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| "Tom Sawyer" |
230. According to Redelmeier, Tversky believed "The secret to doing good research is always to be a little underemployed. You waste years by not being able to waste hours."
Some might say that the same is true of the intellectual development of college students. Students who take too many classes in order to graduate ahead of time or who take jobs that require them to work too many hours may still manage to get the grades they want, but they may not have the kind of transformative learning experience the requires having downtime to reflect and to discuss.
Do you think overscheduling is a serious problems? Or do you think that the value of a "transformative learning experience" with built-in downtime is overrated? If teachers reduce the workload for their students in order to give them more opportunities to engage with the material, are students like to seek out that kind of engagement or are they more likely to take more classes and take on more work hours?
I believe that overscheduling is a serious problem. During High School many students take on jobs to help save for various things. Many of my peers would come into first hour exhausted from work the night before and I noticed it caused some issues with how they learned things. Those that came in dealing with a lack of sleep or extra stress seemed to be unable to retain the lesson as well as those that got an adequate amount of rest. I believe that if students were given the option of downtime it would help, but realistically most would not take advantage of it.
ReplyDeleteGracie T.
This is really true. I’m concurrent and last year, even though schedules didn’t mesh well, I took as many classes as I could. I’d have one class at high school and ten minutes later one would be at the college. I was constantly in a rush.
Delete-Elizabeth Acree
I agree Gracie. I think that many students do take on various things out of necessity. Also, I believe that down time and lack of stress do allow for students to retain lessons better. You make a good point that most students would not take advantage of it. For example, many kids play video games all night and stay up until three in the morning despite having down time that made it possible for them to go to sleep at an acceptable time.
Delete-Megan Lewis
Personally I believe that having some downtime to engage with the material is the best. Often I find myself finding solutions to questions I have about a subject by engaging with the material one on one. I believe that over scheduling is a real issue because many people end up extremely stressed, completely fatigued, or even drop out due to over scheduling. I have not taken any college classes yet so I can not say for sure whether college students would take more classes or engage more with the work that they already have if professors decreased the workload for students but I believe that many students would just end up taking more classes.
ReplyDeleteOverscheduling is a serious problem that many students and adults find themselves caught up in. Some people, like myself, enjoy having a busy schedule. I like to stay on top of things, but sometimes I put too much on my plate. I become overwhelmed and do not complete tasks as well as I would have if I did not have other obligations. When a person overschedules, they will stretch themselves too thin by tending to all of their commitments. Many parents are guilty of over scheduling their kids. For example, a parent enrolls their child in dance, cheer, basketball, and softball. By placing them in multiple sports and activities, they are not only taking away from the child’s schooling and free-time, but they are taking away from their family time. The human mind and body need time to relax. Without downtime, it is easy to stress and become overwhelmed. When overscheduling is used in a classroom, students react based on their needs. If a teacher gave their students engagement time, the students would spend their time based on the importance of the subject. If a teacher wants students to engage in an interesting subject that they enjoy, the students are more likely to spend their time wisely. If engagement time is given to a bland topic that is easily understood, students are more likely to spend their time working on other priorities.
ReplyDeleteI believe that scheduling downtime is very important. However, I am not that good at it… The past few semesters I have been taking 18 hours at school and working 20 plus hours each week. By the end of the semester I am done with thinking about anything college related. But whenever there is a class that requires less work, but more thinking, I cannot help but fall in love with it! I do sometimes wish that I could go home after class and sit there and think about what I had just learned so that I can go apply it to my life.
ReplyDeleteI am only human and to be human is to be flawed and unfortunately lazy. For most people i would think this would be a problem. While there are those who do "work themselves to death" for most this is not the case. I believe we often over exaggerate our problems in our own mind or when we are in a pickle it is often our own doing. " oh no, I have 4 papers due this week along with a test" one may say, " I am so STRESSED!" It is important to not view ourselves a a victim of circumstance but to actively shape our schedule. How long have you known about those papers or that test? couldn't you have worked ahead so as to lessen your current load? Having said this I confess that I speak from experience, of course.
ReplyDelete-Elijah Woodward
I think that overscheduling can be a problem in everyday life. If you are overscheduling to the point of utter exhaustion, how are you going to contribute your best in different aspects of your life? The most valuable thing that you have is your time. What takes up your time can only be determined by yourself. It is so easy to forget to rest. Overscheduling can lead to a panicked-frenzy state of mind, which leaves you no time to enjoy life. Personally, my overscheduling comes from people pleasing. I usually overcrowd my schedule when other people's opinions take over my own. Scheduling downtime is important to stay in your best mindset.
ReplyDeleteOverscheduling can be a major issue. Attempting to do more than what you are able to can cause problems in everyday life. These problems could include: not sleeping well, not eating well, becoming overly stressed and developing mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. This can lead to underperformance, irritability and physical health issues. The human mind and body requires some kind of rest, relaxation and even fun. Doing nothing but work or only doing things that you have to do isn't healthy. The exhaustion that stems from being overworked do to overscheduling can also be dangerous for those around you. In conclusion, scheduling some downtime can help both you and others to keep both a healthier and safe environment when it comes to things you actually need to do.
ReplyDelete