Scholarly Dinners

Obviously there are many more possible reasons why all National Merit Scholars have eating at a dinner table at least 3 or more nights a week in common. Once scholars learn how to follow a schedule, they can make and follow their own schedules. Within seconds of beginning to watch television, a person's brainwaves change.

Many people have trouble following schedules but by eating together at a certain time and place almost every night helps people follow schedules. Maybe it is a little bit of everything or only one thing. Or, whether it is because of spending more time with their families, they are getting used to a schedule, or because scholars are spending less time watching television, we may never know why. The more scholars eat dinner at a dinner table, the more they are doing something constructive instead of watching Cribs on MTV. This indicates a brain unfocused, overly receptive, daydreaming, or hypnotized. Instead of beta waves, which indicate alert, conscious attention, the brain produces alpha waves. Reasons for this stunning common factor may be the scholars spend more time with their families, learn to follow a schedule, and they spend less time watching television.

When scholars are sitting at a dinner table they are spending less time watching television and more time talking about current events and/or learning from their parents. Being able to follow their schedules allows scholars to manage their time better and enables them to follow a routine every day.