Idle thought: As I see my daughters drag themselves out of bed at 6:30 a.m. and walk out the door at 7:05 to be at school for the 7:45 bell, I wonder who in the world thinks these gawd-awful hours are good for kids. So my queston is this: Why do we think it's wise to make kids begin their days at hours when a great deal of the working world remains idle? Or, to put it another way: Why do we ask more from our kids, who have every right to merely be kids and enjoy being kids, than we do from adults?
OK … I'm cheating … adding another question after four comments have been posted. But I have another school-related question.
My daughter's school, in its infinite wisdom, scheduled her for a first-period study hall. To even have study hall this early seems odd; do they actually want her to skip homework the night before and do it early in the morning? Of course not , the school says, she should "work ahead." Got it. Can't she just sleep in? Noooo. She's got to be there at the crack of dawn for study hall. So her experience this year started with a first period study hall on the first day. Get the picture? She had not had a class yet, but had a study hall to start the day. Administrators get Master's Degrees to make these kind of decisions. It would seem to me that a first-period study hall on day one would be a nice chance to let the kids relax, talk quietly, take it easy before actual class starts. But noooooooooooo. The teacher in charge actually yelled at the entire class because a couple kids were whispering to each other. YELLED at them. They were supposed to sit and not make a peep, which meant sit and be bored to tears for 45 minutes because THEY HAD NOT HAD A CLASS YET. I ask: What is up with that?
Oh … my other daughter. She lucked out. She got second-period study hall.
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Great Question- I've been frustrated over the same thing, too. Add to that how early this leaves kids out (around 3ish) around the community many with neither parent around and many with nothing to do. Doesn't make for a great scenario. Ironically, from what I've read and from conversations with educators one huge reason is athletics. High schools have to start so early a) because there are complex busing routes to be worked out with buses that also serve the middle and elementary schools and b) because of the many (wonderful) opportunities for after school practices, etc in all the athletic programming that takes place. No easy solutions, thats for sure. I was just recently shocked to hear how many little kids actually go hungry over the weekend because they don't have the school lunch program available; and this is right in my neighborhood. That is simply unacceptable.
The explanation I always got as a kid was the sake of extra-cirricular activities, namely the ones that needed to take place when it was still light outside. I never bought it. It was the same answer I got when I asked why elementary school kids, who are up at 5:45 and a ball of energy, got to go to school at 9am, but the junior high and high school kids, the ones in growth spurts and who need the sleep, had to be in at 7.
But yeah… It was the sports and extra activities that needed light. That was the reason I was always given.
In our district the buses have to do triple duty, hence some kids have to get up at such ridiculous times. I'm still having a hard time breaking the habit myself, as I had to get up with my daughter at 6 AM about ten years ago.
It does no one any good, but I think a lot of it has to do with the Puritan theories that school shouldn't be any fun.
I imagine that part of it is also for the benefit of the working parent, who has a job shift that begins at 8 or possibly 9 in the morning, allowing them to drop the kids off in the morning and still make it to work on time.
I especially agreed with this during high school. And even more especially after a weeknight of drinking.
To answer your second question, I agree with your perception of ridiculousness. Study halls when I were in high school were the same way, and I graduated in 2002, so we're not talking ancient history here. Study hall in our school was detention without being in trouble, for asking to go to the bathroom even merited a stern glare.
Perhaps what was even worse were the wonderful ways lunch periods were set up. We had nine time periods, and lunches were from fourth to seventh. Those who merited the fourth period lunch ended up with the wonderful lunch time of 10:30am! Those who ended up with seventh had to wait until 1:30, but you weren't allowed to snack on anything in class or in the halls, have a drink, or anything that might help you get through the day.
Schools take themselves too seriously, and it's what leads some of the smart kids to drop out. I still remember failing a persuasive essay in English class because the professor didn't agree with my opinion. I also got points taking off for using incorrect grammar in a quote. In a quote!
What a previous commenter said summarizes it the best: "It does no one any good, but I think a lot of it has to do with the Puritan theories that school shouldn't be any fun."
Post about schools, and watch the naysayers come out.
It wasn't that long ago that coaches like John Cheney (sp?) were praised for 6 a.m. workouts. Supposedly kept the players on the straight and narrow and kept them from staying up too late the night before. If I had 8 a.m. classes, I'd try and get in bed at a reasonable time.
When I was in high school, I liked earlier classes, in part because it made me more employable. My employer couldn't work me after 10 p.m. on week nights for most of my high school career, so that extra hour allowed me to work a 6-hour shift.
Aren't we really gagging at gnats on the first day, first period study hall kvetch? I'm pretty sure the reason the teacher was strict in his/her interpretation of study hall rules was because (s)he was setting the standard for the year. Many children, when given leeway at the start of the year will assume that anything goes for the rest of the year. So, for that one day they come to school, and they couldn't have brought a book or a magazine and read quietly? Really, was that asking so much? And are we really willing to make an issue of this?
Sorry, Kevin, can't agree with your lofty opinion on study hall. Aren't high schools supposed to be places for learning social skills, as well as book knowledge? You'd be surprised at the varied people you come in contact with during study halls, kids you'd never interact with otherwise. But when the study hall is run like a mute's prison, what good is that serving? Kids who *want* to study are going to make use of the free period, but to deny others the chance to even "whisper" to each other is utter nonsense. I echo others' sentiments: Why make school such a downer for kids? It only encourages their rebellion and desire to be there.
Nate, it may be "utter nonsense," but that's the way it's been forever. If I talked in junior high study hall, we were either swatted or got detention. Or both, and plenty of it. The kinda stuff that if they did it to kids today, they'd be arrested by the cops, then sued by the parents.
If kids want to "talk" in study hall today, then simply play with your text-messaging thingies. The same way they're all text-messaging each other while sitting in classes.
Nate, I respectfully and strongly disagree. There are opportunities in school for socialization — lunch, extracurriculars, some aspects of class. I'm sure their are other times. It's been a while, but several of my classes in high school allowed quiet socialization after work was completed. Classes like shop or home ec or yearbook or journalism allowed great liberties with talking in class (at appropirate times and at appropriate volumes).
Pat's rant just strikes me as silly. Typical study halls when I was in school could run to a hundred plus students in the cafeteria. Good luck with controlling noise in a group that size, and please note that the kids that actually want to study (albeit not on the first day, I suppose) are monumentally distracted by the noise.
It's called "study" hall for a reason.
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