"Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better." - Sydney J. Harris
Change, its something that affects us all. For one individual it may be seen as an advancement towards excellence, but for another, disaster. Many people in this world have experienced a change for the better, or the worse; yet most of them don't have the opportunity to adapt to this new environment that has been set upon them.
As it stands, the burden of having to adapt so quickly to the new school calendars brought by the state legislature currently falls on the students. There is little to be gained from these arrangements and the students, who are most affected by this decision, are being taught nothing valuable by it.
The shift in the starting dates have caused semester exams to be taken after our two-week winter break. Ironically, students are expected to work and study during their vacation. Many would agree that winter break should be used for relaxing our minds as a reward for working diligently throughout the semester, yet some still fail to see that the scheduling puts pressure on the students. The weight that has been put on all of our shoulders have only magnified the already high stress levels experienced by the students. Sure they can put off studying for the break, but they will always have the worries of having to take exams afterwards deep in the back of their heads. Even afterwards, the students' stress doesn't cease since the second semester starts immediately after exams.
New Years is traditionally a time to start fresh and creating new resolutions, but with the new arrangements, the purpose of starting with a new plate is defunct. The last thing on my mind during my break was studying for any of my exams; the stress from school was already overwhelming, I just wanted to take a break from learning and have some time for myself. I thought I was getting myself into trouble by not studying as my break was nearing its end and I'd have to come back to semester exams over material I already had forgotten. Either way, I wouldn't be able to avoid the stress that would be put out by the schedule.
If I had any say in how the schools are run, I would change the starting dates back to the original. From my point of view, having exams after we return from winter break is not beneficial in any way; instead more harm is done because of our tendency to forget everything we've previously learned after a much needed break and stressing to learn everything over again could possibly just lower exam grades. It does not make sense to have students worry about exams hanging over their heads during their winter break. With the calendar the way it is, the students will never truly be relieved of the weight on their shoulders until summer break starts.
I'm not the best essay writer and this was sort of a last minute thing... Open to any criticism.
"Change" is a reality that affects us all. For one individual it may be seen as an advancement towards excellence, but for another, disaster. Many people in this world have experienced changes for the better or for the worse; in both cases, some struggle is necessary in order to adapt to this new environment that has been set upon them. Now right here you need to state the ain point of the essay. This is going to be your thesis statement, right at the end of this first paragraph.
If you add a good thesis statement, the whole essay comes together. As it is now, you really surprised me when you started talking about school calendars and the state legislature. Use that thesis sentence, at the end of the first paragraph, to tell the reader what your argument is and how it is AN EXAMPLE OF A TIME WHEN PEOPLE ARE NOT GIVEN SUFFICIENT TIME TO ACCLIMATE TO CHANGE. That is key, I think.
