Time For Go-Go Juice! - School Starts Too Early!

It's a beautiful morning in Central Ohio! The sun's out, birds are chirping and I can finally see the grass peaking up out of the frozen tundra of ice and snow that has dominated the ground the last few months. In fact, I can now walk on my sidewalk - without slipping even! I read this morning temps are rising to almost 60 degrees - whoo hoo! Well, my kids are thrilled this week with OGT tests going on all week in school, everyone gets to sleep in - well, with the exception of my one 10th grade student, she get's to take the tests. Which leads me to ponder as most parents do...why the heck does school start so darn early? I remember getting up around 7am to be at school around 8:30. That was pretty darn early as I recall. Today, my kids get up before the farmers do - 4:50am - rise and shine - shower, dress and out the door by 6:10 to catch a bus at 6:27 to start school by 7:10. Good grief! You know what I think? Kid's classes ought to be shortened by taking tests online, so class time can focus on studies, interaction and social learning which would then reduce amount of time in a day that schools would have to operate giving teachers more time to focus on new ideas, collaboration and methods that would enhance a students achievements. I would think this would reduce the amount of cost associated with long hours of operations that schools are challenged with. Probably even save a few tax dollars - that would be nice. What about our kids that hold a job? How much time do they get in sleep combined with long school hours, an average of 4 hours of homework nightly, social time with friends, catch up news with mom and dad - scarfing down dinner...? I don't know...today's lifestyle and education demands are so high for our children, given all our technology, I'm thinkin' we're working harder, not smarter with our students. All in all, shorter school hours could lead to a great deal of productivity and at minimum, more rest for our future leaders. Well, it's time for a second cup of java...have a tremendously great day!