Students at Sierra Pacific High School have been suffering from mid-week late start for too many years, and it’s time we made a change.
Some schools have used this schedule since they began, but logic proves changing our schedule would be a benefit. Yes, it does make teachers’ lives easier for meetings on Wednesdays, but there are so many more good options that don’t have such negative consequences for students.
Modern American teenagers are very often extremely tired, both from sleep deprivation and school-related stress, not to mention extra-curricular activities such as sports, which are also physically demanding. Many think that an extra hour of sleep once a week is good for teenagers, so they can catch up on all the sleep debt collected from staying up and doing homework, but this extra hour is actually wreaking havoc on teen sleep schedules.
Cleveland Clinic explains that the body is run by an internal clock, called the circadian rhythm, which helps wake up the body at the same time every day. This is why some people wake up and feel refreshed and energized, and why daylight savings time is hard to adjust to every year. When the circadian rhythm is interrupted every Wednesday, the consistency of a clearly outlined sleep schedule is lost, and the internal clock no longer knows when to wake up, so teens wake feeling even more tired than when they went to bed every single day. Which in turn has a huge effect on their ability to perform well in school, not to mention the toll on students’ mental and physical health.
What might the solution to this massively overlooked problem be? The high school schedules need to be changed, and a late start should be out of the question. It makes much more sense to give students a 40-minute early out, starting school at the normal 8:30 a.m., but ending at 3 p.m.. This plan makes much more sense for events such as meetings and extracurricular activities. Teachers can hold their weekly meetings in this 40-minute time slot or catch up on grading. Sports with practice after school could also benefit, using the extra time for more practice or a pre-practice de-brief.
The extra time would be extremely beneficial for ordinary students as well. A lot of students struggle with the burden of seven different teachers pressuring them to get piles of homework done, and most teens also belong to an extracurricular club or team. Giving students an extra 40 minutes would be great for catching up on their workload and getting homework done ahead of time. Students would also have time to take a break and wind down at home, spend time on hobbies, read, and hang out with family or friends, which is extremely beneficial for mental health, something most teenagers struggle to keep up with.
Fixing America’s school schedule should be a big priority for our school administrators. Students and teachers alike need to wake up to how late start is hurting the teen population, and how beneficial even just an extra 40 minutes of free time at the end of the day can be.
