and just remember, we are almost there.