School Times Affect Our Academic Performance
Written by Kelsey Thorp, Former Student on Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Can you imagine having algebra first thing in the morning? Functions, graphs and the value of X at 7:30 am? It’s tough, especially because algebra is an important class to be able to pass. Here’s my question: is it just me who is having difficulty, or can the early morning starts be effecting us in negative ways?
There’s a reason it’s so hard to get out of bed in the morning. It’s a little thing called circadian rhythm; which is basically a biological clock. A teenager’s circadian rhythm changes and is different than young children's and adult's. Our “clock” tends to makes us tired later in the evening, which makes it difficult for teens to try to go to bed earlier to prepare for the early mornings. Forcing us to be up and ready to learn as early as 7:30 a.m. can be a real challenge. No longer can parents and teachers use the excuse “go to bed earlier," for teens are not wired to.
Not to mention the health issues involved with sleep deprivation.
If a student is sleep deprived, there is absolutely no way they are going to learn anything in class. When you’re struggling to stay awake, it makes it hard to receive and process new information. Concentration is impaired while a person is sleep deprived and students are constantly being asked to concentrate on their teachers. ADD can be a result of lack of sleep, which makes it even more difficult to concentrate and pay attention in class. Schools have already changed our diet in benefit to our health, why not change this also?
Yes, if we started school later, we would have to get out later also, which means different bus schedules, inconveniences and sports rescheduling. But 45 minute later practices do not seem like the bigger issue in the topic of changing school times. Bus schedules would have to be changed to avoid extra transportation costs, but you’d think people would make it happen for the benefit of students and the importance of education. In Jessamine County, Kentucky the schools made the decision to change the first bell from 7:30 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. The attendance and test scores shot up almost immediately.
Doesn’t some small re-scheduling seem worth it for students to attend school and achieve higher academic performances? It may be time to rethink our priorities.
