More Z’s to More A’s By: Jocelyn Wilkins
Would students perform better if they started school one hour later? Students, teachers and even administrators have debated about whether it would be beneficial for students to start school at a later time. According to research, having students start morning classes at a later time will cause less anxiety and better focus.
Many students admit to feeling less alert in their morning classes. According to DHS Senior, Bella Guzzi, starting school later would help her feel refreshed, energized, and more alert. ¨Even if that meant leaving school an hour later or half-an-hour, that would be okay because I would be more ready to learn and participate throughout the day if I receive the sleep I need.¨
Many students state that they go to bed at a late hour and usually it’s because of working late and/or homework. Additionally students often procrastinate and do not go to bed at all. Research shows that teens should get at least nine hours of sleep and the average teen actually get seven hours of sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep is food for the brain because we use our brains on a daily basis even for simple activities like walking, talking and even running errands during the day.
A neurologist has compared our brains to a computer. If the computer runs on a daily basis and doesn't sleep, the motherboard gets really hot and most likely the computer will shut itself down. That's exactly how our bodies are, if the brain is overworked and is not getting any rest at all our bodies has the potential to shut down which will cause us to faint. Students often visit the nurse's office throughout the day to catch up on sleep to feel more mentally charged. WebMD states that fainting is caused by a drop of blood flow to the brain.
Not only are students and teachers affected by this, administrators add their own perspectives as well. Principal Lynch states that time management is definitely something that is learned and the people that are good at time management usually become more successful versus a person who procrastinates.
Mr. Lynch, who was also a former social studies teacher before becoming principal, observed that it depended on the actual student because some students are morning people while others are not. “Students will be less attentive and sleepy most of the day and therefore suffer academically. I would see kids putting their heads down and missing instruction.”
Mr. Tobin, former math teacher but now the assistant principal, thinks it might benefit some of the students to make the best decisions and to receive feedback from the students’ families as to what they may feel about the benefits. Not only do teachers, students and administrators have input in a later school start time parents and guardians do as well because of work and other morning routines. “As a parent an extra hour would make my situation much easier,” states Mr. Tobin.