Hitting the Academic Wall: How 11th Graders Can Break Through at the End of the Year
Most of the juniors I am working with have entered the “blackout period,” the time of year when their top priorities are preparing for AP exams, prepping for SAT subject tests, and finishing their junior years with a strong performance.
This is a very difficult time for them. I can tell that they are starting to feel burned out, and as the days are warming after a long winter, they seem to want to just throw the books out the window and burst into the spring sunshine. Who can blame them? Even though it can be hard for students to acknowledge, this is the most important time to delay gratification and keep up the strong work. What they don’t know is that even though they have worked very hard for the last five semesters, what they do over the next two months will either help them realize the college opportunities they have worked towards for so long, or put them out of reach.
