For most seniors like myself, we look forward to school ending to advance to the next chapter of our lives. Sometimes though, little things hinder us from fully enjoying the last days of schooling. It has long been Dow High custom for seniors to not have to take the final exam in their second semester classes, however, some teachers have chosen to give them.

Mr. Cook’s Accounting One class is one of those courses. Cook believes that the exam is necessary for students to have a complete knowledge of the subject before leaving so seniors won’t be deprived of an opportunity to learn. This contradicts other courses, which just teach around the seniors leaving two weeks earlier than other students. During that final week of school, most teachers are either finishing up the year or starting to review for the final exam. Who would this still affect then? There could be many alternatives to taking a final exam.

One of them is a senior project. For instance, in my AP World History and senior English classes, this is what we’re doing. With a senior project, you can still have the grade of a big exam, without it seeming like that, since you’re doing the work over a couple of months. For instance, both of my senior projects are coming along really nicely, and both of my teachers let me choose any topic I wanted to, which just makes the work I have to do easier. Honestly, I was not expecting to take a final in any of my classes, because I have already been accepted to college, and just hearing and seeing how seniors are in the second semester in their final year of high school ever, just making memories should take priority over worrying about one of round of exams. Come on DHS, the least you could do is help us out.

The class of 2012 has been going through four years of waking up and going to Dow in the early hours of the morning. Teachers should spare us from the final exam and make it a school-wide policy that seniors don’t have to take final exams.