To Sleep Perchance to Sleep

Having a wee puppy in the house reminds me why I'm glad my children are now children and not bawling infants.  But at least as bawling infants, the boys didn't leave steaming piles of feces around the house, they left it in their pants.

Heffley has decided that whining at all hours of the night is an effective way of getting attention.  Good plan since it works.

There was also the Falcons game going late into Thursday night and a flu shot and... Well, I'm tired.

In class, we are learning about the Mexican political system.  I really enjoy teaching it and discovering new aspects of it with my students.  But I was losing the thread often, and I couldn't summon the usual energy that can sometimes also energize my class.

We've learned a lot about concussion over the last few years and the very dangerous long term damage that can be done to the brain.  Our students do ImPact testing to help assess their neurological function as a baseline and then compare it to a post-concussive state.  They follow rigorous protocols and stringent safety measures, because there's no sense sharpening their minds in the classroom and then blunting them on the playing fields.

But it occurs to me that sleep deprivation - while absent the long term effects of concussions - similarly degrade the brain.  As one of my students said today, "Lack of sleep is like a learning disorder."

That's exactly right.

Your cognitive abilities are impaired, your short term memory is shot to hell, like a member of a Cheney hunting party, and you can't verbalize your thoughts properly.

So why in the hell does our school day start so early?  In our case it's 7:50am, but most schools start around 8am, so we're hardly unique.

There's ample evidence that starting the school day later improves student performance.  There's also evidence that a teenager's natural circadian clock has them sleeping from midnight to 10am.

So why do we start so early?

Part of it is a need to "stay on schedule".  Students need to take 5-6 academic classes including arts.  They need some physical activity and other extracurriculars.  They need to prepare for the next days classes.  And there simply aren't enough hours in the day.  So sleep suffers.  For the students, for the teachers, for everyone.

I think part of it is the same logic that keep medical interns awake for hours on end, because "we always did it that way."  I wonder how many people die in emergency rooms from sleep impaired interns and residents?  I wonder how many bright students sleepwalk their way through school?

And all because we live in a sleep deprived culture.  Parents think nothing of the lack of sleep their kids get considering they themselves are eeking by with 6 hours a night themselves.

The three best reasons to teach are June, July and August.  And when Obama talked about extending the school year, I choked on my own tongue.

But if the school year were expanded, it should not be to cram more "stuff" into a daily bag that is already bursting at the seams.  It should come with later starts and a more relaxed pace.

It should be for the benefit of the students.  It should not be for the benefit of "reformers" who want to be seen doing more rather than doing better.