Teen Brains and Sleep

Something I've wanted to change for a while now is school start time for my teens who wake at 6:00 and 6:30 for school and who verbalize that the early rise is a problem for them, especially my 9th grader who has social studies, math, and science classes first thing in the morning...

NBC Nightly News on the web April 13, 2011

Stay up until midnight and sleep until noon?...
The latest studies out of Brown University and Bradley Hospital show that the mid to late teenage years require more sleep for their brains, possibly to recover from the daily assault of information as their brains are maturing and preparing for adulthood... Dr. Mary Carskadan says they need a minimum of 81/4 to 81/2  hours a night.

NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams

What compounds the problem today is the amount of late day distractions for teens... cell phones, electronic media, and other activities that extend their day later and later.  This lack of sleep may contribute to problems such as ADD, Obesity, and Depression in teens.

NBC Nightly News on the web

Parents please let your school know if this is a problem for your kids... sleep deprivation needs to be addressed in a serious way.  

One of the school districts in our area (Long Island) has changed the schedule and the high school starts at 9am with the elementary school starting in the early am slot... let's speak out at the next Board of Education meeting and let it be known.

Walls of Snow

Everything looks different with THREE foot plus snow banks everywhere I turn while I'm driving... WHITE OUT!  When you're a person who uses visual landmarks to find your way around, even a familiar place, it's a little disorienting.  Instead of a mailbox or shrubs marking a spot,  eyeing massive white walls in their stead has thrown me off causing me to miss turns... Have you experienced this or not?
What perturbed me this morning were not the walls of snow but my forgetful number# 2 son.  When we were turning into the school parking lot this this morning at 6:58 (a 12 minute ride) for jazz band practice my son says, "Oh no mom, I forgot my backpack, drumsticks and music.  I'm really sorry!".  As I felt the heat rising up my neck I look over only to see that he is equipped with his headphones and ipod, that he doesn't forget... EVER!
Sucker that I am, I turned around and made another round trip along the route that I already so detest every Tuesday and Thursday morning... so you see how my morning went.  Oh, and at least this morning I was dressed, not like some mornings when I throw on a coat over my pajamas.  Although I had no makeup on (scary) and had to bring the backpack into the office, no one was there so I labeled it, put it on the shelf for pick up and left... phew!

So how was your morning?

  

A.P. Redesign!

photo Erik Jacobs; illustration Stephen Webster

Now that my high school freshman is looking at taking AP courses, I've suddenly been thrown into the world of AP courses trying to quickly educate myself about the in's and out's or better the pro's and con's of such higher education.
My son got a letter recommending him for AP Art History and when I asked around about it I was disappointed to hear about the tremendous amount of memorization involved in the course.
So when I picked up the NY Times this weekend, my disappointment turned to optimism for the future of my kids' educations.
The NY Times article, "Rethinking A.P.", says that the A.P. College Board is changing the courses for the better, making the courses more about critical thinking and less about memorization.  They will start rolling out the first revamped courses starting in 2012-2013 "Major revisions to physics, chemistry, European History world history and art history will follow, with the hope of being ready for exams in 2014 or 2015.

Erik Jacobs for the NY Times

While the number of students taking the A.P. Biology test has doubled since 1997 the median scores have dropped to 2's and 1's which equates to C's and failing grades!

I'm encouraged about these overdue changes... Finally!!!

Tour YOUR Artwork!

Calling ALL... "Anyone - from anywhere in the world - can be a part of the project."... ARTISTS! 

The Sketchbook Project...

The Brooklyn Art Library is running a project where artists receive a sketchbook for $25, fill it with artwork loosely based on a pre-chosen theme, send it back to them by the deadline and it will tour the country in galleries and museums.

It's a simple idea and a great way to get yourself and your creative kids to put their ideas on paper for the world to see!

Oh, and teachers there is an educational and group discount available.

The Tour...

Examples of previous sketchbooks...

The deadline to sign up is October 31st, 2010 and books are limited.  I will have the link (see above right) posted on my blog until the deadline.

I will be choosing a theme for mine in the next few days.  Can't wait for you to join the tour with me!

First Day of School

This is what the first day of high school looked like for my first time high schooler son.  I needed binoculars...

It's about 6:45 am and I know to stand far enough away (in the driveway) so as not to embarrass him.  I know my place and he's sensitive about my feelings so he wouldn't say, "Oh Mom, go away" or something to that effect...  

Now my middle schooler is different, he shooed me back to the front porch in the all to familiar tired and cranky mantra of a 12 year old pubescent boy with attitude...

... he won't admit it but he liked the surreptitious hug and kiss I gave him (so much for the tough guy) before meandering back to a spot on the front porch where I was comfortable sipping my coffee, thinking about the start of a new chapter for all of us.  

I even had to light a fire under our sleepy dog who's used to waiting for the bus with the kids.  As our dog lumbered down the driveway to his buddy, I know my son took comfort in the old routine.

How was your first day of school send-off today?