Don’t you hate waking up early in the morning? Almost every weekday, high school students are waking up around six o’clock in the morning to get ready for school. And some even earlier! It’s not logical for high school classes to start at 7:50 a. m. It’s too early for teenage minds to function properly. Our school should start at least an hour later than that. With the extra hour, our attendance would improve, as well as our grades and attitudes. The facts are there, so why shouldn’t the hours change? For the 1997-1998 school year, the University of Minnesota conducted a study of Minneapolis high schools.
Their starting times were changed from 7:15 a. m. to 8:40 a. m. The results of this change were phenomenal. Teachers reported that students were more alert during the first two periods of the day and that attendance improved by five percent. Also, it’s a proven fact that teenagers need between 8. 5 and nine hours of sleep each night. It’s also a proven fact that only fifteen percent of teenagers get the sleep that they need. Can you believe that more that twenty-five percent of teenagers sleep less than seven hours a night? Do you know one of these teenagers?
Well, part of the reason why this is happening is because school starts so early in the morning. If school hours were changed, teenagers would be much healthier and feel better about themselves. Furthermore, school officials are constantly complaining that so many of their students are constantly tardy to school. That even have a policy in our school that states that if you’re late to classes more than four or five times, you have I. S. S. Now that’s just plain ridiculous! Imagine that you are a student, having so much homework that you’re up until 12 a. m. slaving away to get all of your work done to keep your good grades. The only negative thing about staying up is that you sometimes over sleep. And you get punished for that? It’s unfair! So if these schools don’t like students being tardy, why don’t they consider having school start later? While many people say that if schools started an hour later, kids would just be staying up longer and goofing off, they’re wrong. When teenagers get cars, they need to be able to pay for the gas, insurance and other expenses. Therefore, they need to get a job. However, being able to handle a job and school is tricky.
Having that extra hour, students could have time to relax and wouldn’t feel as rushed. Also, many people say that if the school started later, school would be more rushed. Well, why not make the classes 40 minutes each and have them everyday? Personally, I believe that having 4- 90 minute classes is ridiculous. Most teachers lose our attention after 50 minutes of class, anyway In conclusion, with the high standards for getting into college nowadays, it is necessary to get good grades. Studies show that students are more alert after nine o’clock. With school starting at 7:59, the first period seems like a waste.
Students aren’t learning to the full potential, and as a result aren’t getting the grades that they’re capable of. Over twenty percent of all high school students fall asleep in school from time to time. It’s hard to learn while you’re sleeping. Also, part of the reason why students don’t get enough sleep is because they are up late studying. You can’t expect us to come home from school, study, eat dinner, do our homework and then go to bed right away. That’s no way to live your entire childhood! Teenagers need to watch TV, talk to their friends, and run errands after school. We aren’t machines; we need fun in our lives.
