Listen in to this conversation between two tenth grade boys:
"Dude. I listened to the audio book [of The Great Gatsby] because everyone was saying it's so good..."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. It was like my second thing of homework last night and it was like 9:30. I was at my desk and bro, I woke up at 6:30 AM -- AT MY DESK!"
"What?!"
"Yeah, so sleep deprived."
"You slept at your desk?"
"Yeah... head down on the table -- Totally fell asleep and slept like 9 hours."
"Was it good though dude? The audiobook?" his table mate asks him.
"It was. It's good. But dude, don't risk it. I SLEPT NINE HOURS and a whole OTHER BOOK was playing!"
There are so many things I wondered and thought about while listening to these learners:
- Do we assign too much homework?
- How much sleep do tenth graders usually get?
- Is sleeping nine hours a good thing?
- What do these high schoolers do between school getting out at 3:30 and dinner time?
- How do they manage their time?
- How do kids balance after school activities (the sleeper drives Formula 1 cars) and academics?
- Remember the sleep listen and learning popularity of years past? I wonder if he remembers anything he heard?
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Aw! Poor thing! I cringed when he said it was 9:30, and he was beginning a new homework assignment. I can remember when my daughter was a high schooler, she would stay up studying until midnight and would have to get up before 6 am. Ridiculous and soooo bad for brain health. You are asking good questions!
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the brain health! My son has had his share of late nights too. It's as if high school and homework is an unsolved mystery. I wish we educators could come to an agreement and a moratorium that truly put kids and wellness at the center.
DeleteIt's always cool to be a fly on the wall. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt's always cool to be a fly on the wall. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete“Don’t risk it.” I love the humor in that line. Kids are so busy. I suspect that kid who drives Formula one cars goes to the track for several hours every day to drive. Except in my Comm classes, which had a controlled curriculum, I tried to have conversations about workload and deadlines w/ students. I should have done that earlier in my career.
ReplyDeleteThat line got me too-- it was so funny in the moment. Glad I captured it. Thanks for sharing your reflections, Glenda.
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