Friday, March 20, 2009

Letting Teens Sleep In Is a Good Idea?

I say yes, DH says no. "The most productive time of the day is morning," which is why our school day begins at 9am at the latest. I have to agree that Wolfie has been very productive in the first hour study hall he has at the high school before German II.

However, my most productive time of day is noon to 2:30pm (second most productive time of day is 10:30 pm to 2 am), which dear DH, being a morning person, just cannot understand. Thus the ongoing battle at my house about bedtimes and school times.

Now it seems the head teacher (aka principal) at Hugh Christie Technical College, Tonbridge, Kent (UK) agrees with me. "[O]n Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays his 14- to 18-year-old pupils start lessons at 11.30am – because research suggests that that teenagers' brains work better if they get up later.

"Their punctuality and attendance has improved, their questioning and answering is better because they are more alert and the pace of lessons is often much quicker," Barker says."

I know such an experiment will not convince DH, but if there are any homeschooling families out there who need this bit of info to adjust your schedule more comfortably, you now have anecdotal research to support your decision.

1 comment:

Scatteredmom said...

Just wanted to drop by and say thanks for the kind note that you left on my blog, Notes From the Cookie Jar. The post that you commented on was written awhile ago and while often I still feel the same way, the High school years (well-he only just started gr 8 this year) have been so much kinder then Elementary so far. He's challenged and accepted, and we are SO happy. I'd love to include a link to your blog in my blog roll. Thanks! :)