Persuasive Essay: Should School Start Start Time?

Should school start at 7:00 or should it start later in the morning? In Douglas High School, start times are at 7:30 in the morning. Changing the school schedule to a later start time would result in many other changes affecting a lot of people. According to the Sleep Foundation, "The change will affect the entire community, from students and parents to businesses, libraries, police, youth sports clubs, bus drivers and many others." Altering the school schedule would influence numerous aspects of people’s lives. Highly coordinated routines would have to be changed and adapted to the new schedule. A later release time would take time off of students’ free time in the afternoon. Clubs, sports, jobs, and other after-school activities would have

Many people are resistant to change, especially if it involves reassembling their plans and procedures to adjust to the new schedule. This is a problem for parents’ work schedules since they most likely will not be able to see their kids in the morning which will leave students unsupervised when they get ready. This is also a problem for transportation since parents will not be able to take their kids to school which might cause traffic and more costs since bus schedules would change too. According to the Sleep Foundation, "If elementary students have the earliest start times, they may be waiting for the bus in the dark early mornings, or waiting at home alone after school." Later start times are thought to solve tardies and absences, but if students cannot get to school, it does not solve anything. A change in the school schedule will result in disorder in many people’s daily routines perhaps having to discard certain activities to fully adjust to the new schedule. The changes caused by a new schedule affects students

They should be able to have enough time in the afternoon to distract themselves with other healthy activities which ensure the development of new skills and is also relaxing. Many students’ everyday activities may also be affected. Students who like to read or do their homework in the library or just spend time in any other public place will be affected since they will have less time in them because of later release times. According to Rachel Pancare, who holds a Master of Science in childhood education, "An earlier release offers many children a chance to relax or take a break before beginning their homework assignments." With the new schedule, students will be too centralized on school which can lead to stress. It is important to combat or relieve stress since it can lead to a huge variety of other problems or disorders like unhealthy eating habits, sleep deprivation, and depression, which end up affecting academics. However, these health concerns are just as likely to be present if the school schedule starts early in the