Exactly. It kills me every time I hear people refer to the old day of rising with the sun and think about exhausted teens waiting for a bus in the dark. In addition, it's much easier to persist through lack of sleep when you perform a physical job (such as working on a farm) instead of sitting for hours straight trying to learn. |
Before the pandemic we put our elementary school kids in before care. Now that my spouse has a flexible work schedule and can work from home most days, he can drop them off by 9am. I think that switching the elementary school and high school start times, although not ideal, would be better than what we have now. |
This option was thoroughly discussed both of the previous times MCPS studied the options. MCPS decided, on grounds that you personally may disagree with, that it would not be better than what we have now. |
I got in the car at 7:07 this morning to drive my kid to school and it was fully light out. |
+1 If folks want to have an informed discussion, they are very welcome to Google "MCPS Maryland Bell Time Study" and come back with some thoughts about how the previous analysis was flawed. |
Are you saying the astronomy is wrong and sunrise was not at 7:27 am this morning in Montgomery County? |
If you read it and didn't think it was flawed, nothing we will say can convince you otherwise so I'm not wasting my breath. It was predetermined that MCPS would never make substantial changes. |
I hear you, but is it really a good idea that kids are still in school past 3 p.m. and get home even later? |
I read it, and I wouldn't say it was flawed. I'd say that it weights various concerns in a different order than I would have selected. It weights sports too heavily, for example. But that's not a flawed methodology, just a difference of opinion based on my own personal priorities. |
I agree with this, but it's worth noting that those concerns were weighed by Starr and the 2015 board members, 7/8 of whom are no longer on the board. I would be interested to see what McKnight and the current board would prioritize. |
Never change DCUM! Your life will always be the hardest and you and your kids will always be the worst martyrs. Hard to tell which is worse, this post complaining that child laborers in the good old days have it easy compared to your W school child, or the one in the college forum complaining that kids with rare medical conditions have a “hook”. |
No, I’m saying that the sky brightens a bit before the official time of sunrise. “Rising with the sun,” as a PP mentioned once being the natural way, would’ve likely meant rising when the sky brightens. So a kid could have technically done that this morning and still made it to school on time. |
My kid leaves the house at 6:38 to walk to the bus stop. It's dark. |
I drive my kid so she can get an extra 30 minutes of sleep. |
This solution doesn't scale up. |