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Let Teenagers Sleep

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Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#341

Post by alistairSH »

mjfl wrote: post #311
ajmurmann wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's another difference between Europe and the US. When I grew up in Germany there was a huge amount of sports available that were taught by volunteers. Soccer, judo, karate all for free even in the rural area I grew up in. I wonder if it's possible because everyone isn't constantly threatened by looming bankruptcy if they don't save big piles of cash.

The parent comment was a little misleading. In the US there is a ton of sports available for every student to join. Really the only people who don't play sports are those who don't want to.

Correct. I used to coach youth sports. There were waivers and “scholarships” available. Equipment was provided by the club (this was football and basketball). Coaches and other parents did the transport.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#342

Post by mcv »

lr4444lr wrote: post #3

I've gotta ask: is this really such a big problem in other countries? If not, are they starting school later? How are the successful ones dealing with it if not that way?

My teenage son gets out of bed at 7:50, then bikes to school, which starts at 8:25, I think. I got out of bed a bit earlier when I was a kid because I had to bike 10 km to school which started at 8:25.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#343

Post by irrational »

anthomtb wrote: post #275
joezydeco wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly why. We've been at our administrators for years and the response always is "the bus routes" but in reality it's because of the sports schedules. High school sports is a drain on the educational system, plain and simple. It lacks equity - an disproportionate amount of money is spent on very few children. The football coach in our HS has a Vice Principal title, so he doesn't have to teach classes but kn…

Does what you are saying about sports also apply to theater and music?

Probably. Jocks, drama kids, band kids, debate kids, various history/math/science team competitions, etc.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#344

Post by thewebcount »

raincole wrote: post #200
joezydeco wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly why. We've been at our administrators for years and the response always is "the bus routes" but in reality it's because of the sports schedules. High school sports is a drain on the educational system, plain and simple. It lacks equity - an disproportionate amount of money is spent on very few children. The football coach in our HS has a Vice Principal title, so he doesn't have to teach classes but kn…

After reading all of these I still think it's "the bus routes", or more generally speaking, "the commuting". I grew up in an asian country and my parents never picked me up after I was 10. I just took buses from home to school and then from school to home. I'm not saying our system is better than the US, but it's a bit of culture shock that everyone commutes in their (parents') cars there.

I think there are 2 different things being discussed here:

1. Commuting via school bus vs. parents' cars

2. Commuting via public bus

In the US, at least for the first 25 years of my life, most people I knew got to school by school bus unless they lived within walking distance or were old enough to drive themselves. Some kids parents would drive them, but it usually was either due to it being too cold to walk (or wait for the bus), a special occasion where they needed to bring in some large or fragile object for a project, or them being in an unincorporated part of the town that the school busses didn't serve. (I think this was fairly rare.) Since I don't have kids of my own, I don't know how it's changed in the last 25 years, but I still see school busses all over my current city (Los Angeles), so they're still a thing.

Where I grew up in a rural part of the MidWest, there were no public buses. Our town was too small for them to run efficiently.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#345

Post by jobs_throwaway »

lolinder wrote: post #77
jameshart wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sequencing in districts where high schools start earliest, then middle schools, then elementary feels backwards to me though. Elementary school parents who have jobs to get to wind up needing preschool care to fill that gap between their departure time and school start - high school age siblings aren’t even available to cover. Late elementary school drop off times impact parents’ options for work and commuting. H…

The staggering works best for the return from school. There are 2-3 hours at the end of the day where school is out but mom's not home yet, and having the high schooler finished by the time the 3rd grader is out means they can fill in that gap.

High school children spending hours a day covering childcare duties for their parents should not be the policy goal. That circumstance is a failure for the younger children to have proper activities/supervision after school.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#346

Post by gnarbarian »

stonogo wrote: post #316
worstestes wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah yes, Baltimore, the epitome of public transportation infrastructure

Way to shoot down an argument nobody was making. OP referred to safe, which Baltimore isn't, and yet kids take the public buses as the primary transit to and from school all over the city for the past several decades.

You know, now that I think about it. I bet the school buses aren't very safe in Baltimore either.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#347

Post by wyre »

fooker wrote: post #310
fdgsdfogijq wrote: post #17

As a teenager I was diagnosed with "ADD". Very intelligent, but unable to focus or complete assignments. My life habits were carb heavy unhealthy food (from the cafeteria), soda, lack of sleep due to long school commute, not much exercise As an adult, I eat no carbs, all meat and vegetables, I work from home and sleep in as far as I need every night. My thinking is laser sharp. They tried to medicate me with all sort…

>As an adult, I eat no carbs, all meat and vegetables, I work from home and sleep in as far as I need every night. My thinking is laser sharp. I need carbs to think. If I do not have rice for 3-4 days, I can not do research work. I can write code, or read papers, but new ideas or brainstorming others' ideas don't happen as naturally. Could be a genetic thing, I guess.

Maybe they mean no starch because vegetables certainly have carbs. For example, a cup of broccoli has 6g of carbs, a cup of kale has 1g, and about 5g in a tomato. Certainly a low-carb diet, but not no carbs.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#348

Post by geraldwhen »

joezydeco wrote: post #190
boringg wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's weird to discuss children as turning them into something profitable

When college costs six figures, you hope to break even. And that's a whole different ball of wax in America.

Most state universities cost nothing near this, especially if you discount room and board.

You need to live somewhere and eat, so it’s not sensible to include those costs with the cost of college.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#349

Post by alistairSH »

calt wrote: post #237
JenrHywy wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

6:15? Holy crap. High school here (Australia) starts at 8:50. And even then I think that's too early for natural teenage sleep patterns. My kids are lucky in that we're close enough to school that they can leave at around 8:15. When I was in high school I had to get the bus at 7:30, which was a real struggle. The idea of starting school at 6:15 is just pure insanity.

My public school in the US always started at 8:00. I've never heard of a 6:15 start time. Also, school was never a full 8 hours. So I'm confused about their reasoning.

My high schools first period started around 7:20. Not as bad a 6, but still too early IMO.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#350

Post by geraldwhen »

JenrHywy wrote: post #206
gabereiser wrote: post #57

The real blame for early high school is extra-curricular sports. Basketball, Football, etc. For those sports to thrive, teams need to practice, in order for practice to be efficient, it needs to be at least an hour. So 2 hours are allocated (suit up, practice, suit down). In order for children to be able to commit to 2 hours extra of their time BEFORE their parents get home (5pm), class would have to end by 3pm. Now,…

6:15? Holy crap. High school here (Australia) starts at 8:50. And even then I think that's too early for natural teenage sleep patterns. My kids are lucky in that we're close enough to school that they can leave at around 8:15. When I was in high school I had to get the bus at 7:30, which was a real struggle. The idea of starting school at 6:15 is just pure insanity.

I took an optional extra class at 630. It wasn’t bad; I just went to sleep earlier to compensate.
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