Page 6 - Mid Valley Times 11-7-19 E-edition

Thursday, November 7, 2019 | A6 | Mid Valley TiMes More Opinions
Why should California dictate a later start of school day?
By Ed Hansen
Guest columnist
It appears that the Cali- fornia Legislature was busy during the waning days of the 2019 legislative year. The Legislature sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a total of 1,042 bills this year. More than 70 per- cent of these bills landed on Newsom's desk when law- makers adjourned last month. One wonders what lawmak- ers did the other 11 months.
When the legal deadline to act had ended, Newsom had largely given the leg- islators what they wanted, which is tradition set by his long-serving predecessor, Jerry Brown. Our state legis- lators confuse creating bills with solving problems and progress. More bills simply equate to more bureaucracy and generally more taxes for all of us.
One of the last bills signed by Newson, on Oct. 19, was Senate Bill 328. This bill adds Section 46148 to the Educa- tion Code relating to school start times for pupil atten- dance. The bill requires that by July 1, 2022, the school day for middle schools and high schools — including charter schools — begins no earlier than 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., re- spectively. The bill also re- quires that school districts post specific information on its internet website concern- ing research on the impact of sleep deprivation affect- ing adolescents. It seems stu- dents have voiced about not getting enough sleep.
Nobody should argue against children getting ade- quate sleep. The real question should be why aren't they?
It's puzzling. Available statis- tics show that among middle school students, 57.8 percent report insufficient sleep with nearly 12 percent reporting sleeping fewer than six hours a night. It's even worse for high school students, where 72.7 percent reported insuf- ficient sleep with about 20 percent claiming to sleep fewer than six hours a night. Really, less than six hours a night? That sounds a bit hard to believe. Why not go to bed earlier?
Well, science argues that going to bed earlier is not the answer. Why? Because science says that when young people begin puberty, their biological clocks shift. So, they typically become sleepy later (as late as 11 p.m.) so they need to sleep later to get the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep each night. That all sounds believable, but what is disrupting children from get- ting the recommended sleep they require? Something seems to be missing from this scientific explanation.
One source of complaint is too much homework. It may be surprising to learn that elementary school children now are getting homework. The amount of homework for students varies from 10-20 minutes for first- and second- graders and progresses up to 120 minutes for 12th graders and sometimes more. But even that amount of home- work doesn't seem too far out of range.
If students get out of school between 3-3:30 p.m., why can't they go home and complete their homework before dinner time? Chanc- es are, most students delay
homework un-
til near bed-
time. Yet they
probably find
plenty of time
for "texting"
and playing
video games.
Maybe lack of
time management is the be- ginning of the problem.
Sports is another distrac- tion that normally requires time after school. No deny- ing that sports activities are a huge priority in this country. Many students and their par- ents live around participation in sports or related activities. A later end of the school day would extend the quit time for these activities which nor- mally begin after the regular school day. A later quit time may benefit some parents and not others.
Another potential cause for sleepy kids at school is the impact of "zero period" classes. Zero period classes are offered by many high schools, junior high and mid- dle schools. Classes offered during zero period usually fall into three categories: elective extracurricular classes (e.g. music, art); ad- vanced placement courses of- fering college-level curricula (e.g. physics); and, remedial classes. Some classes only are offered as zero period classes. Zero period classes meet before the start of the regular school day and begin about an hour before first pe- riod, often at 7 a.m. but some- times as early as 6:30 a.m.
If the scientific evidence is correct that many teens don't get adequate sleep, why would schools have zero peri- od classes starting that early?
Are teens taking zero period classes more motivated to rise wearily or are they being bullied to get up early?
Lest we forget, the reason schools began to start earlier was to accommodate parent work schedules. Most schools started later until the 1970s and 1980s. The earlier start time became necessary to more closely align with par- ents' work schedules. This be- came increasingly important as more women entered the workforce in the latter part of the 20th century. Earlier start times were desired to accommodate working par- ents who needed to have a safe place for their children after both parents left for work. Has the need for this earlier start time diminished, or is it being ignored?
There clearly is some- thing missing from the ex- planation of why adolescents report not getting enough sleep. Are parents even aware what time their chil- dren begin homework or go to be to sleep versus lying awake "texting," watching TV or playing video games? Sup- posedly, we have scientific studies that prove children need more sleep, but who sponsored those studies? Are there hidden agendas?
Maybe the answer that ex- plains why student don't get enough sleep is much simpler. If children "dawdle" away time after school instead of attacking homework, time management could be part of the problem. If parents let their children text, watch TV and play video games in their room instead of completing homework, that could be part of the problem.
And what about the lack of physical activity? Many kids do not get enough rigor- ous physical activity to keep them healthy and alert. It is a proven fact that physical ac- tivity, instead of sitting and resting will cut your risk of feeling tired nearly in half. Physical activity gives kids more energy throughout the day and helps them to stay focused.
Maybe the key to reducing feeling of sleep deprivation is as simple as monitoring use of technology, managing how children use their free time, and requiring more physical activity. Either way, why not let local school districts and parents manage their own school hours and the actions of their children? It hardly seems necessary to have the California Legislature pass laws mandating something that should and could be man- aged locally by parents and school districts.
We need to be concerned about young people who re- port being sleep-deprived, but we must ensure that we have identified the true causes for this manifestation and not allow unnecessary governmental interference into our lives.
Ed Hansen is a Navy Vietnam veteran and gradu- ate of Reedley College and California State University. He retired from the Treasury Department with 35 years of service. He's a published au- thor on Amazon and winner of "Freedom Foundation at Val- ley Forge Award" for writing. He enjoys personal writing of poetry and short stories, read- ing nonfiction material, and gold prospecting as a hobby.
Ed Hansen
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