"Cracking the Finals Enigma: Knowledge, Suffering, and the Internet Overload"

At times, it becomes challenging to comprehend the true purpose of final exams. It is difficult to ascertain whether they are designed to assess our knowledge and establish a ranking, or if they are intended to subject us to unnecessary suffering. Personally, I experienced the overwhelming burden of having 16 tests in a single week, with the added pressure of facing 3 to 4 tests per day. Many of my friends have also expressed similar grievances.

Some professors dismiss our concerns, claiming that we are merely being dramatic and that the workload is manageable. However, I believe they fail to fully grasp the disparity between their generation and ours. While their times were undoubtedly arduous due to the absence of the Internet, our era presents its own challenges. We are constantly bombarded with an overload of information within a short span of time. Consequently, we are compelled to collectively navigate through this sea of knowledge, discerning what to believe and what to disregard. This necessitates spending hours carefully scouring the internet for reliable sources, which undoubtedly takes a toll on our mental faculties.

Finals induce a state of frantic and stressful studying, which research has shown to be less effective compared to project-based learning. Engaging in collaboration, students not only improve their self-confidence and creativity but also learn the importance of critical thinking and leadership. This type of learning enhances their awareness of their own thought process, known as metacognition. However, when faced with projects instead of tests, students have the opportunity to receive feedback along the way, allowing them to improve.

Taking final exams negatively impacts metacognition because students are unable to fix their mistakes and learn from them. After receiving report cards, they can only see their final grade, without knowing what they got wrong on the test. Education emphasizes the value of learning from mistakes, but final exams only teach students to avoid making mistakes altogether.