Jottings idle and otherwise

BY MRJ

NOT long ago, reference was made here to the fact that Tony Blair’s Britain is currently making an all-out effort to market British education as a brand in a determined effort to reverse the idea in the minds of most young people today that it is the United States, not the United Kingdom, that is the promised land for education.

US BEHIND: As noted then, there is overwhelming evidence that while Oxford, Cambridge and the LSE still carry a lot of weight and prestige, the emergent destinations, for very many, are Wharton, Harvard and Stanford.

Against that backdrop, it was certainly revealing to read a news item the other day that painted a less upbeat side to the American education scene.

The item in question, based on an OECD report, made basically three important revelations — none of which challenged either the excellence of top American universities or their global appeal to the student body.

Rather, it focused on a study of the American education system vis-a-vis the European and came up with this verdict: that it lags behind its industrial partners and has lost its place at the top of the world league tables for college graduation.

For starters, the US — so the OECD report claims — for the first time does not head the table of college graduation rates in the industrialised world, apparently because her European partners have made great efforts to catch up, and in some cases, overtake the US system.

Secondly, what has reportedly also fallen in the US is the rate of graduation from secondary education or high school. As reported, if it was 80 percent some 40 years ago and rose to 88 percent a decade ago, the 1998 level had fallen to 74 percent Òhigher only that the rate in Canada, Luxembourg, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Turkey.Ó

Thirdly, it would appear that literacy skills in America for young people is falling, as compared to that of people educated during a different time period. In other words, it turns out that Òthe United States is the only country where those aged 16-25 were less able to cope than those in the 46-55 age range.Ó

Its significance is further underlined by this finding: while 80 percent of 16-25 year olds in Sweden scored in the highest range on the literacy skills test, the level in the United States was only 45 percent, better only than Poland at 35 percent.

Although the said news item does not say so, from personal observation of the situation (while on assignment in New York in The mid-1980, with three-school going kids), I’ll wager that one reason for falling American education standards is the lack of adequate driving motivation among its student population.

My guess is that, unlike many foreign students in America who realise how lucky they are to be able to study there, many — but not all — American kids take societal affluence for granted and generally develop a laid-back attitude to studies.

SLEEPING AROUND: A Sunday Times story on sleep is both interesting as well as informative. Although most of us know that we function better after a good night’s rest, it seems that the way we wake up could be just as important as how many hours we spend in bed.

That being the case, a profitable new industry has blossomed in the West providing Òan array of special effects in our bedrooms, from a simulated sunrise to the sound of crashing waves, falling rain, babbling brooks and singing birds.Ó

One such gizmo is the dawn simulator alarm clock which glows slowly brighter over a period of 15 to 20 minutes and reaching its full strength at the time one wishes to wake.

A sales pitch on the sunrise clock claims: ÒThe gradual increase of light wakes you up gently and thoroughly, so that by the time you get up, you really are fully conscious.Ó

As you might have guessed, how much sleep you’ve had before the alarm goes off is also an important factor affecting waking mood with consistent lack of sleep turning people into Òirritable, antisocial, indecisive, uncreative wrecks.Ó

Regarding the query how much sleep one needs here is what one expert on the subject has to say: ÒMost people need 7 to 8 hours’ sleep a night to function efficiently.Ó However, he warns that those who try to make up for insufficient sleep during the working week with weekend lie-ins can also make you feel bad.

In his opinion, Òpost-sleep inertia is one result of sleeping too much...Over sleep and you’ll wake up feeling thick headed, woolly and miserable, and need three coffees to get going. Oversleeping gives your body jet lag.Ó

Another bit of advice is to remember that, almost without exception, going to bed and waking up at regular times is one of the best ways to wake up feeling good — which sounds very much like what Nepali (and other) mothers have been telling their offspring for generations.

Despite all that, sometimes one can still feel miserable after getting up with the required amount of sleep. What should one do? According to one sleep boffin: ÒTen yoga poses...or even some careful stretching and measured breathing can turn up your mood around in 10 minutes. The deep breathing and stretching oxygenate

the body at a deep level, leaving you feeling light in body and mind.Ó Seems like advise that isn’t too difficult to follow.