Scheduling early morning classes for students
Danielle DeNicola
October 10, 2013
ADV – 3500-001
A Bad Idea:
Students fall asleep in class
Test scores drop significantly
Higher risk for injury
Lifestyle conflicts
Falling Asleep Facts:
In an article published in the New York Times, Nancy Kalish states that teenagers and young adults stop producing the neurological chemical melatonin, responsible for sleep, before 8 a.m. This chemical is proven to not start being produced until around 11 p.m. at night, meaning that students will not be tired enough to fall asleep until after that time. According to the article, around 28% of students fall asleep in his/her first class of the day. Why is this so bad? If students are literally falling asleep all morning, his/her morning classes are essentially a waste of time and money. If you cannot control this aspect of your body, then it isn’t your fault you can’t pay attention. Students are getting cheated out of his/her education if they are forced to take these classes because the majority of them are physically unable to pay attention. Some of these students don’t even attend class because of how exhausted he/she feels, no matter what time the student went to sleep.
Test Score Facts: The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA, Inc) revealed that test scores for teenagers and young adults were dramatically worse in the morning than when given the same test in the afternoon. These students also reported feeling drowsy throughout the rest of his/her day.
Why is this so bad? Each university uses test scores and student performance as “reputation.” If a university has horrible test scores, students dropping out, and/or failing then that school will definitely not be held in high regards. If we want our university to be respected, and if we want to take our student recruitment seriously, we have to improve student performance. If this is directly correlated with sleep and early classes, it would make no sense to continue down this path.
Injury Facts: An article published in The Exponent states that students who have classes that start at or before 8 a.m. are now starting his/her day off in the dark. This leads to a higher risk of violence and crime. Continuing, in the winter the streets, roads and sidewalks are all icy and wet. Not only will students not be able to see this ice on the ground, but will also not be able to see other dangers around them. There are various programs available to protect students who are alone in the dark at night, but what about the students alone in the dark in the morning?
Why is this so bad? Along with the student’s intellectual performance, safety is also a tremendous issue among student recruitment. When choosing a university, students will often consult his/her parents. Parents, being concerned for their children’s safety, will almost always be turned off to any public relations nightmare regarding any sort of violence attached to the school. In order to improve the number of students attending our university, our university must be a nontoxic destination.
Lifestyle Facts: The National Research Center for Women & Families hosts an article regarding the positive correlation between sleepiness and impaired judgment. Dr. Diana Zuckerman writes that sleep deprivation directly mimics the effects of alcohol. This