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Benefits of a later start time in schools
Why schools should start at a later time
Why schools should start at a later time
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Recommended: Benefits of a later start time in schools
Many teenagers across the world are forced to wake up early in the morning to go to school. Because of this, teenagers have a larger risk of sleep deprivation, depression, criminal activity, and more. How can reduce these risks? Some schools have rejected the idea of a later start time, but others are looking into the idea in hopes of trying to reduce these risks. Although some people believe that it would not be beneficial, we should push back school start times in order to reduce sleep deprivation and improve academic performance in teenagers. So why don’t we push back school start times? Some well-meaning citizens worry that it will “be harder for working parents to find child care” (Sifferlin 8). Parents, teachers, and principals all
Despite popular opinion, to be beneficial, schools should continue on their current schedules, and not start later. Starting schools later can have a variety of positive and negative consequences on students. Schools currently are at a time that gives students enough lesson time to learn subjects, but still have time to relax and take part in other activities after school. Also many families depend on the time school starts to have easy transportation to school and work. Starting schools later will take away students time to do activities of their choice such as spend time with their families, socialize with others, and participate in extracurricular activities.
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.
Many students will say if school started later they will show significant improvements in school performance. In the article “5 Pons and Cons of Later school start times” it’s states that If school started later students would make significant improvements in school performance. Many School districts that experimented with later start times found that students coped with academic workloads much better. Also a study on University of Minnesota found that grades, test scores and overall performance in core subjects advanced significantly when school start times were switched to later hours. So if school districts experimented with later start times and it helped students coped with academic workloads then why aren't we doing later start times. Plus the University of Minnesota said that grades, test scores and overall performance is better when schools started later. If
“BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!” The teenage student slams on the snooze button and struggles to get out of bed for the early school day. Teens on average need 9 ¼ hours of sleep (Backgrounder: Later School Start Times). Teens currently average fewer than 7 hours of sleep (Backgrounder: Later School Start Times). Hectic schedules, poor sleep habits, homework, and family obligations are the problem (Backgrounder: Later School Start Times). Schools are considering starting their school days later in the morning. For example, one Minneapolis school considered pushing back their start time from 7:15 to 8:30. Another Seattle school considers pushing back the school day start reported Jean Enersen. Would this benefit the students or harm the students? Is this for the better or for the worse? These are questions many superintendents and school board members are asking themselves. They all want to do what is best for their students, so the topic takes a lot of thinking, planning, and conversations. School starting later can be a very controversial issue.
Later School Start Times Everyone has always hated getting up super early to go to school. As children get older they move to different schools, from elementary to middle to high school, and the start times get earlier. In elementary school it was never a problem getting up but getting older, it always got harder to get up and the days were always longer. Schools start so early in the morning that it is hard to focus and students tend to miss more of their earlier classes and attend all of their later classes. Schools everywhere should start later because it would benefit the students and teachers.
Lack of sleep of teens is not caused by choice. Many teens do not choose to stay up late at night because they are out or having fun. The body has circadian rhythms. “These rhythms are generated internally and develop without any social or environmental cues. Adolescents experience a natural circadian phase delay and, therefore, tend to stay up later and sleep in later than in preadolescents” (Final Report Summary, 2001). The opening and closing schedules of schools are not based on these rhythms but are based on the business world and what is best for it. “School schedules should be adapted to the unique needs of different sub-populations of pupils. The administrator must not bear the sole responsibility for planning class schedules” (...
Researchers have proven that teenager’s brains don’t start working until ten in the morning, also that an average teenager is supposed to get eight to nine hours of sleep each night. These are a few reasons that school starting times are negatively affecting students learning abilities at school. I believe that schools should have later starting times. An average teenager is supposed to get eight to nine hours of sleep each night, however in reality most teens only get about seven hours. A lack of sleep is causing students to do worse on homework and tests. Our school starts at seven twenty-five, if it started two hours later, then students would be getting the exact amount of sleep that they need each night. A study shows that the brain doesn’t
When it comes to middle and high schools, they tend to start early, not generally knowing why the kids are tired. Only 15% of schools in America start at 8:30 or later, and it’s affecting schools across the country. Early school start times plague the students with low grades, sleep deprivation, and lower social skills. A solution to all of those factors would be to make the school start time later than 8:00. Middle school start times should be later because grades would be better, more time to wake up, and better social skills. They can’t just make a kid wake up and learn when they want to be asleep!
Ring! Ring! Goes my alarm clock I wake up at 5:00 in the morning for the first day of school. And I think about how school should start much later so teens can get more sleep. In the article should school start later by Lisa M. Harrington and the video "Should Students Start School Later in the Morning? as well as a info graphic by Sarah McKinney titled wake up call all support that schools should let their students get more sleep. Schools should let their students get more sleep so They will be ready to learn and enjoy their breakfast so they can have energy to learn when they enter their school and not be waking up at 5:00 in the morning and start being relaxed and waking up at 7:00 So they can get more time to relax and do what
“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 up cycle, which can make early school start times particularly challenging.” says Boergers.
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.
Has it ever been hard to work late at night or to finish homework, an essay, or study for a test, and it’s exhausting the next day? Many states all over the U.S. are changing their school start times to a later time in the morning. Changing schools to a later time has been proven extremely beneficial, but there are also conflicts, such as work and parent’s schedules. Data has been proven by Children’s National “Rise and Shine” that high school should start later in the morning. It’s very hard for teenagers to go to school early in the morning.
The national sleep foundation took a poll in 2006 showing the over one half of adolescents are getting less than 8 hours asleep (“Small”). Teens are supposed to get eight and half hours to nine hours of sleep. Schools’ starting at eight o’clock is absurd. Having teens get up at six or seven o’clock is very unhealthy for the brain. As a high school student it would help me if Broken Arrow Schools started later in the morning so I had time to completely wake up and eat breakfast to get my body going. Research shows that teens naturally go to sleep later and sleep later in the mornings (“Sleep”). Delaying the time school starts by thirty minutes to an hour could show an improvement on health in teens, their grades and morning traffic.
"It’s time to wake up, sleepyhead.” “You better get up or you’ll miss the bus.” Teenagers across the U.S. are being forced to wake up when their bodies are telling them otherwise. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) (2014) recognized adolescent sleep deprivation as a public health issue and released a policy statement recommending that high schools and middle schools not start before 8:30 a.m. (Boyland, Lori, 2015). Despite this recommendation, many school districts across the United States are disregarding this announcement and starting school, as early as 7:10 a.m. Some teenagers struggle with performing at the high levels needed to be successful in today’s schools because of early start times. Stakeholders, such as parents
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.