How do you feel about schedules and structure? Are they something you embrace or something you fight tooth and nail?

Since we spend the three hours in testing during the morning, lunch comes earlier and then afterwards we have four periods, yet out of order.  Tuesday was periods 5, 6, and 1; Wednesday was periods 2, 3, 4, 7.  This next week we will do it again, taking math tests on Tuesday, and science tests on Wednesday.  

This chaotic schedule came on the heels of our grade distribution night, where the teachers set up shop in the school’s gym from 3 to 7 (after teaching all day) for parents to pick up quarterly grades and meet with teachers.   Then it’s back to school at 7 the next morning to pick up testing materials, set up the classroom, and squeeze as much out of the time as possible.

I am not proctoring on Tuesday as that is our senior portfolio day for business students.  Although a big deal for our department, the rest of the school ignores what we do.  No other department has a culminating activity for its students unless you count IB tests, for which the school does make a HUGE, BIG, DEAL. 

My marketing students presented their business plans to Fresno State University people at the end of the week and the multimedia students are working on a big project for a local nonprofit.  Even with the testing, we keep teaching school.  Sort of like building the airplane in midair, during flight.

An editorial in the NY Times reminds us that teenagers like to sleep late. School starts early.  

Research is showing that this is not just a preference — or even the result of late-night studying or instant messaging.  It  is rooted in their biological rhythms. The problem is, most high schools start so early that many teenagers have a hard time staying awake.   

In a recent Op-Ed article in the Times a National Sleep Foundation survey was cited, in which more than a quarter of the students reported that they fell asleep in class at least once a week.   

Researchers say that youngsters — beginning around age 12 until they reach their mid-20s — only start producing melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone, around 11 p.m.   That production peaks around 7 a.m.   

In adults, melatonin peaks until around 4 a.m.   So trying to wake up a teenager before 7 o’clock is like trying to awake an adult before 4 a.m.   

An obvious remedy would be for high schools to start later — well after 8 a.m. A handful of schools that have switched have reported beneficial results.

In Minneapolis, school officials say that attendance improved and students’ grades rose slightly after they changed to an 8:40 a.m. start several years ago.  

Wilton, Conn., where the high school start time was pushed back to 8:20 a.m. from 7:35, reports that teachers and parents have seen improved student behavior and greater alertness.   Surveys of students in both districts indicated that they did not use the later starts as an excuse to go to bed later.   

Numerous districts have considered the idea of later high school hours, only to drop it because of fierce adult opposition. Coaches complain that the later classroom hours in the afternoon would take time from their training programs and teams’ success. School bus companies would be forced to change their schedules. And many parents complained that they would have to adjust their own schedules.  

Many school officials say more research is needed. Research, yes, say others, but remember that the goal is to educate youngsters — and they need to be awake for that.

source: NY Times editorial on  2/1/08.  www.nytimes.com

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com