As the semester comes to an end, Wyverns are faced with the inevitable: reflections.
Teachers wrap up grades and comments, while students from each form are tasked with reflecting on different aspects of their KO and self-experiences. This year, Forms 3 through 6 were each given different prompts; these varied from four self-reflective questions for Form 3 to the College Counseling self-audit assigned to Form 5.
Historically, students are given somewhere around 10 days after winter break to complete their reflections – 10 days that consist of final English projects, history papers, and AP Economics tests for many. The busyness of the first semester’s final stretch is not a new phenomenon, and is one most students would consider themselves prepared for… with the exception of the unnecessarily extensive reflections, which remain a persistent source of stress.
For seniors especially, the first two weeks of January are filled with deadlines; there is no time to waste between regular decision applications and senior thesis prep, priorities that cannot be disregarded. With this in mind, the senior class expected a short and forgiving prompt for their reflection, only to see, on Jan. 9, when documents were posted, that they were hit with three self-reflective prompts. Each of these prompts held a 250-word minimum, around the average word count of a shorter supplemental essay. After over a year of College Counseling seminars, activity lists, and writing anywhere between two to 20 college essays, the seniors’ hopes for a light reflective assignment were smacked in the face with the seemingly mock-supplemental questions.
Our editorial board, composed fully of seniors, is in collective agreement that the senior reflections are an arduous task – just one more thing to check off the to-do list, and one that many seniors this year actually plan not to. The main purpose of these reflections is not only for students to self-assess, but also to give parents a glimpse into their child’s experience at KO. However, the fact of the matter is that many parents do not pay much attention to their child’s reflection paragraphs, or don’t even know they exist. Even if parents do read these reflections, it is highly likely what they are looking at is a watered down version of what their child already shares with them at home.
Those with the strongest time management skills find trouble fitting this seemingly misaligned task into their jam-packed days. Amidst assessments and essays, students must consider the opportunity cost of prioritizing the writing of their reflection: write 250 words to your past self, or study for that calculus test tomorrow? We think the answer goes without saying. Classes do not slow down; teachers do not ease their steady stream of assignments; coaches do not cancel or shorten long games and practices – all just to allow students time to complete their 800-word “reflections” – and rightfully so. Rather, the format of these reflections should be adjusted to accommodate the busy schedules of both students and faculty.
Despite our issues with the current format, we still definitely see benefit in reflecting at the end of the semester. Reflections have the ability to bring closure to the past semester and make plans and goals for the future. They allow students to recognize their strengths, weaknesses, and how they can grow. So, we certainly do not think that reflections should be scrapped completely (contrary to the opinion of most of the student body). We just think they could be more effective in a new format.
The most effective version of reflection in our eyes is a short meeting with advisors. Each student would meet with the advisor either during a free period or during advisory group for 10-15 and discuss the semester and how they want to move forward, perhaps even discussing questions similar to the ones we were given by our form deans. The conversation could be recorded and transcribed so that the reflection is still represented in the report cards. This completely prevents the use of AI, forcing students to be genuine with what they are saying. It also eliminates procrastination, making the reflection seem so much more doable.
Other formats could also be used, perhaps submitting a video, audio, or visual reflection, allowing students to have more choice. The questions and the length of the response they call for are also a possible area of revision. Students should be able to submit short, sentence-long answers, with questions targeting goals, favorite and least favorite classes, and learning strategies. This allows students to really understand and reflect, targeting actual topics that allow us to grow and eliminate the dread of having to respond with a minimum of 250 words.
For seniors, most of whom have already completed a never-ending cycle of 250-word reflection-esque supplementals, the reflection just seems pointless. Instead of having seniors write reflections, they could submit their favorite supplemental, allowing them to still incorporate a personal addition to their report cards.
All in all, we push KO faculty to reevaluate the annual, dreaded reflections, allowing for more of a student voice in the reflection process.
