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Poor Grades Tied to Class Times That Don’t Match Our Biological Clocks

news.berkeley.edu

191–200 of 458 posts

Re: Poor Grades Tied to Class Times That Don’t Match Our Biological Clocks

#191
During college, I used to play WoW. I think my biological clock was messed up because of it, not because that was my natural biological rhythm. Also, because of the amount of hours I put into WoW, I did not have many hours left to study, affecting my academic performance. Thus, I wonder if the performance is really linked to the biological rhythm, or rather that the biological rhythm is a sign of activities impacting academic performance.

Re: Poor Grades Tied to Class Times That Don’t Match Our Biological Clocks

#193

Poor Grades Tied to Class Times That Favor After School Football Practice. Seriously, much of America is so entranced by high school football that entire district schedules are oriented around ensuring ample practice time after school. It determines bus schedules and school start times for the entire district and all students.

The article doesn't support that, it doesn't make sense for a vast majority of school districts - especially inner city ones. Another commenter made more sense - early class times give parents time before work to prepare their kids for school. This football angle is ridiculous. If it were true, wouldn't colleges and universities suffer from the same standard?

College kids don't all start and end at the same time.

At big football schools, they do in fact offer the courses that the majority of football players take early in the morning.

But at least the rest of us could choose classes that started at 10am instead.

Re: Poor Grades Tied to Class Times That Don’t Match Our Biological Clocks

#194
post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All people are particular about their routines. Some to greater degrees than others. Are you familiar with the phrase: "There are two types of jobs, those you shower before, and some you shower afterwards."

What's that have to do with routine? You shower after manual labor jobs. That's just a matter of practicality.

Yeah, but that's at the end of the work day. Difference here. Though I just wouldn't shower in the morning.

Re: Poor Grades Tied to Class Times That Don’t Match Our Biological Clocks

#195
post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was so traumatizing about the showers available to you in high school? Because I certainly remember first period gym, and I just took a shower afterwards. Then I was right as rain.

My school didn't allow us to use the showers after PE. First period PE meant you could either minimize your participation or be sweaty all day. The showers were only available for the sports teams after school. Don't know how common that is.

I have never asked, but never saw anyone use the shower after PE at my school.

Re: Poor Grades Tied to Class Times That Don’t Match Our Biological Clocks

#196
post #98

This study was done on college students, not elementary and HS students, college students at Cal . There are a lot of caveats here and trying to apply them to elementary education is good, but outside the scope. Aside: If you really want test scores to improve, give the kids food. My SO is an educator and she's had kids come in that only get food at school. All weekend they may only eat a bag of Cheetos, sometimes up…

Yes, feeding low-income students is critical. However, we have to ask if the school-lunches provided are indeed better than a bag of Cheetos? I worked in the top 3 worst middle school in my state in the poorest city in my state, and I found their school lunches to largely be processed carbs like pizza, burger+fries with no veggies. The veggies that were on offer were in tiny sauce-containers that hardly any of the ki…

> However, we have to ask if the school-lunches provided are indeed better than a bag of Cheetos?

I think that we can answer that question with a fairly emphatic 'yes'.

Re: Poor Grades Tied to Class Times That Don’t Match Our Biological Clocks

#197
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Teach health? Sex Ed? Preparation and setup? My PE teachers in JHS and HS were more than just PE teachers. Was my school just an outlier?

It depends on the school and the state. I went to a small district where they shared roles. My wife went to a huge school where the PE teachers taught only PE and were paid coached as well. In some districts, you need certification in a subject... a gym teacher can’t teach math.

And they couldn't be certified for both? In NRW, Germany afaik (almost) all teachers have two or more roles.

Re: Poor Grades Tied to Class Times That Don’t Match Our Biological Clocks

#198
post #98

This study was done on college students, not elementary and HS students, college students at Cal . There are a lot of caveats here and trying to apply them to elementary education is good, but outside the scope. Aside: If you really want test scores to improve, give the kids food. My SO is an educator and she's had kids come in that only get food at school. All weekend they may only eat a bag of Cheetos, sometimes up…

Agreed. Many schools (my kid's school) also provide 'weekend packs'. It's hard to know how much of that gets to the kids, but poverty is a hell of a problem.

Re: Poor Grades Tied to Class Times That Don’t Match Our Biological Clocks

#199
post #115
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember nothing worse in High School than waking up showering and getting dressed for school, only to have PE class first period.

What was so traumatizing about the showers available to you in high school? Because I certainly remember first period gym, and I just took a shower afterwards. Then I was right as rain.

At least in my high school gym class, you weren't given enough time at the end to both shower AND get to your next class on time.

Re: Poor Grades Tied to Class Times That Don’t Match Our Biological Clocks

#200
post #115
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember nothing worse in High School than waking up showering and getting dressed for school, only to have PE class first period.

What was so traumatizing about the showers available to you in high school? Because I certainly remember first period gym, and I just took a shower afterwards. Then I was right as rain.

It was partly social consequence, and party not wanting to be late for class. Since no one used the showers, the ones who did were usually considered weird or creepy. Even more so when the showers are open designed and you are naked in front of the entire locker room(high school only I think). The bigger half though is not wanting to be late for class. Most schools operate on a 5 minute timer between classes and even being a few seconds late is grounds for punishment. Being that you rarely ever get into the locker room and dressed back into your day clothes before the class is over, you're already pressed for time before you even consider using the shower.
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