5 ms·

Why on earth does the school have to start at 7.30 in the morning, especially if they aren't intended to have organised activities all afternoon?

RBerenguel 12y ago
I'm about to read the article, but maybe roasting weather in Qatar has something to do with it. I will ask my Finnish friends to see if it is something usual, though.
- sesqu 12y ago
  It is unusual. 8-10 AM is normal, depending on grade and curriculum. 7:30 is probably due to the climate or the logistics in Quatar (the school is located in an education zone, after all).
HarryHirsch 12y ago
The answer is easy - so that the schoolday is over by 1 PM and the children can indulge in activities not organized by the school in the afternoon. One might go to the public library, play sports in a sports club, or - God prevent! - socialize with friends. This is important. The mindset is that it isn't the school that is running the students' lives, it is the students and the students' families. Unlike in America, life for school-age children does not revolve around the school.
- jacalata 12y ago
  But the school is running their lives, by making everyone be up, dressed, breakfasted and at school by a horrifically early time of day. When I was in elementary school in Australia (9am-3.30pm) I managed to do plenty of sports, public library visits and time running around the street with friends, while also getting to wake up at a reasonable hour (7am) and have a leisurely breakfast and some play time before leaving for school at 8.30am.
- thinkpad20 12y ago
  That seems like it would make it difficult to be a working parent, unless they provide for after-school programs. For a household with no stay-at-home parent, a long school day isn't just about education; it's about not having to sacrifice a career for you child's education.
  - jacalata 12y ago
    That's the "school as daycare" model, requiring all children to be in "daycare" all day to meet the needs of some parents. They should be separate (compulsory school times, surrounded by available and convenient daycare at the same location).
    - thinkpad20 12y ago
      Regardless of what you call it, parents who don't have the luxury (or desire) to stay at home all day need a way to take care of their children. That's a pressing real-world problem for millions of parents, not just "some". And it makes perfect sense to entrust the schools with that responsibility (in part, if not in whole): they do it anyway, for some amount of the day, and they have great resources for children (sports teams and equipment, books, musical instruments, knowledgeable teachers, etc).
      - jacalata 12y ago
        So you're arguing that daycare should be compulsory, even for kids who don't need it.
        thinkpad20 12y ago
        No; I'm arguing that access to daycare should be available to those who need it. And parenthetically stating that that is not a bad thing :)
        jacalata 12y ago
        ok - so I think we actually agree mostly. The system I grew up in had daycare available at the school, starting around 8am and going to 6pm. School itself only went from 9am to 3.30pm - so kids who had supervision available at home, or friends houses, etc, only had to be there at those hours. It sounds like you'd agree that system would meet parents needs without putting excessive restrictions on families that didn't need the care?
dragonwriter 12y ago
> Why on earth does the school have to start at 7.30 in the morning, especially if they aren't intended to have organised activities all afternoon? Its Qatar. I think there is a good climatic reason to not have school run into mid-afternoon.
jkaunisv1 12y ago
It may have to do with daylight hours in the north. But don't young children wake up that early anyway?
- mikeash 12y ago
  Anecdotally, my four-year-old daughter wakes up that early on weekends, but will happily sleep to 9AM or later if there's school that day.
tzs 12y ago
When does work typically start there? I think you'd want school to start before that. You'd want enough gap to allow parents who transport their kids to school to drop the kids off just before school start time, and still have time to make it to their work. You'd want the gap short enough so that parents whose kids take a school or bus or similar aren't out the door so much earlier than the parents leave for work that the parents have an awkward gap in their daily schedule.
- jacalata 12y ago
  In my opinion that's what before school care is for - kids whose parents need to be rid of them early drop them off whenever they like, kids who don't need to can start at a reasonable hour. This is also a much more flexible system so it works for people who start work at any time.

RBerenguel 12y ago

I'm about to read the article, but maybe roasting weather in Qatar has something to do with it. I will ask my Finnish friends to see if it is something usual, though.

sesqu 12y ago
It is unusual. 8-10 AM is normal, depending on grade and curriculum. 7:30 is probably due to the climate or the logistics in Quatar (the school is located in an education zone, after all).

HarryHirsch 12y ago

The answer is easy - so that the schoolday is over by 1 PM and the children can indulge in activities not organized by the school in the afternoon. One might go to the public library, play sports in a sports club, or - God prevent! - socialize with friends. This is important. The mindset is that it isn't the school that is running the students' lives, it is the students and the students' families. Unlike in America, life for school-age children does not revolve around the school.

jacalata 12y ago
But the school is running their lives, by making everyone be up, dressed, breakfasted and at school by a horrifically early time of day. When I was in elementary school in Australia (9am-3.30pm) I managed to do plenty of sports, public library visits and time running around the street with friends, while also getting to wake up at a reasonable hour (7am) and have a leisurely breakfast and some play time before leaving for school at 8.30am.
thinkpad20 12y ago
That seems like it would make it difficult to be a working parent, unless they provide for after-school programs. For a household with no stay-at-home parent, a long school day isn't just about education; it's about not having to sacrifice a career for you child's education.
- jacalata 12y ago
  That's the "school as daycare" model, requiring all children to be in "daycare" all day to meet the needs of some parents. They should be separate (compulsory school times, surrounded by available and convenient daycare at the same location).
  - thinkpad20 12y ago
    Regardless of what you call it, parents who don't have the luxury (or desire) to stay at home all day need a way to take care of their children. That's a pressing real-world problem for millions of parents, not just "some". And it makes perfect sense to entrust the schools with that responsibility (in part, if not in whole): they do it anyway, for some amount of the day, and they have great resources for children (sports teams and equipment, books, musical instruments, knowledgeable teachers, etc).
    - jacalata 12y ago
      So you're arguing that daycare should be compulsory, even for kids who don't need it.
      - thinkpad20 12y ago
        No; I'm arguing that access to daycare should be available to those who need it. And parenthetically stating that that is not a bad thing :)
        jacalata 12y ago
        ok - so I think we actually agree mostly. The system I grew up in had daycare available at the school, starting around 8am and going to 6pm. School itself only went from 9am to 3.30pm - so kids who had supervision available at home, or friends houses, etc, only had to be there at those hours. It sounds like you'd agree that system would meet parents needs without putting excessive restrictions on families that didn't need the care?

dragonwriter 12y ago

> Why on earth does the school have to start at 7.30 in the morning, especially if they aren't intended to have organised activities all afternoon? Its Qatar. I think there is a good climatic reason to not have school run into mid-afternoon.

jkaunisv1 12y ago

It may have to do with daylight hours in the north. But don't young children wake up that early anyway?

mikeash 12y ago
Anecdotally, my four-year-old daughter wakes up that early on weekends, but will happily sleep to 9AM or later if there's school that day.

tzs 12y ago

When does work typically start there? I think you'd want school to start before that. You'd want enough gap to allow parents who transport their kids to school to drop the kids off just before school start time, and still have time to make it to their work. You'd want the gap short enough so that parents whose kids take a school or bus or similar aren't out the door so much earlier than the parents leave for work that the parents have an awkward gap in their daily schedule.

jacalata 12y ago
In my opinion that's what before school care is for - kids whose parents need to be rid of them early drop them off whenever they like, kids who don't need to can start at a reasonable hour. This is also a much more flexible system so it works for people who start work at any time.