I. Attention Getter: The alarm sounds at 6:00. You’ve only gotten four hours of sleep. You stub your toe on your dresser, have your clothes on backwards, spill your coffee, and forget not only your homework but your entire backpack. You have a case of “The Mondays”. Unfortunately, your case of “The Mondays” falls on a Thursday.
II. Link: According to the Washington Post, sleep deprivation can affect mood, performance, attention, learning, and behavior.
III. Thesis Statement: In order to increase attendance rates, allow students to perform better in class, and reduce health risks, Carmel High School should have school start later.
IV. Preview Statement: I will be talking about the advantages that studies have shown about school starting later,
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Studies have proven that students will be more punctual, attend school more often, pay more attention and be engaged in class.
A. According to the National Sleep Foundation, most students get, on average, 7 hours of sleep when they are supposed to be getting 8.5 and 9.25 hours per night. It is biologically proven that it is difficult for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 p.m. and wake up before 8 a.m. (American Academy of Pediatrics).
B. Not only does pushing back the school starting times provide more sleep for students but also betters teens’ health. 1. Causes sleep deprivation
2. Sleep deprivation causes depression, irritability, poor impulse control and violence, alcohol and drug use, impaired decision making, and overall lower performance in everything from academics to athletics (National Sleep Foundation).
C. Reduces number of morning car accidents 1. When teens have not had a good night’s sleep, they are more likely to get in a car accident. 2. Drowsydriving.org states that 1 out of 10 drivers have fallen asleep at the wheel in the past year. Also, 1 out of 6 deadly traffic accidents is a direct result of drowsy driving.
II. Many people argue that making the decision to change schools starting and dismissal times would cause too many issues with scheduling for other
On average, high school students receive about 3.5 hours of homework each night and elementary school students are getting about three times the amount that is recommended, which is ten minutes per grade, so 10 minutes for 1st grade and 50 minutes for 5th grade. Homework takes time to do after school and extracurriculars. If a student goes to school at 9:00 and gets out at 4:00, then goes to an after-school activity from 4:00 to 6:00, they will come home and have dinner from about 6:30 to 7:15, which means that they will probably start homework at around 7:30. This means that high school student would be up until about 11:00 finishing their homework, that’s without factoring in how much time the students will waste. This leaves students with less than the recommended 9 hours of sleep. Students that have to stay up that late for homework will be tired in the morning, even if their schools do start later.
Sleep! That wonderful, blissful void between last night and this morning. Sleep is one of the most basic functions of life. Nearly all creatures must sleep in order to properly carry out tasks; teenagers are no exception. The typical teenager needs an average of nine to ten hours of sleep a night in order for their brains to be capable of working at full capacity. School starts so early that they infringe upon that basic necessity. In order for teens to receive an adequate amount of sleep, it is mandatory to enact later start times for high schools across the country.
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.
Based on the article on The National Sleep Foundation, when it's time for school the average teen body still thinks it's the middle of the night.
One of the benefits of later school start times is improved student performance. In a study conducted by researchers from the University of Minnesota, it was found that over eight hours of sleep each night boosted test scores, attendance, and overall academic achievement (Long). With a later start time, students would be able to get a better night's sleep, and would be overall more alert (Morin). If students in school are more alert, they will be able to pay more attention to teachers.
Starting school later also has a lot of health and academical benefits. Even if the school day starts 30 minutes later, It has proven to show great benefits for teenagers. In the pass Up For Debate: Should School Start Later It says “As a result, students were showing up to school alert and ready to learn and are focused and engaged in lessons.” Some people believe that starting earlier is better because a later start results in a later end to the day. But changing it to a later time will still give kids enough time to sleep and get their work
Studies conducted over a nearly 30 year span have consistently shown only a small fraction of adolescents get the 9 or more hours of sleep they require to function at their best. While teenagers are notorious for causing their own sleep difficulties, sleep loss among adolescents is confined primarily to school nights. “Sleep deprivation is epidemic among adolescents, with potentially serious impacts on mental and physical health, safety, and learning. Most teenagers undergo a biological shift to a later sleep-wake cycle, which can make early school start times particularly challenging.” says
Drowsy driving is the cause of 100,000 car crashes per year. Teens need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night, but only 15% reported that they get 8 ½ hours of sleep. With this lack of sleep, this can lead to dangers behind the wheel. When you do not get enough sleep, you are putting yourself, and surrounding drivers in danger, once you get behind the wheel.
Teens are wired to be night owls and are still required to sleep at least a whole 9 hours to be able to function properly. Studies show that a school with later arrival times is 16.5% less likely to have a car crash than a school with earlier start times. Sleep is very important in order to reduce teen car crashes. If students don’t graduate from high school then who will teach them how go through life. Later school leads to higher graduation rates.
As Elizabeth Malatesta states, “The adolescent body doesn’t begin to produce melatonin, a hormone linked to sleep cycles, until around 11pm, leaving adolescents with a limited window in which to obtain sufficient sleep”, this shows that teens aren’t getting enough sleep because school starts at a time in which doesn’t allow them to get the amount of
We have all had mornings where you felt like you just couldn’t get up because you were so exhausted. What if I told you there was a way to not have those anymore? Teens/adolescents all around the world struggle just like you to get up in the morning. Then when we get to school still tired we are expected to perform at our absolute best? Starting school later could give teens the sleep they need to execute their very best work at school. People have a lot of problems with waking up early and going to their school for 7-8 hours. It is not a rare issue. Schools should start later because teens aren’t getting enough sleep, there are a lot of risks to lack of sleep, and students perform better when they get more rest.
Amelia pounds on the alarm clock at dawn in exhaustion. She falls right back asleep since she has hit the SNOOZE button yet again. She then hears the footsteps of her parents walking the hallway that leads to her room. Suddenly a loud scream ringing in her ears signaling for her to wake up once again. She knows that the bus will be here soon to pick her up for school. So, she drags her half-awake body out from underneath her sheets, staggers toward the bathroom, and hits the wall both literally and figuratively. This is a typical morning for not only Amelia but most adolescents as they battle the early morning start times of schools. Therefore, teenagers need school to start at a later time. Schools must start later for teenagers because of health issues, educational reasons, and increase injuries/ deaths.
Many schools in America today are considering in having a longer schedule. However, having a longer schedule has more negatives than positives. Most parents already have a customized schedule that works with the traditional school schedule. Altering schools’ terms can affect the parents’ optimized day-by-day routines. Parents would have to make major changes to their work schedules. Vacations are shortened resulting in shorter family bonding time. High school students would have conflicts with summer jobs. They will not have to whole summer off and could only work in short breaks during the school year. In order for some schools to change their schedules, school bus transportation and other costs need to be considered. Student drop-out rates may increase since they are in school for a longer term. They can experience extreme tiredness and ultimately avoid going to school. If schools operate longer, they will require much more maintenance. The year-long schedule would impede with crucial maintenance concerns and attendance to those issues will have to done while students and staff members are in the school. Even though student achievement would probably increase, extending the schedules of schools is unnecessary because operational costs would increase, parental scheduling is affected as well as industries that favor a traditional school schedule.
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
Teens need about 9 to 10 hours of sleep each night to function best. Most teens do not get enough sleep. One study found that 85% students didn’t get enough sleep on school nights.