Over the past few years there have been debates and conversations about students wanting a later school start time saying that it will help improve their work and focus in school. Students overall made the conclusion that this will have a positive impact on teachers and parents as well and I agree with this. I believe that having later start times will have a positive impact on almost everyone and even if there may be factors where it may be negative, it overall will help.
In my opinion, I believe that students will be able to get more sleep which would help them work harder in school and not doze off. Researchers state that most teenagers do not get the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep that they should, and that this could impact the students ability to learn. Also, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) they agree that Middle and High schools should start later, mostly at the time 8:30 or later. AAP also agrees that this needs to happen so the students have the opportunity of sleep that they need to have every night.
But what are the positive effects on parents and teachers you may ask? Well parents will be able to sleep in longer and not be so stressed about having to wake up their kids on time just to make it on the bus or on time to school. Researches state that about 87% of parents of children under 18 are stressed about back to school season.
Lastly, teachers have to wake up earlier than students which with a later start time these teachers will have more time to prepare for the school day and function better throughout the hours they have to stay at the school. With teachers having a better chance of functioning through the day, these teachers will be able to teach better and help students who are in need of it.
Overall I hope that schools will consider a later start time and think about the positive outcome that it will bring.
