Although many students, parents, and even teachers are pushing for this change, I’m incredibly skeptical it’ll fall through. The idea is outlandish because it starts at 8:00 a.m., because most parents’ work starts at 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. So, if we wanted to change the school start time, we most likely need to change the work start time, which is extremely unlikely.
The big question is, is the tradeoff worth it? On the one hand, the one hour later for students would scientifically be beneficial, but that only applies if the students go to bed at the same time they were going to bed before the change.
Being a high school senior myself, I would just use that hour gaming or watching sports if I were told school was one hour later the next day. For example, when there is a 2-hour delay during the school year, all my friends and I decide that it’s a mandatory gaming night, a night we will watch football together, or both. This may be different because I am a senior, and underclassmen may need the extra hour desperately.
An option would be for seniors and juniors to go in at 9:00 a.m. because most of them can drive themselves, while the sophomores and freshmen get driven in at 8:00 a.m. The issue is most of these different ideas is that they are so unrealistic and inconvenient. While parents want to make this happen, the chances of finding a good solution are slim.
The counterpoint to this is every student’s situation is different. I’m a very productive kid who gets his stuff done before he wastes time watching football or playing games. Not all kids have the same ability and can be in very different situations where, for example, they are babysitting their younger brother the entire night as their mother works in the ER.
The most significant benefit from this hypothetical situation is more sleep for students, which becomes very important during middle and high school. The other benefit is the choice to utilize this extra hour positively, which will be difficult for some. Conversely, some will surely use this time poorly, but that’s up to the student and family at the end of the day. Students could be distracted by the new free time and not know how to utilize it, but that shall be fixed with time.
This change has many pros and cons that must be evaluated before making the decisions. After my research and analysis, I would lean toward pushing school back an hour; the pros outweigh the cons. I’m just not sure if the change will occur.
