This image is “Earthrise,” a photo taken in 1968 from the moon. It is one of the most reproduced photographs in history.

Circadian Dynamics

Or: The typical atypical day with grade abatement

When we look at a typical day in our course, we aren’t just looking at the 39 minute we spend together. We aren’t just adding in the time you spend doing homework at night.

Truthfully, we will never look at the time you spend doing homework at night, because homework doesn’t do much but hurt you.

Our typical day is an actual day: We consider 24 hours — from one 39-minute session to the next.

Each of you, whether you have this course first period or ninth, has in front of you a combination of time after school, time in the evening, and free time throughout the day. Some of you go straight home after English; others will have a bit of a grind to push through before going home.

This creates a unique kind of circadian rhythm. We’ll call it circadian dynamics, because the time of day affects how you interact with each other, me, and our work. It’s also fairly predictable.

You might know that you will be listless and exhausted during every English class — maybe because it’s first thing in the morning, maybe because it’s first thing after a heavy lunch, maybe because it comes at the end of the day. On the other hand, you might learn that you are at your best during English class — that it falls at the time when you happen to be most productive.

That last link is critical, because it reveals another area where the arbitrary scheduling in school fails us: Not everyone is capable of working the same way at the same time.

The interstitial elements of this course allow you to adapt your schedule to your learning strengths and weaknesses. When you consider what a typical day will look like, you will notice that you are the one in control of moving these elements around and making them work for you.

Most of us struggle in the morning, but that’s because most studies suggest that school starts too early — early enough to leave you in a “permanent state of jet lag.” (Image from a terrifically surreal comic strip by Winsor McCay.)

Time Is a Flat Circle

A 24-hour cycle starts with the class meeting itself. The teacher will get you started with a quick recap or preface — usually just enough to settle you down from the roiling chaos of the hallway between classes.

After a motivational word or two, you’ll move into a student-directed environment. You’ll have prepared what you’re going to work on, based on your needs and the assignments that are required. You’ll also have your grade abatement profiles at hand — to contextualize your choices as much as to motivate you.

Your teacher will then circulate and ask the two questions of every student or group of students:

1. What are you working on?
2. How can I help you?

You’ll ask the same questions of each other, too. You’ll use the resources in the classroom, including whatever resources you bring with you. You’ll work in the kind of group that helps you best — whether that is five people circled up to discuss something or you making your way through a post or text by yourself.

Our 39 minutes are flexible: You might have sent an email the night before to set up a conference; you might workshop an essay with peers; you might read a novel for 15 minutes. If you are uncertain about what to do next, you will, of course, seek clarification from me.

When the bell rings, you’ll head back into the cacophony of the hall and into the rest of your day. This is when the interstitial elements of the course kick in. You might find yourself with free time during a study hall; that’s when you load our website, check for updates on Twitter, start a discussion on our subreddit, and so on.

The same logic applies at home: You might spend an hour answering ETA questions for class; you might strike up a Google conversation with a peer; or you might take a moment before bed to send an email or ask a question of your teacher through the course website.

However you fill those interstitial moments, you have two persistent focuses:

1. Tracking your choices metacognitively, using grade abatement to organize evidence
2. Preparing for the next day’s session.

You need a plan about how you’ll spend those 39 minutes. You might need help organizing your work. You might need to work on that first focus — the metacognitive breakdowns of your recent assignments. You might want to go over the grade abatement profiles to see where you need to refocus your attention.

The next morning, you solidify a plan for class. Then you make your way through your day, whether that means going straight to English for P1 or waiting until the end of the day for the course, making use of any free time you have in the same interstitial way we just discussed.

When you get to class, your teacher will settle you in with a quick recap or preface. Then you will break and begin putting your plan into action. Your teacher will circulate, asking again what you are working on and how he can help.

Remember, organization is critical in this course. Start by organizing your time, and the rest will fall into place.