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Why schools are struggling to let students sleep in --- By Alexandra Sifferlin為什么學(xué)校正努力爭取讓學(xué)生們“睡個懶覺”SEVERAL YEARS AGO, JODI MCCLAY, assistant superintendent of the school district in Temecula, Calif., started fielding a bizarre complaint from parents and students. It was too hard, they said, for teens to rise in time for homeroom. Initially, she was puzzled. Classes started at 7:30a.m. The solution seemed simple: go to bed earlier. That’s when McClay learned about sleep phase delay, the medical term for how puberty affects bedtime. As hormones change, so do circadian rhythms, making it biologically unfeasible for some teens to go to bed before 11p.m. and wake up before 8a.m.—let alone get dressed, transported and ready to learn. Concerned, McClay met with a group of parents, teachers and administrators to discuss a question that doctors have been posing for years, lately with growing urgency: Should school start later?在幾年前，加州特曼庫拉學(xué)區(qū)的助理監(jiān)督——Jodi McClay開始不斷回應(yīng)來自學(xué)生和家長的離譜投訴。他們認(rèn)為對青少年來講早起并準(zhǔn)時地趕到指導(dǎo)教室實在太難了。起初McClay對此很疑惑，因為她覺得如果要早起上課，那么晚上早點睡不就可以了。但是后來McClay了解到一個醫(yī)學(xué)術(shù)語概念——睡眠相位延遲，這是青春期影響就寢時間的結(jié)果。隨著荷爾蒙的改變，生理時鐘也會改變，從而在生理上導(dǎo)致一些青少年難以實現(xiàn)在晚上11點之前入寢和早上8點前起床，更不用說穿衣，上學(xué)路上和調(diào)整進(jìn)入學(xué)習(xí)狀態(tài)上需花的額外時間了。出于對這個問題的擔(dān)憂，McClay拜訪了一些家長、老師以及行政官員，并與他們討論了這個醫(yī)生們提了很久的問題：學(xué)校應(yīng)不應(yīng)該遲一點上課？目前人們更加迫切地希望這個問題可以得到正面回應(yīng)。Among adolescents, getting the recommended amount of sleep (around nine hours) has been linked to higher test scores and better behavior. Surely, McClay thought, Temecula could revise its policy. Others were skeptical. Starting classes at 8:30 or 9a.m. might make it harder for parents to get to work on time, and shifting the bus schedule would cost at least $1million, more than the district could afford. “We wanted to change,” says McClay. “But ultimately, we couldn’t.” Temecula’s struggle is not unique. In theU.S., more than 4in5 middle and high schools begin at or before 8:30a.m. That can contribute to sleep deprivation, making it harder for students to concentrate and even increasing their risk for obesity and depression. The American Academy of Pediatrics confirmed as much in 2014, when it made a formal recommendation to delay school start times.對于青少年來說，獲得足夠數(shù)量的睡眠（大約9個小時）往往意味著成績優(yōu)秀和表現(xiàn)出眾?？紤]到這點，McClay覺得修改相關(guān)政策以保證學(xué)生有足夠的睡眠也許是個積極的嘗試，然而也有些人持有相反的觀點，因為早上8點或9點半才開始上課對家長們來說可能意味著不能準(zhǔn)時上班，此外變動公交時刻表也許會花費(fèi)掉至少一百萬美元，而這個金額對于該地區(qū)來說是負(fù)擔(dān)不起的。McClay 說：“我們想要改變，但是最終我們卻不能改變什么?！笔聦嵣先杂泻芏嗟貐^(qū)也在為學(xué)生們爭取更充足的睡眠時間。在美國，超過4/5的初中和高中也是在早上8點或早于這個時間開始上課。這樣會導(dǎo)致睡眠不足，使學(xué)生在課堂上很難集中注意力甚至增加肥胖和患抑郁癥的危險。鑒于這些消極影響，美國兒科學(xué)會在2014年正式提議推遲學(xué)校上課時間。By now, hundreds of districts have started to explore alternatives. Seattle Public Schools is the latest and largest to embrace one: this fall it will push morning bells from around 7:50a.m. to 8:45a.m. But many districts are hitting major snags. Under a suggested change at East High School in Denver, for instance, classes wouldn’t end until around 4p.m., meaning student-athletes could have to leave early for away games. Given that 60% of the school’s nearly 2,500 pupils play a sport, “that’s a lot of kids missing a lot of class,” warns principal Andy Mendelsberg. A new system could also impact local businesses that rely on after-school labor from students. There are parental concerns as well. In Maryland’s Anne Arundel County, one mom, Judith Keeler, started a petition detailing how delaying high school hours—and pushing up elementary school hours, since there is one bus system—would make it harder for working parents to find child care. Then she raised a fraught issue in any school district: cost. “Is this the best way to spend taxpayer dollars?” Keeler wrote of the $8.1million initiative, inspiring nearly 3,000 people to sign their support. “This has blown up,” says Lisa VanBuskirk, an Anne Arundel parent who supports the change. “I’m not feeling great [about our chances].” Still, it is possible to navigate these hurdles. The key, say experts, is patience and compromise.到目前為止，數(shù)百個地區(qū)已經(jīng)開始探索可能的方案。西雅圖公立學(xué)校是近期最大的一所采取行動的學(xué)校，他們將早課的鈴聲從7:50左右調(diào)到8:45。但同時很多地區(qū)卻也遇到了巨大的困難。例如，在建議改變上課時間的提議下，丹佛市的東部高中將下課時間調(diào)到了下午4點左右，這意味著運(yùn)動員學(xué)生將必須早一點結(jié)束比賽。考慮到將近2500名小學(xué)生（這些學(xué)生占學(xué)?？?cè)藬?shù)的60%）會做體育運(yùn)動，校長Andy Mendelsberg提醒道：“那樣的話很多孩子將會錯過許多課程。”其實一個新的(時間)系統(tǒng)也會影響從學(xué)生們課余活動中獲利的當(dāng)?shù)仄髽I(yè)，同時父母也會有相應(yīng)的擔(dān)憂。在馬里蘭州安阿倫德縣，一位叫做Judith Keeler的母親考慮到單一的公交系統(tǒng)（時刻表）使工作的父母很難為孩子找到護(hù)工，所以她開始提出申請并詳細(xì)說明怎樣延遲高中的上課時間同時提前小學(xué)的上課時間。之后她又提出了一個令每個學(xué)區(qū)都擔(dān)心的問題：花費(fèi)?！凹{稅人的錢難道不該這樣用嗎？”Keeler寫了一份810萬美元的支出預(yù)算提議，這得到了近3000人的支持?！斑@個事件已經(jīng)發(fā)展地沸沸揚(yáng)揚(yáng)了。”一位來自安娜倫多郡的家長——Lisa VanBuskirk（她也是贊同改變上課時間的）說道。但仍有人覺得：“我認(rèn)為這次嘗試效果并不會很好?！比欢黄七@些障礙還是有可能的。專家們說關(guān)鍵就是家長和學(xué)校的耐心與相互妥協(xié)。Before Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia delayed high school starts roughly an hour—to around 8a.m.—officials spent a decade streamlining the switch. They surveyed Fairfax students about sleep habits. They reduced bus expenses. They worked around concerns from community members. During the process, they shared insights with the public and gave people a year to prepare for the change, which took effect in September. Several months in, the system is “still not perfect,” admits Superintendent Karen Garza. But there haven’t been any major incidents, and students appear more engaged. “My daughter used to feel tired all the time,” says Elizabeth Ende, mom to a freshman at McLean High School. “Now she gets through homework more quickly, and when she’s working, she looks more alert.” Eric Welch, a social-studies teacher at J.E.B. Stuart High School, noticed a change as well. “I can see the kids in the hallways,” he says. “They’re not dragging as much.” Those results may well spark more schools to take the plunge—a decision that won’t be easy. But given the payoff, says Garza, “it’s a position we have to take.”在維吉尼亞的費(fèi)爾法克斯郡公立學(xué)校實施將上課時間推遲約一個小時（至早上8點）的計劃之前，政府工作人員花了十年的時間來精化這種轉(zhuǎn)變：他們調(diào)查這里學(xué)生的睡眠習(xí)慣，降低公交費(fèi)用，并（試圖）減少社區(qū)成員的憂慮。在這個過程中，他們和老百姓分享他們的觀察和見解并且給人們一年的時間來適應(yīng)這種改變，最終在九月份時這種調(diào)整獲得了人們的認(rèn)可。起初的幾個月，負(fù)責(zé)人Karen Garza承認(rèn)這個新新的時間系統(tǒng)并不是那么完美，但是也沒有產(chǎn)生什么不利的影響，并且學(xué)生們看似可以很好地融入這種體系。“我女兒過去總是覺得疲勞，但是現(xiàn)在她可以很快地完成作業(yè)，并且在學(xué)習(xí)的時候看起來思維更加敏捷了?！盓lizabeth Ende說道，她是麥克林高中一位大一學(xué)生的母親。此外一名在斯圖爾特高中工作的社會學(xué)老師Eric Welch也注意到了改變，他說：“我看到在過道上的孩子們不再拖著步子沒精打采地走了?！边@些結(jié)果也許會積極地鼓勵更多的學(xué)校決定冒險一試。或許下這種決定并不容易，但是鑒于這種良好的效果，Garza 說：“這是我們必須要邁出的一步。”superintendent n.監(jiān)督人，管理者bizarre a.離奇的，怪異的（指態(tài)度、容貌、款式等）fraught a.擔(dān)心的，憂慮的；滿載的streamline v.使現(xiàn)代化，使簡化；把…做成流線型
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