Would a Later School Start Time Increase Student Success? - Neeraja Nair
Having a later school time is a topic that is discussed among many people. I believe that there are pros and cons to both sides of the topic and it’s important to hear both sides. Many people don’t understand the cons of having a later school time. Having a later school time can affect how much sleep the student gets but in reality, I think that students will just use the later school time as an excuse to stay up longer. It is true that many students have sport activities or after school activities that take up most of their evening. Once they come back home, they might not have as much time to do homework and to study. So, having a later start time can be useful to many people.
Having a later start time can also mean that school ends later. And although this may sound fine to some people, if you actually think about it, you’re going to get home later than you usually do. Getting home later means less time to do what you have to do and less time to sleep. All in all, changing the school start to later doesn’t really help improve a students sleep schedule. Students will be forced to stay up even later when school starts later than usual.
The later the school starts, the less energy you will have throughout the day. Think about your normal school day. As the day goes on, do you get more tired or do you have more energy? A lot of people get more tired. This could also be a lack of sleep but even if you get enough sleep, many people tend to get more tired as the day goes on. Now think what it would be like if school started later. Sure you might feel fresh and energized in the morning but as the day goes on, it’ll get more and more tiring especially if you have to stay at school for longer than usual.
A lot of people don’t realize how winter and late school start are related. It gets darker faster as it gets colder. Because school will end later, the day will get dark even before you get home sometimes. Even on rainy days, it gets really dark sometimes and for some students, it’s hard to focus when it gets darker. This can also make it harder for parents to pick you up. Some parents or guardians might not feel comfortable picking up their kids when it’s dark outside.
Another reason not to have a later start time is because it’ll be harder for students to adjust to. As of now, students are used to getting up early to go to school and having a later school start can actually mess up their sleep schedule even more.
Personally, I think that school shouldn’t start at a later time. First of all, I believe that students wouldn’t actually use their time to actually sleep the required amount. School starting earlier means that school will also end later. Having a later ending means that it will possibly have less energy throughout the day and during the winter it gets darker faster. Although schools having a later start have pros, there are also many cons that a lot of people don’t consider.
Like many other people have, I have heard and seen the debate of the question if school should start later. Even though I have seen and heard many things about this topic, I have never heard this take on the question. I think it is an interesting viewpoint that if we start later we will end later and in the winter it will be dark out and harder to focus. Overall, I really liked you opinion on this, I have a similar one. I would rather start early and end early rather then start late and end late.
ReplyDeleteI haven't actually thought that much into this popular debate, but the points you bring up sound very interesting. The fact that a later school start time will not only not improve a student's life, it can actually cause many other problems. I think that people will always have ways to work around the different rules and boundaries there are, and if school started at a later time, there will eventually be debate and complaints about pushing the start time back even further.
ReplyDelete-mengotng
ReplyDeleteI have thought about this, but not considered it in depth like you have here. Although I thought I was firmly set in my view that school should start later, you've successfully convinced me otherwise. I enjoyed your writing style and the many points you bring up, especially the ones people would not normally think of (winter, people being tired, etc.)I also liked how you discussed both the pros and the cons, even though you have your own opinion on the subject.
ReplyDelete-Amelie
I also think that there would not be any benefit to starting school later. It wouldn't give people more time to sleep because the school day would still be the same length. Another thing is that starting school later would push it out of sync with most of the rest of the world, which would create headaches for parents trying to get their kids to school and get to their jobs on time.
ReplyDelete-Nibaw