Later School Start Times Essay
School Districts Debate Over Later School Start Times
As most high school students say, “if you will regret not doing something for tomorrow, stay up late.” This is due to the innumerable amounts of students occupied by homework, an after-school job, or even extracurricular activities that take place each night. Teachers have noticed that their students are not participating in class and have lower grades, because they do not attain the recommended eight to ten hours of sleep needed to function every day (Source B). Teachers, parents, school administrators, and doctors have argued whether or not high schools should start classes after 8:30, instead of the normal time of 8:00 a.m.. Thus, raising the question, should high school start later? …show more content…
for high schools. While some passionately believe that later start times may be troublesome, it is not. Students circadian rhythm are on schedule, causing them to be healthier; their testing scores, grades and attentiveness are increased; students’ performance in sports is positively amplified; community service, library hours, student jobs and school clubs are not affected; and the number of drowsy teen accidents are reduced. This still may seem like it does not prove great results, but it does. Schools all over the United States have made this change and it has brought great improvement. With this new efficiency that high school students will possess, it not only improves their study habits, but also their school’s overall performance. This is not a drastic change in time, it will only be pushed back an hour or two. Teachers, parents, school administrators need to start discussing this topic. The more later they push away from deciding, the more sleep deprived the students are. This is a complicated issue to decide on. They need to hold staff meetings at least once a day in the week to discuss transportation, teachers’ schedules, after school activities, and so on. Involve parents in the decision first and then see what happens next. But districts need to keep in mind that the benefits are far greater than the
As most high school students say, “if you will regret not doing something for tomorrow, stay up late.” This is due to the innumerable amounts of students occupied by homework, an after-school job, or even extracurricular activities that take place each night. Teachers have noticed that their students are not participating in class and have lower grades, because they do not attain the recommended eight to ten hours of sleep needed to function every day (Source B). Teachers, parents, school administrators, and doctors have argued whether or not high schools should start classes after 8:30, instead of the normal time of 8:00 a.m.. Thus, raising the question, should high school start later? …show more content…
for high schools. While some passionately believe that later start times may be troublesome, it is not. Students circadian rhythm are on schedule, causing them to be healthier; their testing scores, grades and attentiveness are increased; students’ performance in sports is positively amplified; community service, library hours, student jobs and school clubs are not affected; and the number of drowsy teen accidents are reduced. This still may seem like it does not prove great results, but it does. Schools all over the United States have made this change and it has brought great improvement. With this new efficiency that high school students will possess, it not only improves their study habits, but also their school’s overall performance. This is not a drastic change in time, it will only be pushed back an hour or two. Teachers, parents, school administrators need to start discussing this topic. The more later they push away from deciding, the more sleep deprived the students are. This is a complicated issue to decide on. They need to hold staff meetings at least once a day in the week to discuss transportation, teachers’ schedules, after school activities, and so on. Involve parents in the decision first and then see what happens next. But districts need to keep in mind that the benefits are far greater than the