Persuasive Essay: Why School Should Start Later

Each year, exhausted teenagers leave themselves to another day of battling their bodies clocks so they can get in class on time. It's outstanding that teenagers who don't get eight hours of rest a night confronts a large number of issues. That is the reason why both the American Institute of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control recommend shifting middle- and high-school start times to 8:30 a.m or later. However, during 2011-2012 school year, the latest statistics accessible — just 17.7 % of the national public middle, high and combined schools met the 8:30 a.m. rule, and almost 40% began before 8 a.m. In California, the normal start time was 8:07 a.m.

It would be nice if students could wake up at 7:00 and feel refreshed and be ready for a good school day. Well, students can’t do that because of the “IMS Student/Parent Handbook”. It states in the handbook “7:25 a.m. to 2:25 p.m.” which are the school times when school begins and when it stops. Independence Middle School should start at 8:15 a.m. because students will be more alert, they will have more time in the morning to eat, and they will learn the material better.

With many people come many opinions and sides. For example, school start times have become a big argument. Some believe that everything should stay the same and that students are fine the way things are. Then, there is the other side who believes that changing the school start times to later in the day will help the students tremendously. I am on the side of things should stay the same.

A survey was conducted at McClain High School (Bland). The survey found that 35% of their students wake up at six o'clock in the morning and 60% of students go to bed at eleven o’clock at night (Bland). 42% of students think school should start at nine o’clock in the morning because 57% of students feel like they finally wake up at third or fourth period (Bland). Teenagers are very active in extracurricular activities so it's only natural that teens schedules are always busy. Teens wake up at as early as five thirty in the morning to make it to school on time. As soon as they are done with school they go do various things including extracurricular activities; a job; or just spending time with friends. With doing all of these activities after school it leaves them with little time to

Schools everywhere are full of zombies in the morning. If you were to walk through a high school in the early morning, you would see teens everywhere slaving to stay awake. I find it beyond doubt almost impossible to stay awake if I wake up before 8 o’clock am. Teenagers are waking up way too early to be able to participant 100% in school. Teens need around nine hours of unbroken sleep every night, but most teens only get seven hours if they are lucky on school nights. This means that teenagers in the high school level are not getting enough sleep to be able to learn well.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, “8 out of 10 teens don’t get the 8 1/2 hours of sleep that they need” (Morin). One of the major causes of this is early school times. Since the establishment of public schools, children have been pulled out of bed early in order to get to school on time. “Almost 45 out of the 50 states in the U.S start school before 8:30 am”(Scholastic). Now, experts are beginning to question how early a child should start the day at school. Research shows that schools should start later in order for children to establish healthy habits. When kids have to get up early, it has a negative effect on kids’ behavior and attitude. Also, if kids get up later it is a cost efficient way for schools to improve grades and attendance. A closer look at the evidence shows that schools need to start later in order to help children become more successful not only in school, but to improve their lives as a whole.

Sleep is, without a doubt, one of the uttermost needs for the human body to function to its full potential. Every early August, groggy teens begin another year of being forced to fight their bodies natural sleep cycle. If surveyed, most high school students would all agree that school starts way too early in the morning. All schools should be enforced to change the start time of classes to help adolescents become less stressed from lack of sleep.With school times starting later, students would improve their health and grades, have more time to achieve things, and have a safer place to come home to.

Did you know that 64% of students go to bed later than 10:00? Schools around the world start around 7-8 o'clock. Which is extremely early for students. In a recent survey students took the majority said they wanted school to start at 9 am. Many students are tired when they get to school and are more likely to not to pay attention in class. They also don’t have time to eat breakfast. And finally students are usually late because they have slept in.

Do you dread getting out of bed early in the morning to go to school? Do you think you would do better in school if you did better in school if you had the chance to get more sleep? Schools should start classes later because teens don't get enough sleep, are at risk for drowsy driving and less school would be missed.

You are getting ready for work when you notice the strangely quiet house. You wonder what is wrong, and then it hits you: your teenager is not up yet. You storm into their room, shaking them awake and yet the only response you get is a groan and a “just five more minutes” and a “leave me alone.” You notice homework and projects throw in a pile on the floor, evidence of the late night. But yet your teenager is not doing too well in some of their classes, which is confusing. The clock reads 7:27, meaning your son or daughter will be late for school if they do not get up now. After another attempt and another “leave me alone,” you leave, flipping the light on as motivation to get up. Parents all over the country are dealing with the same issue with their middle or high school students. Students in grades six through twelve need later school start times due to the change that occurs in their biology during puberty and the academic and health benefits that can come with delayed times.

School is considered to be one of the most important pieces in someone’s life in order to succeed in the world. While considering this, imagine being able to sleep in and not have to worry about getting up at the crack of dawn in order to be educated everyday. Would one benefit more from sleeping in and putting off school for a bit later in the morning? Would one’s academic scores rise due to the extra amount of sleep? How beneficial is sleep when it comes to education? Does more sleep make a significant difference in a student’s academic achievement? Why should schools consider starting later? Will students really benefit from school start times being pushed back? While some may argue that school should not start later, it would be beneficial for schools to start at a later time in order to ensure that students stay healthy and improve academically.

(https://www.educationdegree.com/articles/why-start-school-later) In an article from The Atlantic it says that the American Academy of Pediatrics says kids internal clocks “operate differently than those of other age groups. It’s typically more difficult for adolescents to fall asleep earlier in the evening than it is for other age demographics.” The AAP has specifically “urged schools to adjust the start times” so more kids can get enough sleep. (https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/08/why-school-should-start-later/401489/) Those kids who don't get enough sleep may have lots of health risks that can have very bad consequences on mental well-being. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says (https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0806-school-sleep.html) that no school should start earlier than 8:30 so that schools can provide students a chance to learn at their maximum capabilities. Another group, The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, claims that “adolescents 13 to 18 years need to

According to (National Sleep Foundation) “85 percent of high school students in the United States aren't getting the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep at night.” This shows that the less sleep you earn at night the less you learn at school. The less you learn at school the worse grades you will get. If schools started later students would get the recommended amount of sleep needed. This shows clearly why schools need to start

Have you ever been tardy for sleeping in? Or have performed worse in school just because of sleep? Or fallen asleep in class? Well, if school started later none of these thing would happen to you. Schools should start later because it won't have a negative effect on students during the day. Schools should start later because it will decrease the number of students who have health and emotional problems, improve students school performances, and decrease the number of students who are tardy from sleeping in.

Thomas Decker once said, “Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” School. There’s a lot of things people can say about it. Mostly they’re arguments about school such as should school have trimester or semesters? Or maybe school should be year round rather than having a summer break. However, out of all those, one in particular caught my eye. Should school start later? Now me being a student myself, this was very enticing. Being able to sleep more and have a full night's rest would be delightful. I, myself, believe that school starting later would be beneficial for school and the kids going to school. It would have its pros and cons, but it would be an overall positive impact to everyone.