Time Saving Hell for the World
The natives have been restless at school lately. I’ve decided some of it is due to the spring time change. I haven’t felt myself since I lost that hour of precious sleep. I find myself running to the Coke machine to get some diet Coke for the caffeine. That is highly unusual for me. I suspect this tired, dragged out feeling isn’t any different for the students I teach. This week was a tough one. Some of the girls have been fighting. I don’t mean screaming and hollering at each other but knock out, pulling hair, fighting. The rest of the students seem to really get revved up by this activity. After a big fight this week my students came down to class acting like it was so “cool” and “awesome” to see girls fighting. I had to set them straight about the whole “mob mentality thing” and being a part of the solution and not the problem. It was quite a lecture and it did seem to settle my class down but alas there was another fight today with more students from other classes.
All of this has really got me thinking. I have never been in a fight in my life yet these young girls act like this is “normal” behavior. Granted I’m fifty four and my parents would have had a fit if I didn’t act like a “lady” when I was young but what is going on with these young girls today? I was talking to my sister and she thinks they are probably seeing it in their homes and for them it’s probably not that unusual. She may be right. The weather has been fairly nice lately and maybe everyone is feeling restless and wishing for our summer break to come. Regardless of what’s causing all of the chaos with the girls at my school for me it’s been tough since the time change. After all of these years I really don’t see why we still go through the spring and fall time changes. Who really benefits from the chaotic change in our schedules? Students need a regular routine, much like old people and babies. When you mess with that routine I think you’re just asking for trouble. All of this got me thinking about the history of this disruptive behavior. I guess I can blame this all on Ben Franklin as it was his idea in the first place.
Who would have ever thought that my restless nature during the time changes all started because Ben wanted to save money by burning less candles and using more of the natural sun light? http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/franklin3.html A lot of people seem to enjoy going home and still have daylight to do sports and other fun activities so I do understand why people like going through the time changes from spring to fall. We have been told that it saves energy and it helps to get people out shopping longer. In this tough economic time maybe longer daylight hours will help but if you don’t have a job, sunlight isn’t going to make you go shopping! According to the website that I sited earlier a study by the University of Michigan claims less pedestrians are hit during those daylight savings times. I know it’s hard to see students walking in the morning when we start school so early so this could cut both ways. We start school at 7:45 a.m. which is really 6:45 a.m. As the days get longer it is getting lighter but wow that’s early for young brains to get moving! Is there any wonder they are confused, grumpy and fighting?
I may not understand all of the intricate details that make our country embrace daylight savings time but at least I have my free speech and can whine and complain about it without being thrown in the slammer. I think it makes some of us a wee bit crazy and I don’t think it has helped my student’s dispositions in school but alas I don’t make the laws. I just follow them. So for the next several months I’ll be living in time saving hell and when I finally adjust to that hell, the cycle will start all over again when the clocks fall back! I’ll probably stay up too late and whine and complain about how tired I am once again!