Russ's Ravings: Start School Later And Cut Back On Homework

Editor's note: The following is Patch Field Editor Russ Crespolini's, hopefully, weekly column. It is reflective of his opinion alone.

I recently watched a video of a meeting (I cover a lot of communities and watch a lot of meetings. Sometimes more than one at a time.) where a school superintendent was outlining six possible plans for altering the start time for high school students.

It isn't a bad idea.

The studies are pretty clear when you look at them. Adolescent children are biologically are wired to go to bed later and sleep later. It is very different from what adults and children need. The studies are also pretty clear that this improves their mood and their behavior and could impact their overall mental health.

In fact, this might allow students to be better equipped to handle the stresses of their day and may lead to lower rates of depression and suicide. Which is awesome. But it also is not enough.

We need to do more. And it isn't like this is a new phenomenon.

For decades our youth have been overscheduled to the gills. Before care, school, aftercare, evening activities and homework gobble up every spare second of a child's day (and then some).

It isn't uncommon for a high school student to get home from their activities at 7 p.m. and then face four hours or more of homework. That alone will make it impossible for them to reach their suggested minimum amount of sleep before the alarm jolts them out of bed and sets them back on the hamster wheel for another day.

So while adjusting school start times is an idea worth exploring it is only one of several ideas that should be considered. Another, is simply the reduction or elimination of homework.

A study conducted by Stanford University found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They also noted that there are no additional benefits to going past two hours a night. And the average student is facing a far higher workload.

The study noted too much homework is associated with:

• Greater stress: 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.

• Reductions in health: In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems. The researchers asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems.

• Less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits: Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were “not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills,” according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.

But again this would only be another avenue to whittle away at the problem.

Another might be scaling back on some of the extracurricular activities. Sure there are benefits, but if you kid is racing from cheerleading to lacrosse to karate class on a Tuesday on a regular basis there may be the need to examine your priorities.

Dr. Susan Newman, asocial psychologist and author of "The Case for the Only Child" said that mastery might suffer.

“If you are spreading yourself too thin you’re not going to be able to focus and get really good at one thing,” she said.

Dr. Jerry Bubrick, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute said its too much when afterschool activities start interfering with a child’s life. Bubrick notes that in the case of intensive commitments like sports or theater, even one activity can be too much.

Bubrick has a pretty simple calculus for how much is too much. “Can you still do your homework? Can you still get 8+ hours of sleep each night? Can you still be a part of your family? Can you still hang out with your friends? If the answer is ‘no’ to one or more of these, then it’s too much.”

And of course there is the electronic scapegoat. I can already see the comments on this column.

"Take away their phones they are up until 3 a.m. instasnapgramming!"

Sure. That can be an option as well.

The point is, our children don't have enough hours in the day to do what they are being tasked with and we need to be approaching this from as many angles as possibles. So get involved. Contact your school district to see if they can look into changing the school start times. See if there is a way to make a policy to help reduce homework. And at home? Reevaluate the need for so many activities.

And yes, take the cell phone away at bedtime.

Russ Crespolini is a Field Editor for Patch Media, adjunct professor and college newspaper advisor. His columns have won awards from the National Newspaper Association and the New Jersey Press Association.

He writes them in hopes of connecting with readers and engaging with them. And because it is cheaper than therapy. He can be reached at russ.crespolini@patch.com