Over the last several years, we have consistently emphasized the importance of sleeping early and rising with the dawn to our children. We firmly support the notion that adhering to the natural cadence of life represents an optimal lifestyle.
Regrettably, of late, we have observed a change in our daughter’s nocturnal habits. Despite her earlier habits, she has progressively deferred her bedtime, causing her to wake up later. An investigation into this shift revealed a rather peculiar reason—her commitment to adhering to assignment deadlines. The primary culprit: deadlines consistently set for midnight.
In response, my initial instinct was to propose a recalibration, urging her to treat the deadline as 9:00 pm. However, this proved impractical, given the collaborative nature of many of these endeavours, requiring synchronization with the timelines of her team members.
This situation underscored the realization that an educational institution, with what might appear to be an innocuous policy, could inadvertently be steering entire generations of young minds in a counterproductive direction. It is conceivable that the institution and its policymakers may not have thoroughly contemplated the implications of their approach. The commonplace assumption, for instance, that when assignment deadlines are stipulated for a day, the day effectively concludes at midnight, goes unquestioned.
Just as we have adapted our cultural observance of New Year’s Eve to extend until midnight, we similarly acquiesce to this academic convention, thereby disrupting our circadian rhythms.
This prompts me to pose a query to the architects of educational policies and the esteemed professors: Is it extremely challenging to designate assignment deadlines for 9:00 pm? Alternatively, considering these deadlines often fall on Sundays, why not opt for a noon deadline?
Such an adjustment in assignment deadlines would afford students the opportunity to unwind thereafter, spending Sunday evenings with family or friends. Moreover, it stands to reason that instilling a practice of leisurely Sunday evenings could sow the seeds for a more relaxed family life in the future when these students have families of their own.
(Photo by Kyle Hanson on Unsplash)
