In Why Schools Should Start Later for Teens (2016), a TED talk by Wendy Troxel, a knowledgeable clinical psychologist, argues that high schools should start later because too many adolescents are sleep-deprived. Troxel makes the case that teen’s biological clocks are delayed and don’t start producing melatonin till 11 pm, making the wake time of 6 am seem barbaric. In order to make a change, Wendy suggests that middle and high schools should not start any earlier than 8:30 a.m. Troxel’s goal is to inform parents and schools of the benefits sleep has on their adolescents, as a mother herself Wendy has first-hand experience of how damaging a lack of sleep can be for teens. Similarly, many other sleep psychologists and experts stress the same …show more content…
Wendy states, “Sleep deprivation among American teenagers is an epidemic,” By using charged words like “epidemic” Troxel presents the situation as an urgent and serious matter. To further her claim, Wendy mentions a study she participated in in which she found the many mental illnesses that can come from sleep deprivation, “sadly contributing to many of the mental health problems that skyrocket during adolescence, including substance use, depression and suicide,” (Troxel, 2016). Wendy Troxel pulls on the heartstrings of her audience by mixing emotion with facts. She ended the speech with her audience contemplating her words and a standing ovation. Aside from the emotional appeal of Troxel’s speech, Wendy also uses figurative language and rhetorical questions to highlight the importance of sleep in adolescents. One instance Troxel used figurative language was hyperbole to exaggerate the feeling of sleep deprivation realistically. She states, “On the unfortunate days when I have to wake up at 4 am, I'm a zombie,” (Troxel, 2016). By comparing the feeling of chronic sleep deprivation among teens to a mindless walking corpse, she elevates the unfortunate reality that almost every American teenager wakes up irritable and not thinking …show more content…
This device is used to persuade or subtly influence the audience. This question’s purpose is not to be answered, but is for the benefit of the people. This question is used to emphasize the point and to get the audience thinking. Wendy also asks the question, “Every morning I ask myself, ‘How can I -- knowing what I know and doing what I do for a living -- be doing this to my own son?’" (Troexel, 2016). Wendy simultaneously uses a rhetorical question and introduces the irony of the situation. Because Troxel is a sleep researcher, it is ironic she has a teen struggling with sleep deprivation. This evokes empathy from the audience and makes her more relatable. Figurative language and rhetorical questions combine to take the attitude that chronic sleep deprivation among teens is a big deal to elevate the necessity of later school start times. Essentially, Wendy Troxel delivered an effective argument using credible research, passionately charged words, and clever rhetorical questions. Troxel’s intention for delayed school start times is for adolescents to get the most out of their development, which can only happen during
Why Schools Should Continue Starting at Eight 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. 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.
“Hundreds of school districts around the country have pushed back school start times” States the writer for the Chicago Tribune, Kay Manning. In her essay, “Schools Awaken to Teens’ Sleep Needs,” implies students are impaired by their lack of sleep. Manning’s purpose is to convey the idea that it is a necessity for schools to look into starting school later due to the effects of sleep deficiency on children and their school work. She adopts an urgent tone in order to grab the support of her adult readers. Manning made this essay very effective through pathos, ethos, diction and syntax.
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” (...
Schools starting Earlier in the day make it easier for students to get to school and be able to do after school activities and their coaches not worrying that they aren’t going to beat the sun for daylight. People say that if school started later that students wouldn’t be tired at school that is false because since students would have to wake up later they would go to sleep later at night making them tired in the morning
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.
One reason why high school should start later than elementary schools is that with such early start times, the average high school students do not get enough sleep and are considered sleep deprived. According to a survey completed by The National Sleep Foundation, only 20% of high school students sleep the optimal 9 hours on school nights and 60% of children under the age of 18 have complained that they are tired throughout the school day to their parents (“School Start”). Sleep depravity is very common among high school students. With disadvantaged sleep patterns, adolescents have decreased mental sharpness and ability to pay attention during school hours. Therefore, grades and test scores are lower than their potential. In fact, “a recent survey by the National Sleep Foundation showed that only 20 percent of teenagers report getting the optimal 9 hours of sleep o...
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.
Among adolescents and teenagers lack of sleep has become an epidemic. Teenagers believe that sleep is expendable when, in reality, it is extremely important for teens to receive sufficient sleep. Alexandra Robbins argues in her book, The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids, that teenagers are willing to sacrifice sleep for success and that this way of thinking is harmful to adolescent development. It is because of this way of thinking and the negative effect it has, that the start time of high schools should be pushed back. Through evidence provided by Robbins and an outside source, it can be asserted that the start time of high schools should be pushed back.
Are you tired of waking up so early in the morning? Daryn doesn't get tired until 11:00. He then has basketball practice at 6:15. That means he only gets about 6 hours of sleep because he has to wake up at 5:30. After basketball he's tired, then he has to go to school and most likely falls asleep in school because he's so weary from such a busy, miniscule morning. Schools should start later in the morning because it gives the child more sleep so they won't be tired, gives them a more productive morning and benefits their education.
Have you ever felt so tired in the middle of class? A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that 70% percent of teens aren't getting enough sleep. Most people are blaming this on school times. For many students, school starts way too early and are ruining their sleep schedules and themselves in particular.
We’ve all woken up tired not wanting to go to school, because we didn’t get enough sleep. Of course when I say we, I mean as in teens who go to school, and possibly yourself when at the time in your life. The schedule for school doesn’t fit in very well with our sleep patterns. Sleep experts from the University of Minnesota, have found that later start times made students have a better health measure and over perform better in school (Hoofman 2). Research being done on this topic mostly specifies that bodies don’t agree with the start time, for various reasons. School start times should be pushed back an hour to benefit teens health, and school performance.
Schools should start later because it’ll lead to better grades and better attitudes. When teens don’t have enough sleep some teens might start to do drugs and alcohol. Sleep is very important to all ages. Some teens have uneven sleep orders, because some may stay up late and get up late on the weekends and that may cause them to be off schedule during the week(Lewis). Even though later start time would lead kids missing end of the day classes to attend sporting events, school should start later because kids need more sleep and reduces car crashes and uses in alcohol and drugs.
“These experts have long said that expecting teens to show up to class before 8 a.m. is not good for their health or their report cards” (Associated Press). Schools are starting to start school later for many reasons but the important ones are it’s not good for teen health and grades it affects their grades a lot. Students from various schools are saying that students are falling asleep in class and are missing out on important information they need to do there homework.
Everyone knows it's going to a be a long day when they're running low on sleep. One night of inadequate sleep can be easily overcome, but many teenagers are dealing with tiredness daily. Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers: the Story of Success, states "Children, we like to believe, should have time to play and dream and sleep" (530). Gladwell presents the idea that adolescents need more time allotted into their schedules for plenty of sleep as well as some fun. However, most teens have an abundance of schoolwork and extracurricular activities making this is impossible. Even though it may not be easy, delaying school start times would be a tremendous step to help America's teens. Today's high school students in the United States are facing exhaustion, low grades, and poor health due to early school start times.
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.