Essay On School Start Time

Words: 602
Pages: 3

Perhaps, historically, the early start of the school day reflects the farm culture of the 18th century. If farmers went to work at sunrise, they expected their children to begin school at the same time. Though the work day now begins at a later time, we still expect students to adhere to the traditional earlier start times. Students across America are forced to, 5 days a week; wake up to be in class, ready to work by 8 am. This practice exists in spite of scientific research proving that students perform better later in the day. Many studies have shown that the teenage brain is neither alert nor awake until around 9 am. The same study concluded that a 7am start time would be equivalent to a 5 am start time for a person in their 50’s. Regardless of the data, traditions surrounding education are entrenched, sometimes with good reason. Ultimately, however, we need to reexamine every factor contributing to students’ academic success.
Scientists and researchers have stated that wake and sleep patterns in adolescents are predetermined and cannot technically be changed. Teenagers are biologically determined to stay up late and wake up late in the morning. When students are forced to wake up and be to school as early as 7 o’clock they are fighting their internal body clock to be a wake and energetically
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This seemingly small change would be very expensive and disruptive to routines that have been followed for so long. It has been proven; however, that long term a later start time would not only benefit students but also the larger society. A later start time will also save schools money. Later start time could also decrease the amount of school missed. In many different schools a large majority of absences are because of students arriving to school late. A boost in attendance would also increase districtwide income which in turn would benefit the school