March 29, 2010

Finally, A School That Understands Teenagers!

By Jaanki Dave - 478 words

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You're lost in the world of dreams and sleep. You roll over, smiling as you encounter a swimming pool filled with chocolate. And then 'poof' - Your wonderful dream becomes a nightmare where someone is screaming "GET UP!!" - No this isn't some boot camp, but just what every teenager goes through each morning!

Now, there seems to be one school that finally understands that requiring teens to show up at the ungodly hour of 9.00am is not just cruel but also detrimental, to both the kids and the school.

The Monkseaton High School in North Tyneside, Britain recently decided to experiment to see if there is any difference in student behavior if they just pushed back the start of their day by one hour, from 9.00am to 10.00am - And the results as we teens could have told you, are . . . . . . astounding.

Since implementing the later start, Monkseaton has seen a 28% drop in truancy, hardly any tardiness, and best of all, higher test scores. One of the reasons of course, is that the teenagers are much happier to have the extra hour of sleep, but there is also a scientific reason behind why they need the extra sleep.

The school's decision to push back the time was based on research conducted by Oxford professor Russell Foster, a neuroscientist, who concluded that teenagers have different sleep cycles than adults. Why? Because in young adults, the hormone melatonin that induces sleep, is secreted later than it is in adults, explaining why teenagers go to bed late and wake up late.

While adults are alert and ready at 8 AM, adolescents are not fully awake until 10 AM, sometimes even noon. Memory tests prove that the more difficult classes should be in the afternoon when teenagers are most alert.

Teachers may argue that their students perform better in the morning, but in reality it is because they in "the zone" while their students are still mildly sedated, making the students easier to control. By lunch, teachers are exhausted and kids are ready to go, giving the impression that students lose concentration over the day.

According to the scientist, teenagers remain 2 time zones behind their adult counterparts from ages, 13-21. After that, this time shift slowly reverses, so by the time a person approaches 50, they are waking up at the same time they did when they were 6.

The Monkseaton school officials are definitely encouraged by the results and plan on voting in June to make it a permanent change - Now if only the rest of the high schools in the world would listen and follow their example, and allow all teens could get some extra zzzz's. Personally, as a tired sixteen year-old, a late start would help me and my chemistry grade tremendously . . . . . .Is anybody listening?

sources: dailymail.co.uk,blog.taragana.com

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Geography

North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom

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View Comments321

325 Comments

cocolletteabout 9 years
my school starts at 7:50. :(
1 Reply
leeza915about 9 years
my school starts at 8:30 but i have to get up at 6 to catch the bus
1 Reply
peashooterabout 9 years
I AM TIRED!!
2 Reply
peashooterabout 9 years
I WANT TO GO THERE!!
2 Reply
- fluffykittypawsabout 9 years
  so do I
  0 Reply
magconabout 9 years
hahah so funny
1 Reply
happypug12about 9 years
We should all write a story together on Dogo News! That would be really fun!
6 Reply
- bigmeloabout 9 years
  I bet if everyone chips in, this is going to be the best story (on an online kids' website) ever! :)
  1 Reply
- puglover67about 9 years
  Oooh I love writing! It would be so cool to join in! :D
  1 Reply
  - happypug12about 9 years
    You can join too, puglover67!
    1 Reply
- crystalmoriabout 9 years
  Oh my gosh! That would be super fun! What should it be about? Let's all come up with ideas and then decide.
  4 Reply
  - nikukyuabout 9 years
    Can I join in? This sounds super fun!
    1 Reply
    - happypug12about 9 years
      Yes, you can, nikukyu! Anyone who wants to can join in at any time.
      1 Reply
      - animefan3about 9 years
        Can I join happypug12
        1 Reply
        happypug12about 9 years
        Yes, you may, beautifulgirl!
        1 Reply
      - bibliophileabout 9 years
        Could I also join to??? This is so cool... after all I love writing!!!!
        1 Reply
        happypug12about 9 years
        Yes, you can, bibliophile! Actually, you don't have to ask to join; anyone can join! The more people we have, the more imagination, the more fun!
        2 Reply
        peacheslarueabout 9 years
        Do you think its OK if I join?
        2 Reply
        bigmeloabout 9 years
        Sure you can! Everybody's welcome here!
        1 Reply
  - happypug12about 9 years
    Ok, crystalmori. Hmm, how about we write about a fantasy school that trains kids who failed their fairy tales to fight Story Raiders, people who try to destroy fairy tales, but then the school is attacked by them and most everyone is taken prisoner, except for a couple kids and a grumpy gray cat that can talk. That's just my idea, feel free to ignore it if you don't like it and think of a different one.
    4 Reply
    - bigmeloabout 9 years
      That sounds great, happypug12! I was thinking of this story idea in a dream (just a suggestion to put out there) - a twin girl & boy lose everything they have - their family, their fortune. The only thing they have left is each other. The newly orphaned children are recruited by a confidential organization that trains outcast juveniles to assassinate world leaders who are corrupt with power. Growing up to be ruthless, cold-blooded murderers, the twins are inseparable, with a bond that cannot be broken. Only then, as they receive their first mission, do they become aware that there can only be one. Their first mission is to fight each other to the death. Both refusing to take part in their first mission, the twins are faced with either being slaughtered or forced into exile. Together, they realize that the only way out of their situation is escape. When they break out of their cells, it results in a massive manhunt - that is, on the global scale. Do you think it's any good? Let me know!
      5 Reply
      - nikukyuabout 9 years
        Maybe we should write a sentence randomly! Like "continue the story" game.
        0 Reply
      - nikukyuabout 9 years
        I love it, bigmelo! But I'm always disappointed when a really good story ends with the characters waking up. You can just ignore me if you don't think so, though-its really good!
        3 Reply
        bigmeloabout 9 years
        It's ok! I love to hear opinions & different perspectives on my ideas!
        2 Reply
        happypug12about 9 years
        Well, I think what bigmelo is saying is that she got the idea for her story when she was dreaming, nikukyu.
        0 Reply
      - happypug12about 9 years
        It sounds awesome, bigmelo! I love it, but let's wait before we start on it for other people to share their ideas. You have an awesome imagination!
        1 Reply
        bigmeloabout 9 years
        Ok! Thanks a lot for the feedback!
        1 Reply
        happypug12about 9 years
        Your welcome, bigmelo! If anyone would like to start writing bigmelo's story, like her comment. If you want to write my story, like my comment. And if you have an idea for a different story, share it! I want to write bigmelo's story!
        1 Reply
        crystalmoriabout 9 years
        I was thinking we could actually combine the two stories. While the twins are running all over trying not to get caught, they stumble on this secret library. There they open a magical book that takes them to the land of the fairytales, where they make friends with the people from the magic school who are left, and help them rescue the others. But then the governments looking for the twins find out about the book and are going to destroy it, which would mess up the whole fairytale world, like maybe break it apart or something. So that book is the core of everything, and they have to save it. The twins consider just going back and then trying to escape again, but the friends they've made in the fairytale world won't allow it. Instead, they all go and wage war against the governments, which results in a whole bunch of social reform. What do you think?
        3 Reply
        bigmeloabout 9 years
        Wait - what if we could make a mega-mash up of all the story ideas we've created so far, plus some new ones? If you think the idea's cool, let me know!
        0 Reply
        crystalmoriabout 9 years
        That would be really awesome, but I think it might get too complicated. We could probably fit in one or maybe two more ideas, but after that I think it would just get too crazy and sidetracked and wind up having no plot at all. It would be fun, though :)
        2 Reply
        bigmeloabout 9 years
        True... :)
        0 Reply
        crystalmoriabout 9 years
        Of course, many minor ideas can still be fit in, but what i'm saying is that we shouldn't have more than 2 or 3 main plot ideas going on at once. Anyway, that's just my opinion, but I wanted to clarify because those little details like the one nikukyu suggested are really valuable.
        1 Reply
        happypug12about 9 years
        If we are having trouble thinking of ideas for our story, I have a solution. My solution is: Everyone who is writing the story comes up with ONE RANDOM WORD. We use all those words to create an amazing story.
        0 Reply
        crystalmoriabout 9 years
        I think we should decide what world we should start out in,.Then we need to decide how many people are left form the magic school and figurte out their names and personalities, and names and personalities for the twins. What do you think?
        1 Reply
        bigmeloabout 9 years
        Ok! :)
        1 Reply
        nikukyuabout 9 years
        The twins HAVE to be boy-girl! I know! Maybe in some point of the story, the twins could act like the same person in different places( we'll have to make them more or less identicle to do that though)
        2 Reply
        bigmeloabout 9 years
        Oh, cool! I think it would make the book sound really unique. :)
        1 Reply
        happypug12about 9 years
        Well, there are some details we'd have to change, but it could work, crystalmori.
        0 Reply
        nikukyuabout 9 years
        Ohhhhhhhh EPIC!!!
        0 Reply
        crystalmoriabout 9 years
        I actually had a really good idea for a way to combine them both, but it seems it didn't get posted :(. Does dogo have a word limit on their comments or something?
        2 Reply
        bigmeloabout 9 years
        Hmm, maybe. Or the comment was so good that it would have corrupt the whole system of online terrible ideas. :)
        3 Reply
        crystalmoriabout 9 years
        Lol, Thanks, bigmelo
        2 Reply
        bigmeloabout 9 years
        You're welcome!
        0 Reply
        happypug12about 9 years
        Just post half of what you were going to say in 1 comment, then post the other half of what you were going to say in another comment, crystalmori.
        1 Reply
        nikukyuabout 9 years
        What if the first half wasn't aproved? Still, good idea!
        0 Reply
        bigmeloabout 9 years
        Good idea!
        0 Reply
- bigmeloabout 9 years
  Are you kidding? What a great idea! Can I join in? I love stories... :)
  2 Reply
  - happypug12about 9 years
    Of course you can, bigmelo! The more the merrier! Anyone, at any time, can contribute to the story. We just need to choose a topic to write about, then we can get started. : D
    2 Reply
    - wildpeepabout 9 years
      Can I join ?
      2 Reply
      - bigmeloabout 9 years
        Sure you can! Like happypug12 said, everyone is welcome to join us. :)
        1 Reply
mwahahahahaover 9 years
lucky...
2 Reply
turtlenicoleover 9 years
They are sooo lucky! I have to get up at 6:00 a.m. in the morning to get ready for the bus becuase I'm in middle school:(
2 Reply
- bluetoothover 9 years
  Wow. I used to get up at what like 5:30. I used to go to a regular school, now I'm at home doing homeschooling.
  0 Reply
thalia14over 9 years
Wow it would be awesome if my school started at 10 am.,
2 Reply
mandm2000over 9 years
Kool
0 Reply