I heard it on the radio first off and I was thinking to myself, "Whaaat". Apparently teens of today are wired to stay up late and begin their day later. So, a few schools have implemented later start times for the school day to accomodate this new found trend. I am guessing, with the gadgets nowadays, Internet, Games, Phones and SMS, even the idiot box, all add up to make the daily life of a teen full.....for want of a better word.
Anyhow, I got to thinking, when I grew up, no matter the start time of the school, I would still have had to catch the only bus available to get me to school..and that was the 7am sardine can bus. So, if I began school at 9:45am or even 10am, I would have to sit around and wait for the gates to open?? So would the kids who still catch the only bus available to school from that area. Would this mean the teachers are expected to get there early to let the kids in? The librarian perhaps? Who knows..
I am not sure if it is just a silly thing. I know a good rest and repair means your brain can function better to aide learning...but what about when these kids get to the end of High School and start, Heaven forbid, a job!! Some of the kids, may well already work, as I did in High School. But, you can't go expecting the career you choose to accommodate your staying up late at night and let you start later in the day...just because!! Even going to University, they cannot surely be expected to change class routines too.
A class in time management may well be suited to be introduced at school then. To manage study, work and play and yes, rest and relaxation time for the body. We had a study camp in Year 11 (Form 5) at High School, it certainly assisted me with my routine of study for Uni and for my work as a nurse now. Also, come to think of it, as a parent. Life skill is maybe a better phrase to use.
What are your thoughts my fellow bloggers? Changing start time is a good thing for these kids/young adults? Or is it just pampering and they need to be taught time management skills to better prepare them for the real world. Education, afterall, is there to give us the foundation to function in the career we choose. I am not so sure games and sms'ing would be a career choice.
27 comments:
It is nonsense of course. Although we tried many tatics to stay up later, essentially we went to bed when we were told, up to the age of fifteen I think. Now what are the kids going to do with that extra hour at night? Stay up later of course. I saw that report and it mentioned 'today's teens are hardwired to stay up later'. I don't believe there is hard wiring for sleep. You just adjust.
They talked about this around here too. My take was simple, the kids will simply stay up later...
I remember being in High School (Jeeze, that was 6 years ago) and we started at 7:00AM.
Now I have a real "career" and we start at 6:00AM to get an early jump on the day. How would letting me get up LATER in my formative years have done anything to help me now?
I say keep the lazy buggers going to school nice and early. It has them home and off the road long before I am getting off of work and trying to deal with traffic.
It's a dumb idea sure but I wish LIFE started later than it does. I'm definitely a night person and my day would be a whole lot better if it started at 10am. I'd get up, actually have breakfast and take my time about things. I hate waking up via the alarm clock. I'd much rather work later than start earlier.
Sounds like too much of the vampire life to me. However, in reality, does it not all go round in a circle? Kids on the night-shift; everything (well a lot of things) would have to be turned around. Parents- in order to supervise their extra curriculum would have to change their working hours; transportation, and a number of other support systems.... so the whole town / country is on a night shift just to support teens chat away on their messenger while thay play some computer game or other in between.... forget it, just let them blend in with the rest of us and get on with it. Y:-) Paddy with love.
I've always been a night person and luckily I found a job that caters to vampire tendencies. I never got the proper amount of sleep in high school. I just don't think it's realistic in most cases.
If I have to be up early to go to work, so does everyone else in the house! I think it's wrong for the working world and parents to adjust their schedules so their kids can sleep in. Does that really teach them responsibility? When they get tired of it, they'll go to bed earlier. It's a lesson I had to learn.
I don't think it's a good thing to tell the kids that everything will move to accommodate them. Or rather, I don't think making school open later is good. Whatever they're doing outside school takes just as long no matter what time school starts. So now they have to stay up later to get it all done. Plus, they'll have less daylight to encourage them to do anything outside, which means fatter kids. I don't know. I don't have a strong opinion on this, but I think it's more of the same old worthless and weak philosophy that has dominated the Western culture for the last many years. This is the sort of thing that my mother would do, but my father would not allow, if that tells you anything concerning my perspective.
I'm not impressed. It's simply a matter of going to bed earlier and starting your day earlier. They did this for generations... why all of a sudden do we "coddle" children now....
One day we'll have to swing back the other way...
Lots of discussion in the news about adults that have Mommy and Daddy call when they don't get a job or don't pass a test at Univ or or......
Maybe we should teach them independance and consquences... they did only a generation or 2 ago...
Huge soapbox of mine!!!
S.
THIS is what happens when corporal punishment gets taken out of schools.
Just sayin.
We are raising a bunch of pussies.
What's next?
Their backs hurt from sitting too long in class so they demand (And get) chair massages?
Manicures because they broke a nail while writing an essay?
Give me a break!
I DON'T blame the teenagers... I blame the hippie school administrations. Teenagers push the limits because they are LOOKING and EXPECTING to be given boundries.
We aren't doing their generation any favors by giving into their every complaint.
So they're tired!
Big deal!
Get off your damn cell phones and Myspace and get some fricken sleep!
Sorry, I'm venting.
:)
i hate mornings. though, when i was teen, i had to be to school by 6 am. i was in ROTC and we had drill practice in the mornings. school i think started at 745. anyhow, my point is that i was/am a night owl. always have been, BUT when i had to be awake and functional by 6, i was. nobody catered to me and moved drill practice and school an hour later. though, admittedly i'd have been happy with a noon start. i'm lucky that i have a job with a flexible start time, cuz there are certain parts of the morning i only see when there's a tee time involved. basically i'm saying these twats need to man up. i think i just rambled my way to comment that makes little to no sense.
I have always felt that the school for teens should start later they have done many studies showing that thier circadian cycle is set up to stay up later and sleep in. The only reason they have to go to school so early is to accomadate the rest of the world. If school started at 12 noon and went to 7pm it would be perfect but what about the rest of the family?
Hello Cassie. Very Interesting post. :)
I am a night owl. Even when I know I have to get up early, I find it difficult to sleep early.
Perhaps it's a question of habit... Perhaps it's because I live in Paris at the moment. I like the night because it's quiet, and the streets are almost empty.
Paris is beautiful at night... :)
My immediate thought is of single parent families, school at least fits (close enough) to Std working hours.... Imagine if it was moved to 10, it would make an already difficult situation more unpleasant.
I always loved early starts, i used to love my 0700 hrs lectures at uni... You dont waste the day when you are up that early:)
I can hardly talk as I work all afternoon shifts. It would be a great idea for some of us.
OK, I am really old, but if I got up late and missed the bus I walked to school and was in deep trouble if I was late. I think changing the time is absurd, spoiling the child who should be learning all of those things you mentioned..and just plain silly. Hello Cazzie.....I have a question...what is a chinwag? Friend?
I dun believe in starting anything LATE.
Keshi.
Andrew, same here, and I can see it with my little ones, they try to stay up later by pretending their "something" is sore or wanting a drink of water, etc etc. Essentially, I get them all into bed at 7:30pm on the knocker. We are so active that they just usually fall asleep the instant their head hits the pillow.
Stormin, yes, I do agree the kids will just stay up later when teens. I think some families have their kids stay up later because both parents work and the only time theyreally get to catch up is when they get home from work after battling the traffic or cancelled trains. Yeah, get them to school early like the rest of us did :)
M, I know, the title I Don't Do Mornings is not just my lame attempt at humour, LOL. I used to get up at 6am to get ready for the 7am bus to go to school from grade prep. When I was in Air Cadets, wake up call on camp was anytime from 5am. I didn't mind mornings then. Uni began at 9am, if the lecturer for 1st lesson turned up that is. I guess I got sleep deprivation after all these kids and I just don't get to sleep in any more :(
Make sure you do eat your brekky M, i is important for your brain 'food', :)
Paddy, everyone here has had such interesting responses to this post, but your ' blend in like the rest of us' ought to be THE slogan promoted..exactly.
Captain, me too, I love night shift the very best when I do get to do them. Mr Cazzie don;t apporve though, and says it fuggs us up in a bad way, so I just work arvo's now.
Mrs Coach, yes, responsibility is the key word, good one!
Memphis Steve, I get it, I truly do, it is a much of a muchness and like you said, no matter the time of day, a task will take just as long in the night as in the day. I am not worried my kids may get to start Secondary School later in the day, just that I want them to realise that the working world may not be like that, depending on what career they choose.
Farmwifetwo, indpendance and consequences, indeed :)
Alicia, yayyyy, ca you be my mummy please? I like your words, thing is, I agree with them.
Chud, welcome matey, and yes, I know what you are saying because I was in Air CAdets and we had early rise and sometimes late to bed. Then, at school we were started by 8:30 am or so, at Uni it was 9am.
Poody, I guess we would all be sleep deprived if we folowed the regimen of a teen, LOL.
Winters, PAris sounds lovely, I love working at night because as I drive home from work in the morning, the rest of the World is just on their way to work :)
Aidan, yes, single parent families, would find it difficult, especially if they themselves were back at school or entering the workforce if they had not worked in some time. Good thoughts.
I used to use my time to study when I woke up early, my brain liked new information early in the day.
Spark, yes, I work afternoons too. 12midday leave home, 10pm arrive home. I only work when my other half is not working, with 4 kids, the bill for childcare would be large. So we work it out that way.
Rosemary, I rode my bike to school once, but living 15 kilometres away from it I was dead tired when I got there, LOL.
Chinwag is to have a good old conversation, to have a 'chinwag' :)
QOD, short and sweet, just the way I like it :)
Keshi, haha, yeah, getb in early :)
Hey, did blogger eat my comment? :)
x
I started reading all the comments so I didn't double up but got half way and got too tired (maybe I should start my day later tomorrow - oh yeah, fat chance, I've got kids). So if I double up on what anyone else has said, sorry!!
This is just another example of the fucken idiots who are in managment roles making stupid fucken decisions based on some random fucken study that some pratt who probably gets paid thousands a week did! They wonder why our youth as so awful and it's because there are no consequences of anything.
From a holistic point of view, the human body is made to rise with the sun and slumber when darkness hits. It is a fact that the body functions at the best it can do when it is following the natural cycles of the sun and moon. I am a night person but more out of a lifetime of habits than a reality of my bodyclock.
This sort of pandering shit makes me livid. The NZ government has just given a bogan $100,000 to go do a study on bogan culture in NZ. WTF!!!!!! WTF is up with that?? How many old people could get cataract operations for that? How many people on waiting lists could get much needed treatment? No, no, don't keep a little country school open for another year, there's not enough money in the budget, we need it for the study on bogans!!
Gets down off soapbox and contemplates the state of her country. Fuck!
Princess, yes it did :(
When I was growing up, I had a B/W TV in my room and I kept it on low. Yes I stayed up late, and so do my kids. Although it drives my wife crazy, we all still get up before she does..
So I can't say anything!
Have a good day Cazzie!
G-Man xox
As an adult (albiet a young adult) I don't agree with the proposal at all.
(I sound like I'm at a town planning meeting)
But, honestly - the sooner kids learn to get over things and cope in the real world, the better their lives will be.
All this 'starting at lunch time' rubbish does is convince them that the ENTIRE WORLD can run to a new schedule - just for them.
G-Man, lol, I reckon you are right on the money there..my kids get up early even if they happen to have a late night... yeah.
Rosanna, get over it..yep, great slogan I reckon :)
I am a senior in high school and honestly, I like starting early. My school starts at 7:19 and we end at 2:00. I know alot of kids my age who would totally disagree with me but I know for a fact that if my school started an hour later than everyone would just go to bed an hour later. I like being done with school early because then I have more time in the afternoon to do stuff. While it would be ince to have the extra hour in the morning, if it would cause school to end later than I would rather keep the time the way it is now. Changing the starting time of a high school and making it later is not going to fix anything, it will probably only make things worse.
Cazzie,
I am guessing that a later start would make things difficult for working parents. You make a fine point about pampering the kids versus career preparation.
Goin2college, yes I agree..and thanks for visiting, I like to hear your insight.
MJD, indeed, wrapping in cotton wool is not on is it really.
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