5:50 a.m. is a very sobering time for me because it is the time when my alarm first goes off. It is a reminder that I have one hour left before I need to wake up, so with a great sigh, my arm flops onto the alarm to hit the snooze button. Ah. Peace.
I have a strong loathing for waking up early. You can imagine the great joy that I felt those two glorious days a week during CAASPP testing when seniors were able to come to school by 10:20 a.m. A similar late start scheduling should be implemented on a regular basis.
Some people dislike block days, but more block days and a late start schedule would complement each other. An hour and a half multiple times a week may sound challenging to sit through, but it might actually be to our benefit when coupled with the condition that we get to sleep in. With the added advantage of feeling more awake, there is a greater chance that we will be more attentive in class. This, combined with the fact that we have an hour and a half of instruction time allows classes to cover topics with more depth while enabling the material to be covered more cohesively, rendering a better education for all of us.
However, block periods combined with late starts eliminate the beloved Thursday early dismissals. For some students involved in sports, this takes away extra time that could be devoted to doing work before practice. Nevertheless, when weighing the benefits of added time for homework against the biological need for sleep in order to function properly, biology takes precedence simply because the ability to function properly is the very thing that will allow us to effectively do the homework.
In a recent article for the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Judith Owens argues that later school times will benefit students. She said, “The research is clear that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life.”
Because so much of school emphasizes test-taking ability, it should be very clear that later start times will not only help the individual, but also the school itself and the district. Our education here is largely geared towards building students into high-performing test-takers for the end of the year. Without the advantages of being more awake and engaged while learning on a day-to-day basis how can we perform to the best of our abilities?
These later starts should occur on a daily basis. While not the case during the two weeks of testing, it is crucial to note pushing start times back will also push dismissal times back.
To create balance, two schedules could work: the administration could implement the testing schedule we already experienced, or else push start times back 45 minutes to an hour and adjust dismissal times accordingly.
In either case, the emphasis of scheduling should be on our well-being in order to perform to the best of our abilities.
