Change In High School
Start times
Ring. Ring. The sound of
the alarm going off in the morning can be one of the most dreaded sounds for
some people. High school students across the United States are having to be at
school as early as 7:00 a.m., for five days a week. Forcing their bodies out of
bed, students are struggling to get the preferred eight hours of sleep that are
recommended for young adults, while the younger kids are already up and ready
to start their day. On average 10% of adolescents are only getting a total of 5
hours of sleep each night (Duval). Furthermore, a survey made by the National
Sleep Foundation showed,"only one fifth of American teenagers are
regularly getting a good night sleep." More and more students are
suffering from sleep deprivation due to sleepless nights followed by an early
morning. The school boards who have not made the change are failing to see how
sleep deprivation is affecting high school students across the nation. Memory
loss, poor alertness, as well as stress are all a few of the factors from not
getting enough shut eye during the night (Breus). These are all more of a
reason for high schools to start later because it will improve academic
performance, increase attendance and completion, as well as improve students
overall health.
Looking at the big
picture, a student’s grades are the most important thing needed in order to
graduate. Without passing grades, they [DK1] will not be able to move
on with a high school degree. However, how are students supposed to give their
full, undivided attention if they are unable to get enough sleep at night?
Studies have proven that when there is lack of sleep, grades will lack as well.
Dr. Kyla Wahlstrom, professor at the University of Minnesota conducted a survey
consisting of over 7,000 high school students dealing with the correlation
between their sleep habits and their grades and concluded, "Teens who
received A’s averaged about fifteen more minutes of sleep than the B students,
who in turn averaged eleven more minutes than the C’s, and the C’s had ten more
minutes than the D’s" (Wahlstrom). Not only does how much sleep affect
academic performance, the time of day a student is being tested is also a
factor. As children get older most of their cognitive functioning is geared
towards the afternoon rather than the morning. If major classes such as reading
and mathematics are being taught in the morning, the material will be taught at
student’s less-preferred time of day, ultimately resulting in poor grades (“The
Impact”). With countless amounts of papers to write and chapters to read, high
school students are up at late hours of the night trying to get it all done. By
the time they get into bed with the lights out, they aren't able to get the
hours needed for a good morning. A 2005 study published in Pediatrics, the official Journal of the American Academy of
Pediatrics, concluded, “School schedules are forcing adolescents to lose sleep
and to perform academically when they are at their worst” (Hansen, Janssen,
Schiff, Zee, Dubocovich).
In addition to improving
academic performance, if high schools had a later start time more students
would be motivated to go to school each day and on time. With high schools
starting at the normal times ranging from 7am to 8am, students are coming into
class later and later as the school year progress. The more students go into
class late, the more material they are going to miss, resulting in failure as
well as dropout rates (Kalish). Approximately 1.3 million students drop out go
high school each year. Many reasons contribute to drop out rates depending on
the individual; however, the main reason is due to low attendance or failing
grades (“High School Dropout Rates”). Wahlstrom had followed up on a school in
Minneapolis who went through with the time change at their high school. The
school had changed the original start time, 7:20 to 8:40 a.m., giving the
students who attended an additional 80 minutes to sleep in and prepare
themselves for an 8 hour school day. The professor found a significant decrease
in the number of students who were dropping out of school or changing schools
(Whalstrom). Another case was in Jessamine, Kentucky where schools had pushed
back the start times by 50 minutes. Lu Young, the School District Supervisor
mentioned, "We found that our students were more on time and in better
attendance first period than they had been in the past" (Trudeau).
Another positive result
due to later start times would be an overall improvement on young adult’s
health. Health problems like depression, weight gain, and immune problems can
all be due to lack of sleep. Growing up, students have so many issues outside
of school they are being forced to deal with and for some it can become too
much at times. When not getting enough sleep is added into the mix of everyday
issues, things could start to get serious. In 2004, a study of 2,259 students
showed that students who didn't obtain enough sleep showed lower initial
self-esteem and higher levels of depressive symptoms (“The Impact of School
Start Times on Adolescent Health and Academic Performance”). If people are
getting enough sleep while they are young, they are less likely to experience
depressive symptoms as they grow up. Something that a lot of people struggle
with every day is their weight. When a person is younger, their [DK2] weight defiantly ties
into their self-esteem and how other people few them, however when a person
isn’t getting enough sleep, you [DK3] are more likely to gain
weight. Susan Redline, a Harvard Professor of Sleep Medicine stated "The
demonstration of chronically altered dietary patterns in adolescents with
shorter sleep provides insight into why shorter sleep has been associated with
obesity in prior experimental and observational studies” (“Less is More”). A little
more sleep goes a long way and with high school times pushed back later,
students wouldn't have to struggle to find those extra minutes to get some
rest.
Aside from all the
positive effects the change of a start time would have on students across the
nation, there are still individuals who believe the change would only cause
more issues. One major problem that was pointed out was after school
activities. The students who participated in sports had the most concern that
if schools were to start later, there would be less time and daylight for games
to be played. Looking further down the road[DK4] , some even saw the
possibility of canceling JV sports all together because of issues sharing the
field or the gymnasium (“Eight Major Obstacles”). In addition to game
schedules, Nancy Yarnell, a troubled parent, expressed in an interview,
"I'm concerned about the later start time, later finish time, and how that
is going to affect practices whether they are going to be practicing in the
morning or in the afternoon" (Baker). If high schools were to make the
switch with the elementary schools, parents also feared that there would be
nobody to watch the younger siblings if they got out before the older ones
(Baker). Although the arguments are all valid and can be backed up by facts,
they are not relevant. The main purpose of high school is to prepare students
for college and for their careers. Extracurricular activities are exactly that,
extra. Participating in a sport isn't what high school was made for. If schools
started later then students would be able to give all their focus on what it
should be on, academics. In today’s society people have become so dependent on
always being busy but with the wrong things. According to the U.S. Census, more
than 1 in 4 high school students who are 16 or older have a part-time job
(Coppernoll). The decrease in part time jobs may not be a badly reflected on
the quality of high school student’s school work.
The school board has
created a core curriculum in hopes to keep all of the students on track across
the nation (Burris). However, over the past years there have been multiple
attempts to tweak the curriculum. Changes such as cuts in elective classes and
adding direct, merit, honors and advance placement were all put in place to
help students scores be where they needed to be. Although the changes have
helped, the school board hasn’t been satisfied. Perhaps if students were in
their best state of minds when going to take a test, they would start to see
the changes they wanted to see. As Albert Einstein stated, "We cannot
solve our problems the same thinking we used when we created them." Schools
in Minneapolis have been successful when going through with the change. Scores
have gone up and dropout rates have decreased. If more schools start to make
the changes, then the United States would start to see their scores back on top
where they were years ago.
Baker, Shelby.
"Some Knox Co. Parents against Later School Start Time." Wate News.
N.p., 01 Apr. 2009. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.wate.com/global/story.asp?s=10115365>
Breus, Michael.
PhDWebMD. "Chronic Sleep Deprivation and Health Effects." WebMD.
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Burris,
Carroll. “Principal: ‘I was naïve about Common Core’. The Washington Post. 4 March 2013. Web. 1 May 2013. < http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/03/04/principal-i-was-naive-about-common-core/>
Coppernoll,
Carrie. "1 in 4 High School Students Work, U.S. Census Finds, including
Many in Oklahoma to Support Families." NewsOK: Oklahoma City News,
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29 Apr. 2013.<http://newsok.com/1-in-4-high-school-students-work-u.s.-census-finds-including-many-in-oklahoma-to-support-families/article/3748886>
Duval,
Sylviane. "Most High School Students Are Sleep Deprived | Center for
Advancing Health." Most High School Students Are Sleep Deprived |
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25 Apr. 2013. <http://www.cfah.org/hbns/2010/most-high-school-students-are-sleep-deprived#.UXnNWysjofI>.
"Eight
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Hansen,
Janssen, Schiff, Zee,
& Dubocovich, The Impact of School Daily Schedule on Adolescent Sleep (Jun.
2005) 115 Pediatrics 6, pp. 1555-1561. <http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/115/6/1555.pdf>.
"High
School Drop Out Rates In America". Allieance For Excellent Education. Web.
27 April 2013. <http://www.all4ed.org/files/GraduationRates_FactSheet.pdf>.
Kalish, Nancy.
"The Early Bird Gets the Bad Grade." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 14 Jan. 2008. Web. 27 Apr. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/opinion/14kalish.html?_r=0>.
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Impact of School Start Times on Adolescent Health and Academic
Performance."The Impact of School Start Times on Adolescent Health and
Academic Performance. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2013. <http://schoolstarttime.org/early-school-start-times/academic-performance/>.
Trudeau,
Michelle. "High Schools Starting Later to Help Sleepy Teens." NPR.
NPR, 18 Jan. 2007. Web. 27 Apr. 2013. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6896471>.
Wahlstrom,
Kyla. "Changing Times: Findings From The First Longitudinal Study of Later
High School Start Times." CEHD. December 2002. Web. 27 April 2013. <http://www.cehd.umn.edu/carei/publications/documents/Bulletin200212Wahlstrom.pdf>.
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