Ahhh. A sigh of relief can be heard from the Class of 2016. We finally completed the hardest year of high school. Now since we finished our AP exams we can finally sit back, relax and take in the glory of being almost a senior——then you wake up with drool running down your mouth as your English teacher is assigning a project that is due next week the same day as your chemistry final and your math test.

Now I am not here to go on some rant on AP classes and how corrupt they are and blah, blah, blah. I want to really highlight what I consider the most difficult weeks of school for any AP student’s life: the weeks after the exam.

Just thinking about it makes a chill run down my spine. Honestly I do not understand some of the teachers’ motives that they wish to accomplish at the end of the year. As everyone is about to gear up for their summer vacation, they all of sudden start to think that they have not taught us anything over these last few months and as a result feel obligated to rich our minds even more by teaching us new material (did I mentioned we already completed the AP exam) plus give us an intensive final.

None of us are ready or even capable to learn any new materials in our conditions. Working hard all year can really put a toll on someone’s body. By the time we finally finish our AP exams, a sense of relief over comes us and we feel accomplished and so proud that we deiced to take that class. In addition to this sense of pride, comes a string of fatigue. Teachers, we are tired. Our learning capabilities have reached our limit for the year and it is time to give up the “I want to make you guys better students” idea and start putting on some good old Disney movies.

Last year, we conducted a survey from Stanford University to help reduce stress. Oak Park and other schools who participated in this survey had made major changes in their programs to help reduce stress among the student population. I admire that the school is trying to reduce the stress that we have on campus, however, I believe both the faculty members and students need to come to a compromise in order to satisfy both parties. . On behalf of AP students, we do not understand why our teachers have to give us a final exam AFTER the AP exam. Doesn’t AP stand for After Party? Why can we not take these last few weeks of school together to celebrate all the hard work we have accomplished this year. I feel like AP teachers see us as machines and after a huge examination, they think we can handle more work after eight months of academic labor.

Even with this stated claim, we need to put into perspective on what actually can happen with those last three weeks of school. The beauty of living in a democracy is that we are able to collaborate in order to construct a solution. Instead of giving a final which just tests us on how much information we can retain and spill it out in a multiple choice test, teachers should instead give a project where the students research an area of the subject that they are interested in the most and create a presentation. I believe this allows the students to gain valuable information and are able to further explore the amazing topics that lie in the subject.

Just like in a nation’s history, I believe we should evolve into new ways to test a student’s intelligence and creative skills. This type of project will serve a great way to conclude the amazing year that have endured and gives them that little extra feeling of success before embarking on their summer vacation.