Thanksgiving break should be a time for rest, relaxation and time with loved ones, especially for college students who are oftentimes overwhelmed by heavy amounts of schoolwork as the semester comes to a close. However, many students at Winona State University have a lot of work to do over Thanksgiving break, making it difficult to find a time to take a break before the chaos of finals week.
Natalie Leet, a second-year CALT and Spanish Teaching major, feels the stress of having so much work to do over Thanksgiving break. She has multiple homework assignments and two essays to write over break, due when she comes back.
“I am taking 18 credits this semester, so this is a pretty average weekly workload for me,” Leet says. “I think the difficult piece is that I have family events to attend for the holiday, so I have a more limited amount of time to get everything done.”
It can be hard for students to try to balance being present at family events while also having school in the back of their mind. Sometimes, it does not truly feel like a break even when students are enjoying time with family because they are worrying about when and how they are going to get their work done.
Leet also mentions, “it is difficult to go into the week before finals after not having a true break from schoolwork. I think many students would enjoy having the whole week off for Thanksgiving because it would allow them to truly have a break from their course load.”
While it may not be possible to entirely have no homework over Thanksgiving, it is important to recognize how hard the stretch between Thanksgiving and winter break is for students.
Another Winona State student, second-year Elementary Education major and coaching minor, Becca Magin, is also struggling with the amount of coursework over break.
“I do have the same workload that I would on a typical week, especially in my online classes,” Magin says. “It is an added stress during the holidays when I should be focused on spending time with family. Between finals and weekly assignments, this week is chaotic and hard to manage school life and home life.” Magin believes that the workload over break should be at least half of what it is on normal weeks. Again, this may be difficult with finals approaching, but students need a break before finals week so that they focus and work harder on their work at the end of the semester.
While many students struggle to find time to properly relax and spend time with loved ones before finals, it is some consolation that winter break is right around the corner. Hopefully students were able to find some moments of rest over break and are ready to push through the end of their classes and finals week.
