Why School Should Start Later (Essay Sample)

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Introduction

Surely all parents can relate to the familiar morning scene when teens would moan their way throughout breakfast before going to class. They complain about feeling sleepy and tired, and generally, seem like they lack the motivation to do well throughout the day.

Should school start later in the morning? The author of this argumentative essay outlines the reasons why school should start later and how this affects sleep and academic performance.

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Benefits Of Starting School Later 

Early mornings have always been the bane of most high school students. Their parents know the scenario all too well: their teens work until late in the night to finish their deadlines and wake up early in the morning complaining of poor sleep quality. Their sleep patterns are unfortunately wrecked, as they sleep in on weekends and find it then difficult to fall asleep at night. Going to bed early on the weekends is out of the question, as most teenagers want to maximize their free time, despite being sleep-deprived.

It is wrong that we have glorified sleep deprivation, especially in the younger generation. We see it as a mark of resilience and award the behavior, not realizing the toll it takes on the teenage body. The National Sleep Foundation found that inadequate sleep directly affects a student’s physical health and academic performance.

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In this argumentative essay, I would like to share why high school should start later in the morning highlight some of its most notable benefits.

An early school day affects the overall learning environment.

Students who do not get the right amount of sleep, only to deal with early school times, arrive groggy, cranky, and sleepy. This diminishes their focus and ability to concentrate in class, which not only lessens the amount of information they are able to absorb but also makes for a terrible atmosphere in the classroom. They spend the entirety of class fighting to stay awake, while their teachers feel discouraged at the lack of enthusiasm shown in class. It is not so much that they are disinterested. They just lack the capability to pay active attention to the lesson.

When classes start later, attendance improves, and tardiness decreases.

This is one of the most obvious benefits of starting school later. Just to even start an hour later would make a world of difference in the students’ demeanor. Most of these students tend to make the mad rush to school, and there are days when they are so knocked out from working late on school nights that they end up sleeping in, despite setting their alarm. A later start time will help students go to school on time.

Sleep affects academic performance.

When a student is well-rested, the likelihood of great test scores is higher. Getting a good amount of sleep daily may not automatically result in higher test scores, but it will create a consistent environment where high school students have the time and space to do their work and finish in time to get enough hours of sleep. Spending an evening procrastinating for a test then waking up super early to take the exam could actually be counterproductive, as sleep deprivation contributes to difficulty remembering. When these young people are able to go to bed earlier or get a sufficient amount of sleep, they have the energy and brainpower to do well in class, and their bodies stay resilient and energetic until the end of the day.

Later school schedules lower the risk of health problems.

It goes without saying that not getting enough sleep poses health risks for the teenage body. If adults are already adversely affected by lack of shut-eye, what more is the body of a younger person? Research shows that when school starts too early and most students didn’t get enough sleep, the risk of depression, suicidal thoughts, obesity, diabetes, and other health problems rises. This goes to show us that sleep is absolutely essential and being deprived of it through early school start times has serious long-term repercussions on high schoolers.

Later school activities can lower the risk of vehicular accidents.

Did you know that there is a direct correlation between student sleep deprivation and motor vehicle accidents? It is suspected that these incidents are mostly caused by drowsy driving, which these young people are forced to do just to arrive in time for school starting. If only these kids were able to get their required eight to nine hours of sleep at night, then perhaps we wouldn’t be seeing so many of these tragedies happen on the road.

A later school schedule can decrease a young person’s stress levels.

Focusing on graduating high school students, in particular, the pressure to turn in an excellent performance and high test scores increase as they reach the end of their journey. They are also pressured to get involved in as many extracurricular activities as possible to beef up their college applications. So they get up early in the morning to get to class and stay beyond the academic day to participate in their extracurriculars. By the time they get home, they are so exhausted and overtired that they can’t even finish their requirements. These students tend not to be able to turn in complete homework because they crashed the night before.

A later school start can lessen the occurrence of risky behavior.

Think about it – if your adolescent is starting school later, this means that he or she will get to also go home later. This implies less alone time for them in the house, especially when parents are still at work or busy. This lessens the chance of them participating in dangerous behavior, such as pornography, cyber-bullying, and self-harm. It is usually during prolonged periods of isolation, coupled with poor mental health, that young people are prone to make decisions that could be harmful to themselves and others.

Adjusting school hours to a later time could lessen disciplinary issues.

Sometimes, learners get called into detention for falling asleep in class. Teachers act as though this was a deed committed to manipulate them or ruin their moods, but the truth is that sometimes these kids really were just so sleepy that they couldn’t soldier on. These young ones have often been up most of the night, trying to make their deadlines for multiple classes. They probably even skipped their breakfasts just to get some extra shut-eye in. They even probably rushed to school straight from the bed. Perhaps if their first class began an hour or two later than usual, they would have had enough time to gather their bearings.

Conclusion: Let young people come to school later.

I firmly believe that despite the major logistical challenges this will pose for parents and teachers, the benefits of a later school time outweigh the risks. I think that challenging this particular status quo is long overdue and that we need to take the science of sleep more seriously. In the same way that adults tell each other all the time to let shut-eye be part of their self-care routine, we should do the same for our learners. Academic and work performance are both highly dependent on the rest we are able to get. The more rest we are able to get, the better prepared we are to achieve our key milestones.

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Starting class at 8:30 am may not sound like the worst idea in the world, but just taking this time at face value doesn’t take into account the natural sleep cycle of kids and teenagers. The reality is that most of our young people are overtired and under-rested, yet they are expected to attain better grades after pulling all-nighters. This vicious cycle is perpetuated long after, well into their university years, and even into life in the workforce.

I wish that we would be the generation that will advocate for increasing students’ ability to perform better in school and life by giving them the gift of extra sleep. Even if a class were to start an hour later would already make a good impact on their overall well-being. Earlier classes should be moved to a later time during the academic day so that kids can get more sleep in. Parents of children in elementary school and middle school should already be prepared for adjusted hours in the latter years of their child’s academic life. This will give them enough time to make the necessary logistical adjustments to accommodate the change.

The bottom line is that all of us need to rest. We need to undo the notion that too much rest is plain laziness. The hard truth and even science tell us that we were designed to sleep. It is in slumber that our bodies are able to physically recharge and restore themselves to a healthy state before the next day rolls in. Let’s give our kids’ bodies the chance to feel refreshed.

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