Sleep Deprived?

Currently, I am enrolled in an online AP Psychology class. Every week or so, the teacher assigns a discussion for all of the students. Each student must provide an answer to the discussion question and also comment on another student’s post. Since this criticism occurs virtually, rather than in person, and since only a few of the students know each other, the discussions tend to get quite heated as students let loose at one another. About five males, each from a different high school, have taken to virtually targeting, through call-outs, contradictory examples and differing opinions, a different student each week. Unfortunately last week, I took my turn as the target. Our teacher asked us a simple, opinion-oriented question, “do you feel that you are getting adequate sleep?” I responded that, no, I feel quite sure that I do not get an adequate amount of sleep each night.  Rarely do I get more than six hours of sleep, due to sports, extracurricular activities and homework. When I logged back on to the discussion, the day after posting, I noticed a string of comments that read, “in reply to Emily Hellwig.” As I read the various responses, I realized that each of these students emphatically claimed that he receives an adequate amount of sleep. One student said he believed there to be no excuse to not receive a good amount of sleep each night. Um, I wonder what classes he takes? Another student commented, “Emily, I think you need to really need to think about your health and compare its importance to fun and academic performance. At my school, the teachers stress getting enough sleep each night over finishing the assigned homework. If we become too tired to finish our work, or have not finished the work by the time to go to bed, the teachers have told us to let them know we did not have time, and that then we will be given additional time to complete the assignment.” I was not only startled to read that most students, according to their reports, receive an adequate amount of sleep each night, but also shocked to read that at some schools, students receive additional time to complete their assignments if the student informs the teacher that he/she did not have time to finish the assignment and still receive the recommended amount of sleep. Can this be true, or is the “teacher” their home school “mentor/mom” or did they make this up just to target me? One thing I know; these young men are not enjoying a typical AP-CFHS experience!