Most schools in the United States start at 8 A.M sharp, and that has been the same since 1635, when the thirteen original colonies established the Boston Latin School. This appointed start time has been the dictum for almost all schools that have stemmed since. This practice may be seasoned but is certainly not efficient, by any sense of the word. Since 1635, these increasingly early school hours, some starting as early as 6. A.M, have been negatively conflicting with students’ bodies and minds for almost two centuries. These 8 A.M. and earlier start times directly ensure sleep deprivation causing a multitude of mental as well as physical complications. Why are we willingly subjecting students to this outdated institutional reform in which …show more content…
A Teenager who used to fall asleep at 9:00 PM will not begin the production and release of melatonin, a hormone that directly regulates sleep, until 11:00PM. Therefore, in order to reach the minimum nine hours expected, the student should not awake until 8 A.M. Because of the current outdated school reform, the same student would instead need to wake up at 6 A.M. to get ready for school rendering them unrested and unready to taken on their day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that high schools that begin as late as 8:55 a.m. have 66 percent of students obtaining eight or more hours of sleep on school nights, which is the optimum amount for high school aged students. Schools that begin at 7:30 a.m. have an average of only 34 percent of students obtaining eight or more hours of sleep on school nights. Sleep deprivation has an incredibly strong effect on student, as well as teacher morale. Sleep deficiency has been proven to cause moodiness, irritability, and crankiness. Those suffering from a lack of sleep have a burdensome time regulating their mood. An example of poor mood regulation would be, prolonged frustration or becoming more susceptible to animosity. These are terrible traits to possess in …show more content…
Experts centralized in sleep have found that scantly sleep leads to a decrease in vigilance as well as awareness. Students suffering from sleep deprivation have a shortened attention span making it more difficult to grasp concepts. According to Philip R. Gehrman, this also effected subjects’ ability to perform simple cognitive tasks, pursuant to logical reasoning and complex thought. There is a strong argument being made that these “early” school hours are in place to prepare teens for their future as hard working businessmen and businesswomen. The opposition coheres to the thought that building a tolerance for sleepless nights is the way to go. “Get Used To It! More than likely a student will end up with a job that is from 8-5, why complain when you can just go to bed a little bit earlier and get up at a normal time.” This was exclaimed by a critic upon being inquired on whether or not schools should start later. As adequate as this logic sounds, it is highly flawed; there is no tolerance built up against sleep insufficiency. The only consummations are a shift in biological clock (due solely to adulthood), and gratified mediocrity.
Studies show that over time, people who are getting six hours of sleep, instead of seven or eight, begin to feel that they’ve adapted to that sleep deprivation -- they’ve gotten used to it. But if you look at how they
Waking up early at 6:00 A.M in the morning isn’t the funniest thing to do. The times on when school starts should be changed to a later time. Schools should change start times to later there is even factual evidence that this is true. In the article ‘The Teen Who Woke Up Her School’ by Jane Bianchi wrote about a teen named Jilly Dos Santos who put hard work into petitions and powerpoints to show how more sleep can better not only her but other people on school work and sports. People need more sleep to function and get through the day and to be more alert about things around them.Evidence from scientist and from teens show that people work better when they have more energy and got a good night's rest and when students don’t they sometimes start
Researchers have found a way to connect sleep with education. Gary Scarpello who wrote "Lack Of Sleep Could Be Trouble For CTE Students” , did a research study with liberty mutual showed that teens had an average of 7.2 hours of sleep on school nights and 33 to 75 % of all students have sleep problems. In the article it had stated that not getting enough sleep can cause impaired hand eyed coordination, reaction time and brief mental lapses. (Scarpello). The same researchers also found out that Sleep helps restores brain functions such as alertness, metabolism, and memory and regulate hormones (Scarpello). Researchers Mary A. Carskardon and A.R. Wolfson studied 3,120 Rhode Island children. They had figured out that college students who slept more than nine hours a night had a gr...
How many times has this happened to you; it’s six thirty on a Tuesday morning, your alarm has already gone off twice, your still laying in bed and your bus comes in twenty minutes. This is an everyday occurrence at my house. It is a proven statistic that the average high school student does not get enough sleep. While some experts like Dr. Lee Yanku say “It is not the schools starting time that is the problem as to why students don’t get enough sleep, it is because of facebook, myspace and cell phones” The truth behind it is that we can’t budget sports, homework and extracurricular activities into one day and still get nine hours of sleep. This is hurting student’s academic averages and needs to change. Changing the school time will help boost academic averages among students, and isn’t th...
All children need sleep and want sleep during the weekdays and that is very difficult. It has been noticed that older students and younger students, such as third graders and eleventh graders, sleep patterns are very different. In many places it is the same way that middle schools and high school start earlier than elementary schools. The problem is that adolescents stay up at least two and a half hours later than younger children do (Bergin 2).
As noted by the graph our standings in education is below average, especially with African Americans and Hispanic children compared to other states. If this is the outcome in elementary school what should we expect by grade 8. With all of the various reforms enacted throughout the 30 years the curriculum in public schools did not improve nor did our standing compared to the rest of the world. Even though in each presidency monitoring tool was developed to ascertain the level of learning based on the test. In states where students passing their test equated to more funding of the school as well as the school remains open, jobs for the educators. So oppose to teaching students the information needed educators taught to the test. This is due to politicians not addressing the core issues that prevent children in low social economic status of of color due to cultural biases. Then there is the political climate of education including ignorance towards the benefit of vocational schools and real world learning.
Were you aware that teens tend to have irregular sleeping patterns that can harm their body and the way it functions? When it comes to sleep, teens are inclined to stay up very late during the week and wake up very early in the morning. On the weekends, they seem to gravitate more towards waking up very late to catch up on the sleep that they missed earlier in the week. Now that you know what the causes of having irregular sleeping patterns can do to a teenager’s body, you will be able to see the positive and negative effects of what not having enough sleep can do to one’s self. These facts will be explored through the articles “Should Schools Start Later” by Justin O’Neill and “Why Schools Should Start Later in the Morning” by Emily Richmond.
It’s seven thirty in the morning, the time that most American high schools begin class. Instead of being chipper and ready to learn, most teenagers, at this time of the morning, can barely remain awake. These puffy eyed pupils are by no means ready to learn. Sixty percent children under 18 reported being sleepy during the day, with another fifteen percent reporting that they had fallen asleep during the school day within the past year (National Sleep Foundation, Dozing). Though adolescents require a larger amount of sleep than younger children, they usually receive much less (Indiana University Center for Adolescent Studies). The amount of sleep a teenager receives affects him or her both physically and mentally. Sleep deprived teenagers are more likely to be irritable, be depressed, not perform up to their capabilities in school, and have a decreased ability to handle complex tasks (National Parent Information Network). Though teenage sleep deprivation is a big problem, some simple solutions such as rescheduling the school day to fit teenagers’ biological needs, setting consistent sleep schedules, and teaching children the importance of proper sleep habits can easily remedy this problem.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, biological sleep patterns change throughout the stages of adolescence. ¨Biological sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking during adolescence-meaning it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00pm.¨ (¨Teens and Sleep¨). Messing with these sleep cycles in the long run and lead to sleep disorders. Research done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests teenagers 13-18 years old should regularly sleep 8-10 hours each night for a healthy sleep. The teens who do not get a good amount of sleep are more likely to suffer from mental conditions, smoking, illicit drugs, and alcohol use. ¨Not getting enough sleep is common among high school students and is associated with several health risks including being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, and using drugs, as well as poor academic performance.¨ (¨Schools Start Too Early¨). On an NBC news story, Hilton Head Island High School moved its start time and benefits were noticeable. Students had higher test score averages and grades improved throughout the school.A study done in 2008 published in the journal of clinical sleep, found car accident rates fell by 16.5% when students were more aware on the road, not having to wake up before 7 am.
Education reform could be considered as one of the most highly debated issues of today. People of many different backgrounds from many different locations have many different opinions on how children in this country should be taught. In this incredibly broad debate, one of the most highly discussed issues is that of a multicultural education. The problem with this topic is that the many different people who have an opinion on the issue have many different definitions of what a multicultural education should be. Perhaps if the ideas behind a multicultural education were defined more clearly, the issue would be easier to talk about and the seemingly circular argument that is education reform could move towards a definite goal. Some of the ideas that have been discussed within the parameters of a multicultural education include afrocentrism, tolerance, and morality, among many others. While these and other issues do have certain merit, they alone can not serve as the basis for a strong education. The aim of a multicultural education should be to integrate a child's acquisition of basic skills with a general knowledge of the people he or she lives with in the United States. One of, if not the main factor in education reform is the teachers. They are the foundation for a child's development, and the are the filter through which the child must learn. A single teacher should not be allowed the right to single handedly hinder a young person's education, as the material taught and the lessons learned should transcend the people teaching these lessons. The seemingly obvious way to eliminate differences between teachers would be homogenous teacher training. However, the fact must be understood that while most teachers wil...
One of the many arising problems of America’s students is they are becoming sleep deprived. The busy daily schedules of children and teens are not allowing them to get enough sleep. “Less sleep is unhealthy especially with the new research that as teenagers move through teenage years, they need increasing amounts of sleep. Nine hours per night is the necessary amount to avoid behaviors associated with sleep deprivation” (Final Report Summary, 2001). Among other things, sleep deprivation is causing students to sleep during class instead of being awake and aware. When the students are sleeping in class, they are not retaining information being taught to them. Researchers have now proven that the majority of adolescents retain more information later in the day. Contrary to this information, America’s school systems are programmed to begin early in the day, which according to the sleep rhythms of most teenagers, they should still be sleeping.
We are all too familiar with that dreadful screech of the alarm clock in the morning but for high school students across America the rooster crows at a ridiculous hour. High school students groggily stumble out of bed only to underperform academically due to a severe lack of sleep. In my case, particularly, I had to be present in my first class promptly at 7:24 AM. For many in similar situations to myself this means waking up at 6 AM just to have time to get prepared for a treacherous day of school running on abysmal hours of sleep. Brookwood High School needs to reevaluate their schedules and push back the beginning of the school day no earlier than 8:30 AM.
Many times people think they can accomplish more if they could eliminate so much sleeping time. However, they are only hurting their productivity if they lose sleep. Two articles deal with the issue of sleep deprivation. The College Student Journal published an article about the grade-point average of college students and sleep length, while U.S. News & World Report produced an article dealing with the lack of
Introduction Sleep studies have been conducted since as early as 1913. However, the impact of school start times on student academics is often overlooked by most schools. In reality, start times can significantly affect academic performance by disrupting adolescents' normal sleep cycle, leading to a lack of sleep that impairs learning, and hindering academic performance. These theories have been tested through sleep studies, and most of them have been found to be true. Sleep Cycle Changes When children transition from primary school to middle or high school, it can significantly affect their learning due to changes in their sleep cycle.
The alarm goes off at six am and the typical high school student is barely able to open their eyes. It is time to get up and prepare for a full day at school, about eight hours. Most teenagers, according to the National Sleep Foundation, will only get about six hours of sleep since they tend to stay up until midnight (“Should schools start later in the day?”). After getting ready, many students look forward to a nap in their first hour class despite the information they will miss. Teenagers seem to always have had trouble getting up in the morning, even earning the title of lazy from their parents. However, recent research on adolescent sleep patterns has produced a biological explanation for this tendency. This raises a serious question: why are high schools starting early in the morning when teenagers are biologically programmed to sleep in? For most cases, school start time has not been conformed to fit student physiological needs simply because of transportation issues.
In this paragraph, I will elucidate on how sleep deprivation is associated with low academic performance, poor health, depression, mood disorders and drowsy driving in adolescents. I will substantiate my argument using statistics and studies, performed by researchers in my sources. I will also be defining cardinal terms such as circadian rhythms, sleep deprivation and neurocognitive functioning. Finally, I will present my thesis statement and introduce academic performance and health effects of sleep deprivation as the two