Kennedy 1

Brent Kennedy

Mrs. Cramer

Comp Pd. 6A

24 March 2017

Later Start but Greater Education

"Sleep is for the weak."1 This statement, states that being able to rest makes you weak,

but actually sleep helps you rebuild and regain your strength, therefore sleeping is for the weak.

Theres no sound more dreadful than the shrill scream of a morning alarm clock, especially when

students have a stressful day ahead in the classroom and when students have got what felt like

only several minutes of sleep the night before. If teachers and staff at schools expect students

performance to be at its height, then they should understand that students are not mentally ready

for learning to start. For students to be mentally ready they need ample time to wake up and

prepare for the learning process. School districts should understand the science of this and make

some necessary changes. Schools should push back the start time an hour or two so that students

are better mentally prepared for optimal performance in the classroom and so these young adults

grow healthier.

To start with, when it is stated that students need to be able to be better mentally prepared

for optimal performance in school, this is meant to define that students need to have the time in

the morning when they awake from sleep, to better prepare themselves and achieve the best state

of mental activity that they can. The production of melatonin, the bodys sleep hormone, occurs

1 Sententia - Figure of argument in which a wise, witty, or pithy maxim or aphorism is used to
sum up the preceding material.
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much later at night during puberty. This makes it more difficult for teens to fall asleep before 11

p.m. and wake up before 8 a.m. Even if students are to go to bed earlier and get more hours of

sleep than the national average for teens and preteens of 7 hours, which is a miniscule number

compared to the 10 to 12, or 8 to 10 hours that are recommended depending on age, most of

these students dont have the ample time before class to prepare themselves for learning. Even if

students wanted to try and sleep in on the weekends to make themselves for mentally prepared, it

doesnt help. Research suggests that catching up on sleep over the weekend doesnt erase

students sleep debt that students think is easy to replace. While students may feel more rested,

reaction time and problem-solving skills still lag behind. That strategy doesnt help students

mentally prepare themselves. Students are still just waking up and need the extra hours to get

themselves prepared. Students need time to get their gears turning2 and also if able the extra

hours of sleep.

On the hand, there is the actual realization that not all students may use the time provided

to them to sleep and prepare themselves even though that is the purpose of that time. With the

current curriculum it will still take students long nights to do assignments meant for home and

then there is the fact that not all students go to sleep before midnight. Then there is the

distractions that most students dont turn away from late at night. Some students stay up watch to

watch television shows, Netflix or other television providers which isn't exactly using the time

that would be provided wisely. When the school hours would be moved back students would be

expected to go to bed at relatively the same time at night with the early school bell and wake up a

little bit later and use the extra time to get mentally prepared for classes during the day. Can

2 Metaphor - Figure of explication occurring when a comparison made by speaking of one thing
in terms of another; an implied comparison between two different things which share at least one
attribute in common.
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schools count on their students to do this? Students need to be able to put away the distractions

not leave cell phones, television or music on it disturbs the deep sleep that these young adults

need. This change of school start times would come with multiple schedule changes and would

cost people money.

Additionally, one would say that this added time in the morning there comes a major

downside: less free time at night! Even with an early roll call, its tough to get the most out of the

after-school period and complete those activities successfully and also to the best of their ability.

With a later morning bell, students would be expected to fit loads of homework, practices,

meetings, jobs, and even dinner into fewer evening hours. Getting to bed earlier than before or

even before midnight, some people say there is no chance. But students and teachers arent the

only ones who would be rattled by a school schedule change. The extra wave of commuters will

shift traffic patterns; working parents will need to scramble to find morning childcare; and next

thing you know, the whole town with that school has to adjust. "The issue is really cost," says

Kristen Amundson, executive director of the National Association of State Boards of Education.

Changing school bus schedules and adding drivers is one of the biggest financial obstacles to

later start times, and the estimated 80 school districts that have adopted later times tend to be

smaller, she says. Later dismissal also delays practices and games, and the shift may cut into time

for after-school jobs. (Bratsis) School districts shouldnt have that kind of power over the

community, without the community having a say in what they think is best. Waking up early has

been part of our routine since kindergarten. But that needs to ultimately change to help the health

of young adults and help them grow to make Americans as healthy as possible.

One last reason why schools need to push back the clock is the early morning for school

is disrupting the younger generations growth, which hinders the futures full potential from being
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reached. Even several doctors feel these students pain, urging schools to allow for extra slumber.

Yet most school districts have ignored their advice, and thats unfortunate. Teens and other young

adults shouldnt have to choose between their health and their education. Sleep-deprived students

face a lot of consequences much greater than feeling drowsy all throughout the day. Multiple

studies suggest a link between lack of sleep and mental illness, a weakened immune system, and

even a reduced stress threshold. Basically, school districts are neglecting a basic survival need

while surrounding communities strive to build a successful future. Schools should be able to

locate the irony in that process. Completely changing the schedule for school and other things is

not a piece of cake3, but if school officials truly care about the well-being of their student body,

they need to try and give this a shot. Its about time to put the future's health first and take the

action necessary by moving school start times back.

To wrap it all up, students need their time to mentally prepare themselves and they need

time to sleep and time to grow to be healthy. Even though it will cost money and schedule

changes if students actually use the time they are given to sleep and wake up they will succeed in

school. Therefore, Schools should push back the start time an hour or two so that students are

better mentally prepared for optimal performance in the classroom and so these young adults

grow healthier and so the future may be brighter.

3 Idiom - a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those
of the individual words.
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Works Cited

Bratsis, Michael E. "The scientific case for starting high school later." The Science Teacher, Dec.

2014, p. 12. Student Resources in Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A393518498/SUIC?u=pl1949&xid=b663e204. Accessed 17

Mar. 2017.

"Do Schools Begin Too Early?" Education Next. N.p., 25 Dec. 2016. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

"Experts agree: later school starts help teens." The Science Teacher, Feb. 2017, p. 23. Student

Resources in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A480489277/SUIC?

u=pl1949&xid=595fc666. Accessed 17 Mar. 2017.

George, Donna St. "Debate over School Start times Flares Anew." The Washington Post. WP

Company, 01 Jan. 2017. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

"School Start Time and Sleep." National Sleep Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.

Times, School Start. Later School Start Times Promote (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.