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The Curse of America’s Illogical School-Day Schedule
The Atlantic ^ | September 19, 2018 | Joe Pinsker

Posted on 09/20/2018 8:56:22 AM PDT by re_tail20

The world does not revolve around you, teens are often told. Indeed it doesn’t, as they are reminded every school-day morning when disabling their alarms. The average start time for public high schools, 7:59, requires teens to get up earlier than is ideal for their biological clocks, meaning many teens disrupt their natural sleep patterns every school day.

The world, apparently, does not revolve around parents either. Their lives also tend to be mismatched with school-day schedules, which usually end a good two hours before the typical American workday does. As Kara Voght recently wrote in The Atlantic, that leaves a daily gap of unsupervised time for many children, forcing their parents to find affordable care for their kid or to adjust their own working schedule.

Why does the school day end two hours before the workday?

It’s not entirely clear who the school day does revolve around. The schedules that dictate most of American K-12 life descend from times when fewer households had two working parents. The result is a school day that frazzles just about everybody. But a few changes could mitigate that frazzling significantly. “I don’t know about making everyone perfectly happy,” says Catherine Brown, the vice president of education policy at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank. “But I think that we could get much closer to optimizing for students, parents, teachers.” The school day, Brown says, could be improved in two main ways: It could start later, and it could go longer.

A later start, in both middle and high school, would help with the later sleep cycles that are typical in teenage years. Most teens don’t naturally fall asleep until about 11 p.m., and are supposed to get about nine hours of sleep per night. But when class starts before 8:30—as....

(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...


TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: cap; johnpodesta; podesta; school; soros
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1 posted on 09/20/2018 8:56:22 AM PDT by re_tail20
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To: re_tail20

It starts too early for teens’ sleep patterns, and ends too early for working parents. Does the country have to be stuck with it?


2 posted on 09/20/2018 8:56:39 AM PDT by re_tail20
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To: re_tail20

Just as a broken clock is right twice a day, once in a while, The Atlantic has an article with interesting ideas which just might be worthwhile in some ways.


3 posted on 09/20/2018 8:57:30 AM PDT by re_tail20
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To: re_tail20

And what about when kids used to live and work on a farm, should they just sleep till noon?


4 posted on 09/20/2018 8:58:02 AM PDT by a fool in paradise
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To: re_tail20

It should mirror the workday - 9am to 5pm, or 930am to 530pm.


5 posted on 09/20/2018 8:59:12 AM PDT by Ted Grant
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To: re_tail20

The curse of the 24 hour day.

The curse of the sun rising so early in the morning.

And least they didn’t blame it on Trump, but I didn’t read the whole article so who knows.


6 posted on 09/20/2018 8:59:31 AM PDT by Steely Tom ([Seth Rich] == [the Democrat's John Dean])
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To: re_tail20

End the public school experiment completely.


7 posted on 09/20/2018 9:01:51 AM PDT by Architect of Avalon
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To: a fool in paradise

What a pant load. If they get up nice and early every day (whether they feel like it or not) and put in a good day’s work, then they’ll fall asleep when their head hits the pillow and can get to bed earlier.

Many people’s sleep pattern doesn’t jive with their employer’s requirements. Thus the snooze button. Easier to change your sleep pattern than the working world.


8 posted on 09/20/2018 9:01:52 AM PDT by JudyinCanada
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To: re_tail20

My teen’s natural sleep pattern apparently ends about 11:30am based on his Saturday schedule.


9 posted on 09/20/2018 9:05:05 AM PDT by Rio
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To: re_tail20

This is idiotic
My day starts at 530 and work at 7 am
Get used to it snowflake


10 posted on 09/20/2018 9:07:45 AM PDT by Truthoverpower (The guvmint you get is the Trump winning express !)
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To: re_tail20

Maybe kids still need to be home by 2:30 to do chores on the farm? :)


11 posted on 09/20/2018 9:08:17 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ([CTRL]-[GALT]-[DELETE])
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To: re_tail20
Title SHOULD be....

Curse of America's Illogical Schools

12 posted on 09/20/2018 9:10:05 AM PDT by goodnesswins (White Privilege EQUALS Self Control & working 50-80 hrs/wk for 40 years!)
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To: goodnesswins

They need summers off to work the fields. Good for teachers don’t you think?


13 posted on 09/20/2018 9:11:25 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET (urope. Why do they put up with this.)
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To: re_tail20

Well, if school went until 5PM at least we’d quit hearing calls for government-funded after school child care.


14 posted on 09/20/2018 9:14:40 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: re_tail20

This again?

Maybe those sleepy teens should put down their phones and go to sleep at a decent hour.


15 posted on 09/20/2018 9:15:23 AM PDT by bgill (CDC site, "We don't know how people are infected with Ebola.")
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To: DIRTYSECRET
This garden, tended by students, was attached to a Pittsburgh elementary school 110 years ago. The school still stands. The garden is gone.


16 posted on 09/20/2018 9:16:42 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: re_tail20

“earlier than is ideal for their biological clocks”

I think mankind’s biological waking time is when it gets light out, regardless of clock time. We obviously can’t see in the dark and need to get as much done as possible (or at least before modern conveniences)


17 posted on 09/20/2018 9:18:46 AM PDT by Pollard (If you don't understand what I typed, you haven't read the classics.)
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To: Ted Grant

I’ve always had to show up at 7:45 to be on time for my 8:00 job. Most jobs are 8 hours. 9-5 is only 7.

Many of those sleepy teens will end up in jobs that are the graveyard shift. And, horrors of horrors, jobs that cut into their weekends. Deal with it. That’s reality. Welcome to it.


18 posted on 09/20/2018 9:18:50 AM PDT by bgill (CDC site, "We don't know how people are infected with Ebola.")
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To: JudyinCanada

Maybe this is a push for school dinners too. And then there are the after school programs (debate team, sports, etc). So the kids get home what 8 or 9 and night and then start their honework assignments???


19 posted on 09/20/2018 9:19:15 AM PDT by a fool in paradise
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To: re_tail20

Get government completely out of the business of education, and let private schools set whatever hours they want.


20 posted on 09/20/2018 9:20:28 AM PDT by NorthMountain (... the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
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