Is the week of March 8 the ‘perfect storm’ for teachers?

By MixDex Article may include affiliate links

The week of March 8, 2020, according to multiple memes circulating on social media, could be shaping up to be a week from hell for teachers thanks to a “perfect” alignment of dates, celestial bodies and superstition (if you believe in that sort of thing).

First on the list is that in most of the U.S., daylight savings time begins Sunday, March 8 at 2 a.m. local time.

Because of the “spring forward” that happens at 2 a.m., everyone will essentially be “losing” an hour of sleep.

Other research has shown that daylight savings time is especially difficult for babies and children since they don’t have the awareness of the time change. That said, even adults often report feeling sluggish in the days following the start of DST.

Next up is that March 9 is a full moon.

There’s a common conception that full moons cause erratic behavior apparently tied to the effects the moon’s light and gravitational pull have on earth.

Others claim that crime increases around the full moon and that more babies are born, even though there’s little to mixed scientific evidence to back this up — with much of the purported studies finding correlations criticized for methodology.

Finally, the week or March 8 also happens to have Friday the 13th — a day that is considered unlucky in many western cultures.

The origins of the “unluckiness” of Friday the 13th isn’t entirely clear — though popular culture sometimes suggests it stems from Friday, Oct. 13, 1307 when members of the Knights Templar were arrested by King Philip VI of France.

Analysis of statistical data shows that Friday the 13ths do not have an increase in accident rates as some claim and the belief that the day is unlucky is widely regarded as superstition.

Some of the memes circulating also add in the element of coronavirus — by pointing out that if teachers can handle the week ahead they aren’t scared of it.