SLEEP's "science" is as flawed as it has ever been. For those who don't remember the initial discussion/debate, the scientific research used to support later school times was inaccurate. Improper sample sizes, quoting non-academic sites as legitimate research, quoting research strategies that were funded by later start time advocacy groups, etc.
The link mentioned in this post is a good example. I went to
http://schoolstarttime.org/ to see what it was about. I clicked on the summary of their position and the very first citation used to support a "fact" was in fact a broken link to a later start time advocacy group.
Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurance. Newsweek had a great article last year, reporting on an independent study that found flaws in nearly half of all educational research.
Here's is some completely unresearched advice for SLEEP - instead of changing the schedules of 125,000+ students, how about you take little bobby or susie up to their room at 9, turn off all their electronics, and teach them to set an alarm clock.
sciencebased Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The science on this issue is overwhelming and it
> goes only one way --
http://schoolstarttime.org/
>
> “All of the research that has been done shows
> that older adolescents need more sleep than
> younger ones. They fall asleep later and wake up
> later to get the sleep they need. Despite these
> two facts, almost all districts start the senior
> high schools first. We’re sending them to school
> during the last one-third of their sleep cycles.
> It’s comparable to adults getting up at 3 a.m.
> or 4 a.m. You wouldn’t want to be making
> important decisions at that hour. I think it’s
> nuts. The sleep deficit builds up until they fall
> asleep at school or driving.” -- Mark Mahowald,
> M.D., University of Minnesota, Neurology
> Department; Professor and Chair, Hennepin County
> Medical Center; Director, Minnesota Regional Sleep
> Disorders Center, quoted here, Delisio, It’s
> About Time (and Sleep): Making the Case for
> Starting School Later (Jun. 3, 2003) Ed. World,
>
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin3
> 14.shtml
>
> “The timing of education is also important.
> There is clear evidence for a phase shift during
> adolescence, with adolescents going to bed later
> and rising later than children. This phase shift
> is largely biological, with adolescents typically
> unable to fall asleep at earlier times. For the
> most part, school systems have not considered this
> adolescent phase shift, with many systems
> traditionally having earlier (rather than later)
> start dates for high school than for grade school
> students. By recognizing the shift in biological
> rhythms during adolescence and delaying school
> start times accordingly, classroom experience can
> be matched to the times when adolescents are most
> alert and attentive.” (Coch, Fischer, & Dawson,
> Human Behavior, Learning, and the Developing
> Brain: Typical Development (Informa Healthcare
> 2010) pp. 382-383.)
>
> “arly school start times clearly contribute to
> sleep-deprivation in growing teens, making them
> even more vulnerable to all the challenges of
> adolescence, and increases the likelihood of
> accidents, psychological problems, and impaired
> learning in school. [¶] There are so many
> negative consequences associated with sleep
> deprivation in adolescents that school leaders in
> many areas are beginning to consider the practical
> measures that would improve total sleep time for
> their students to promote their health and
> learning. Though research has not yet identified
> an ideal school schedule, the wealth of evidence
> … strongly suggests that students have a better
> opportunity to be rested and ready to learn by
> delaying school start time to 8:30 a.m. or
> later.” (O’Malley & O’Malley, School Start
> Time and Its Impact on Learning and Behavior,
> publish. in, Sleep and Psychiatric Disorders in
> Children and Adolescents (Ivanenko, edit., Informa
> Healthcare 2008) pp. 79-94,
>
http://www.neurofeedback.ch/downloads/Schlaf_und_S
> chule.pdf)