The vast majority of college-level courses involve two large, overarching assessments at the halfway point and the end: midterms and finals. For any high school student planning to attend college, gaining experience in taking midterms and finals is a crucial part of their preparation for the next level of education. This preparation at the high school level--to help students develop the skills they need to have future success in taking college midterms and exams--is really two-fold. Naturally, high school midterms and exams provide opportunities for academic preparation, but they can also be a sort of emotional preparation for students as well. 

In the past two years, I came across a disease that I’d never heard of but almost immediately knew I was suffering from. I looked at the list of symptoms for this disease and quickly diagnosed myself. Behavior characterized by continually rushing and feeling anxious, always feeling short of time, being flustered when encountering (even minor) delays—I most certainly came down with what has risen to become an underlying norm that pervades our culture: hurry sickness.

In many ways, money is a taboo topic in our culture. Most of us don’t dare talk about how much money we make or spend. We hold financial information close to the chest, as a very private matter. So, when it comes to discussing money and teaching our kids about finances, it can be a challenge. From a young age, kids begin to understand that in order to get the things they want or need, money is required. However, the complexities of saving, giving, and investing money do not come naturally to a child and must be taught and reinforced over time.