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Prosandconsof later school start times
Prosandconsof later school start times
The disadvantages of longer school days
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She cites a study that found that students who start school later have higher grades and test scores than those who start earlier. Additionally, students who get more sleep are more likely to be engaged in class and retain information better. By allowing students to get the sleep they need, schools can help them perform better academically and set them up for success in the future. Thirdly, Snyder provides examples of schools that have successfully implemented later start times and seen positive results.
These articles that are written by Michelle Trudeau and Dan Weissman both agree on the fact that high schools should start at a later time. In both articles, they both give facts on how a student can benefit from it. Michelle Trudeau states,”To help sleepy teens, some school districts have tried delaying the opening of the high school day. She is saying that teens are more sleepy in the morning.
According to “Should Schools Start Later?” by Junior Scholastic, “A later start, say opponents, also interferes with some teens part time jobs” (Scholastic 21). If schools start later, it would interfere with the teens work schedule. This would then cause the teens to be early on their shift and mess up a lot of people, which could result in them getting fired from their job. If schools stayed to the usual time schedule it would not cause any mix ups or confusion.
School start time and its effect on students has been an issue that many teachers and parents have argued over for many years. In districts all throughout the country, elementary, middle, and high schools start classes around different times, commonly making high schools begin their classes the earliest. The current standard start time for most schools is between 7-9 am, with some starting even earlier. This day-to-day schedule has been deeply rooted into the mind of many students for as long as they can remember with many believing that any type of change to this schedule would not benefit students or their studies. However, some experts argue that starting school later would have positive effects on both the physical and mental health of
Lisa Lewis, author of “Why School Should Start Later in the Day” states that “Repeated studies show that when the school day starts later and teens get more sleep, both grades and standardized test scores go up. A Colby College economist, Finley Edwards, found that a one-hour delay in start time increased math test and reading test scores by three percentile points. Even more striking, the lowest-scoring students showed the biggest jumps” (Lewis 1). To add on to students test scores and grades rising, a later start time can give them the needed time to finish up homework. Sports and activities at night can make finding time for homework hard for students.
Schools should not start later. There are many reasons why they should not. Three reasons why schools should not start later are,the school day will end later,transportation would be hard,and there is health risks at state. These are three main reasons why school should not start later. If schools decide to start later one of the main reasons why they should not is the school day will end later.
Having later start times can benefit kids in many ways such as improving their grades. When schools have later start times, students can wake up later and be more awake leading to them being more attentive in class and getting better grades. Researcher Finley Edwards “Found that math scores improved by 2 percentile points and reading scores by 1 point in middle schools that moved to a later start time.” Students might end up being tired in class because they didn't sleep long enough the night before leading to them not learning in class that may result in worse grades that the student is capable. Students grades and staying on task can be improved by having schools start later.
“Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together,” (Thomas Dekker), but with most middle and high schools starting before 8:00 am, students aren’t getting the recommended hours of sleep they need to do well in school. School start times should be later for middle and high schoolers for the protection of students’ academic scores, the reduced risk of traffic accidents, and for the protection of student health, although people may argue that parent work schedules may have to change and that the bus schedule change may or will be costly. Middle and high schools should start later for the positive impacts they would have on students and their families. First of all, the start times of middle and high schools should be later for the protection of students’ academic scores. Students who don’t get enough sleep get lower academic and standardized test scores.
Starting school later can actually improve your learning, health and even your attitude and all of that can be changed by just starting school at 8:30AM. Kids don't start taking in information until 8:30AM because that is when the brain starts to really work. According to National sleep foundation ¨ teenagers are naturally inclined to stay up later and get up later in the morning.¨ ¨Starting school at 8:30 improves a student's chance of success,¨ according to the (National sleep foundation). Not only do teens want to sleep more, but sleeping more actually improves their health.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes public understanding of sleep and sleep disorders, starting school later is an adequate way for students to have a better memory, behavior, attention, mood, and executive function. The National Sleep Foundation states “, A National Sleep Foundation poll reported that 28% of teenagers have fallen asleep in class at least once due to lack of sleep. Negative effects of sleep loss include impairments in mood, attention, memory, behavior and executive function… increase in caffeine use… sleep deprived-teens at higher risk of car accidents.” This means that by just adjusting the time by an hour students are more aware of their surroundings, more focused on what they’re learning, have a better mood, and executive function, and it reduces the amount of sugary snacks they have eat or drink to stay awake.
One other reason why school should start later is because it is more convenient. In the first place it’s better for one’s health. In order for your body to grow and develop you have to get enough sleep. If you do not get enough sleep it will lower the immune system and increase one’s chances of getting ill.
Many people argue whether school start times should stay the same or become later in the day. Most students already don't get enough sleep during the night and that can affect their learning experience in school (Wahlstrom). However some positive effects can still come from waking up early in the morning and getting to school around the same time. Although good can come from waking up early in the morning and sleeping in, students still need later school starting times to improve their overall health.
And it helps students ability to learn. One reason school times should start later is because it will help students catch up on sleep. “Sleep deprivation has become virtually epidemic among American teenagers. Research suggests that adolescents require about 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep, but according to the National Sleep Foundation, only 14% achieve this goal.” said Julie Peorgers from The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter. Not acquiring the recommended amount of sleep can have repercussion of the human body and brain.
Everyone has experienced or heard of what it’s like dragging yourself out of bed early in the morning for school. It gets mentally exhausting, especially if you do it for five days out of every week. Some kids don’t get to go to bed till late because some do sports and some nights they have late games which just makes it more exhausting for kids. This is why schools should start later in the morning, it will give the kids more time to get their healthy sleeping hours so they are not sleep deprived and unhappy. Schools all across the United States start at different times, but they all are in the same range.
Later school starts have also been associated with less depression and anxiety. And according to the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, starting later, “aid peak alertness and performance while supporting better mental health and student safety.” It seems as though there’s only benefits to changing school start times. Maybe that’s why according to debate.org, 79% of people surveyed agree with start times being later. However, changing something so concrete is difficult because of busses, and sports with their practices, and also job shift times.
