Charging Kids Too Much

No this isn't about any of the hated student fees or charges that are becoming far too common amidst declining state support.  It is about something even more important.

I ask you to imagine:

A bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. And that is the only downside to it all.  Every evening it deletes whatever part of the balance you fail to use during that day.
What would you do?

Most would make sure they use every last cent.  Anyone who doesn't is a fool. And those who realize this and still leave change in the deposit is a bigger fool. Right?

Well each student has such a valuable bank. They do not have to open an account. But such an account belongs to them since the day they were born. In fact, we all get to use such an account. It's called TIME.

The cost of education is more than money.

Every of us is credited with 86,400 seconds each and every day. And every night it writes off as lost whatever you have failed to invest wisely. It carries no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account. Time lost is time lost forever. 




One thing I have noticed over the past few years in my division is how busy everyone seems to be.  I know for me trying to raise two kids, be a husband, teach 6 classes, coach and also find time for me among a thousand others things is tough.  I cannot imagine what it is like for a student in high school.  I often feel sorry when I assign homework or projects that as an educator I know is worthwhile.   They smile less, seem stressed and generally seem to find less joy in school.

I quit Facebook.  No one noticed.

Some students choose to spend that money in big chunks and take 5 or 6 AP classes, play multiple sports and volunteer time for charities.  I know some waste hours on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Texting, SnapChat and a handful of other social media sites  So what?  It is their time.  Others have less choice and in the midst of being saddled with 8 classes in order to graduate, they work, help raise their brothers and sisters and provide for their families.  

All the while, others that are far removed from the true cost of things very callously "bill" us all with more time.  Be it at the federal, state or local level the upward push has meant more and more of our $86,400 is already spoken for.  The addition of a personal finance credit, an online course, individually don't amount to much.  But they add up quickly.

How refreshing would it be to just speak up and say, "No, this is my money(time)", "I will not spend it doing that".  Not spoken in a defiant tone but one that seeks control.  Real Choice. Opportunity to spend our money in a manner suitable to our own wants and needs.  Not those of a bygone era.   Longer days and extended schools years be darned.

Some things will never change

I do not favor abandoning the traditions of the past and replacing them with flashy and shiny alternatives on the exterior that have no enduring value.  Nor am I suggesting that technology could ever begin to serve as a substitute for genuine and honest human interaction between teacher and pupil.  But we must explore the plurality of ways we can best prepare our kids for each day, as it comes.  We must recognize testing has its place as long as we know its purpose.  Labeling something a "requirement" must not be due to a fad or pressures of the day. Instead we'd reserve that label for those things we deem absolutely essential for a member of a democratic society to endure.

My students and time spent on work

Decision makers and reformers must recognize and appreciate the the value of time.  We know they are concerned about money and budgets.  But time is a form of currency and they are too often spending it for us.  They must acknowledge that the price they are charging is beginning to be excessive.  When given a choice, they should choose quality over quantity and not charge kids too much. 

In so many ways

Suburban Problems

In the Hebrew Bible, God provided for his people as they wandered through the desert. It never states that “God helps those who help themselves,” but while God provided the “manna from heaven” the people had to gather and collect for themselves.

Interestingly enough, they were not allowed to collect more than they needed. If they tried to double up on Monday so they could sleep in on Tuesday, their food would be spoiled by the morning. Except on Friday. No work on the Sabbath meant a little extra prep was needed to make sure one could take a day of rest.

So today, we ask if our students are overworked and/or too fatigued to learn.

Some systems are adjusting their start times to align with the natural sleep patterns of students. High schools and middle schools in our division all start between 8:50 and 9:05. It seems to work. My morning students are typically engaged and active. They don’t show significant signs of fatigue and typically, class averages in my morning classes are higher than those that follow.

Too nice to be the basement.

By the fourth block of the day, it’s a different story. My third and fourth block classes typically have two or three students that are likely to doze off during less engaging class activities. Energy levels are noticeably different. We frequently discuss the effects and importance of sleep in the context of the Psychology curriculum and at over half of my students report less than seven hours of sleep on a regular basis during the week.

By starting school at 9:00 a.m., the final bell rings at 3:45. If a student has a part-time job or participates in a sport, let’s start their shift or practice at 4:15. By 6:30 they’re leaving work or practice for home. A quick shower or break to decompress and it’s at least 7:00 pm. If they take time to enjoy a real dinner (perhaps even with family) and help out a little with preparation and clean-up it’s probably approaching 8:00 p.m. Assume this student is a senior and following the ten-minute per grade level homework rule has 120 minutes of work (most of my students would assert this is an underestimate by far) it is now 10:00 p.m. If the student needs to prepare for bed and start settling down by 11:00 to ensure being asleep by 11:30, thus guaranteeing eight hours of sleep, that leaves an hour of “discretionary” time.

An hour to watch t.v., read a book for pleasure, talk to friends, hang out with family, practice guitar, go to church, attend a basketball game, volunteer, etc.

I’m not a fool. I know that some kids get home from school by 4:30 and sit in front of the television, video games, or online until after mid-night.

What does this have to do with “manna from heaven?”

Perhaps God’s plan in the story was to teach the Hebrews in the desert that just because it’s there doesn’t mean you need to take it. You can over-achieve and collect more than you need, but in the end, what you have is rotten and spoiled.  And you’ve likely missed out on something you can never get back to get it. Sometimes it’s necessary to put in extra work, but when you do, it has a purpose. Getting a little ahead of life from time to time allows you to take a break and prepare for a new season of effort without stressing over everything that’s left undone.

The Hebrews needed guidance from their God to learn this lesson and our children need a higher guidance to learn it as well. It is a system issue, and it cannot be solved by the individual effort of students, parents, teachers, or administrators. It requires a cooperative effort from all involved to manage expectations and balance the drive to provide opportunities with the reasonable limitations on what students are allowed to do.

Of course, that only addresses the problem of kids who have ample opportunities and the means to take advantage of them, which leaves us with a whole different set of challenges to face.

How Much is Too Much?

Let's dismiss for a moment all the academic things schools do.  I suggest this since I admit readily that kids learn as much  (perhaps more) about life outside of my classroom as in it.  I strongly believe that the rich nature of the experiences that kids encounter in school best enables them to succeed and thrive.

But, that is not why schools exist.  Schools were created to teach our young people what society determines they need to know.  For better or worse, this is how students and teachers are measured.  If a kid does not "get" what they need, the school shares an increasing amount of the responsibility.

In recent years the pressure has grown to maximize what kids learn.  Few would argue with the idea that we should try to teach all kids more.  What sometimes goes unnoticed is the price paid for such efforts and uniformity and even volume.  NCLB was clearly motivated by efforts to better serve populations that were traditionally underserved in public schools.  But it turned into a monster that must be fed. 

It’s not as much about what is taught as it is about what is measured.  We grew so eager to measure what kids learn that we’ve made the measurement the point.  With so much additional focus on testing, something has to go to make room.  Trying to keep good, fun, quality learning becomes a greater challenge by the day.

So, something’s gotta give.  There is just not enough time.  We could go to school every day all year. The problem would still exist.  

 Time has come today

Young hearts can go their way

Can't put it off another day

I don't care what others say

They say we don't listen anyway

Time has come today

Those are prophetic words indeed.  I see the relationship of these words to education as we continue to fit more and more into a full glass.  The constant is not the length of the school day or calendar, it is the fact kids are people.  More accurately they are young people.  They need time for themselves.  They need to decompress.  They need downtime. 

Each year it seems we ratchet up the pressure on them to do more to the point where the phrase joyless childhood might even apply to some.  Though I think of Chinese schools first with this description, I hear more and more from anguished parents and students who are reaching the breaking point.   

Most conversations about time come back to the topic of how much time students spend on homework.  I am aware that homework now consumes a significant portion of my students’ lives.  They have trouble finding the proper balance.  For too many it amounts to spending too much or none.  I always laugh at how we now control their access to sugar, fried foods, websites and the like but don't seem to recognize or seek to help them choose an appropriate course workload.

So how much is too much?  With 9th graders it is among the most commonly asked question. 

Our division moved from a schedule of seven periods to eight periods two years ago.  Is this too much?  Who knows, but is certainly has become for a number of students.  Maintaining high standards and continuously increasing achievement with a greater volume of coursework conflicts with some basic notions:  We want kids to enjoy school so that they choose to participate, we want kids to develop a love of learning, we want kids to be kids and have the freedom to explore a diversity of opportunities outside of the school environment.

A recent article from the Atlantic puts a focus on how much this emphasis on quantity and volume of instruction might impact our children.

"Since about 1955 ... children's free play has been continually declining, at least partly because adults have exerted ever-increasing control over children's activities," says the author Peter Gray, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology (emeritus) at Boston College.  

Even in the form of additional opportunities and offerings, educational requirements are adding to the ever-increasing adult control of children’s activities.

The article concludes by saying:  

   

When parents realize the major role that free play can take in the development of emotionally healthy children and adults, they may wish to reassess the priorities ruling their children's lives. 

Perhaps it is not only parents who need to reassess priorities.

  

This article on "Play" of all things helps keep things in perspective.  

http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/10/all-work-and-no-play-why-your-kids-are-more-anxious-depressed/246422/