Speed Studying

The benign but silly Moment of Silence law that went into effect here in Illinois recently continues to provide amusing justifications. The latest silliness is documented here in the Peoria Journal Star piece. My favorite part is this:

Senate Bill 1463 went into effect Thursday after the Illinois House of Representatives overrode a veto by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. By Monday, many area schools were inserting 10- to 15-second moments of silence into their daily routines.
…
Rep. William Davis, D-Homewood, who sponsored the change, told the Journal Star on Monday the bill offers students and teachers a moment to compose themselves before the school day. Whether they silently reflect on upcoming activities, pray or study is at the discretion of each person.

"Whatever the case may be, if given just that brief moment or quiet time, it may very well impact the decisions a young person may make during the day," he said.

Davis stressed that the law isn't meant as a religious exercise nor is there punishment for districts which don't observe it. He also said he doesn't think it cuts into learning time.

"(A) young person may pull out the book and study," he said. "To me, that's furthering the education of a young person."

He’s right! This won’t cut into learning time. 10 seconds won’t be missed by anyone. But 10 seconds isn’t going to ADD any learning either. Please. And teachers need a law to “compose” their classes? Thank goodness the legislature stepped in to make that possible. I’m not sure how teachers would “compose” a class without the full force of the law behind them.