Pages rustle, folders are packed full, and students are glued to their chromebooks, typing swiftly. As the end of the semester comes closer and closer, most students will have to get all their assignments in and study for finals. The overwhelming amounts of schoolwork, mixed with other factors like the promise of winter break, can result in a lack of motivation throughout the school.

“So different people get motivated by different things. So take for example, there are some students who are grade motivated, right? So that serves as a reward to them…whereas that may not be the motivation for the student next to them. Maybe the motivation for them to get good grades is that they are internally satisfied by learning. So maybe that’s their intrinsic motivation is that they’re curious, they want to learn more about a certain topic or whatever. And they get good grades too, but really, they get enjoyment and satisfaction from learning,” said psychology teacher Catherine Dodd.

Not everyone is motivated by the same things, so it could be important to find personal motivation to help get school work done. It could also be key to be fairly consistent with schoolwork throughout the year.

“I think the motivation to study should come consistently like throughout a semester and not just all this pressure be put on at the end…so I support you know, my students to be studying throughout the year in chunks instead of cramming at the end. I think there’s the motivation to do that would be less pressure at the end when finals come around,” Dodd said.
There are different times of the year where motivation in school could ebb and flow; different seasons and the breaks could influence the changes.

“I usually gain motivation just because I get a break and I get to do things I enjoy. And instead of focusing and getting stressed about school all the time, I’m keeping my mind off of it. And then when I come back, I’m ready to do the work,” said junior Maggie Silk.

Not only does the time of year sometimes influence motivation in schoolwork, but also the environment or places students do work in.
“I usually stay most motivated in the ,Hub because I usually like areas of study where there’s slight background noise. So I don’t like complete silence. With the Hub, there’s some people talking, which I enjoy,” Silk said.

Everyone has different ways they stay motivated.

“I think the weeks leading up to the winter break is the hardest time to stay motivated because everyone is worn out from the semester and are ready for a break,” said senior Caitlyn Aquisan.
Many things can contribute to a lack of motivation at school, but there are also many things that could help overcome this issue.

“Thinking about my future keeps me motivated to do my work because I want to be successful and I know that if I want that, I have to get work done,” Aquisan said.
“Just being able to create rhythms in life and responsibilities, that kind of mirror what life actually looks like, and in harnessing those things that do motivate us, I think, is a really important thing,” Dodd said.