Why School Should Start Later Essay

School. We go there every day, but what time is the right time to go? How long should we be there as well? Many of our days start early and are long. Many schools start before 8 a.m. which is earlier than some jobs. Students also have long days with many activities and homework to follow, making for a long, tiring day. By starting our school days later and having shorter days, we can be more productive and healthier.

Sleep is one of the issues that is brought up when talking about the timing of school. School interferes with sleep schedules. Teens today are facing an epidemic of sleep deprivation. According to the National Children’s website, teenagers need between nine and nine and a half hours of sleep each night. On average teens are only

Some teens have jobs, others have sports and clubs, and some just live a very active social life. In all reality, teens do not want to spend their entire day at school, or even any free hour they have working on homework. By having a shorter school day students have more time to be themselves and interact with others without being under a constant pressure to follow school rules. It gives them time to see their family as well. When teens get home after a long day of school, followed by activities, and even work they often don’t have time to spend with their family. They either have to go to sleep or work on homework and then go to sleep. Many teens are preparing for life after high school, which includes making money. A majority of students have jobs and need time to actually work there. In Wisconsin, students under 16 may not work after 7 p.m on school nights. If they get done with school at around 3:30 they may not be able to get to work until about 4 p.m. That only leaves about three hours to work. For most people that seems like an insufficient amount of time at work if they have to commute there. Having time after school would allow for students to participate in study groups or extracurriculars that enhance their learning as well. If students are able to go to work earlier, they may be able to get home earlier to get more sleep and have time to do homework. Many students do not do their homework because they do not have time

Many believe that shorter school days will hurt students’ education because they have less time to learn. Others also say the school year will be longer decreasing the time students have for summer. In Wisconsin, students grades 7- 12 must have 1,137 hours of instruction time in a school year. The average school has about six and a half hours of instruction time a day, plus a half an hour lunch. Those schools on average have about 175 days of school in a school year. If school days were only six hours long that would only amount to about 189 days in school, which is not much longer than the usual 175 to 180 days. The pros outweigh the cons of shorter school days in almost every