Advantages of changing the high school start time. Education is very important part of our life, so no wonder that our government focuses great attention on both: education process and the students being the integral part of good educational system. The modern school educates children with one objective in mind: their academic success. There are many committees investigating the option of a later start time for the high school students. Will a later start time improve the grades of high school students? The aim of our study is to examine whether there is a relationship between late start time in high school and academic success of children (academic performance, grades, etc).
We know that present start time in majority of high schools is 7:15-7:30 a.m. High school kids have to rise at about 6 a.m.
not to miss the classes. Such early rise is detrimental to physical and psychological health of adolescents. Thats why a lot of school committees propose to delay the start time in order to allow for more sleep, and, in such a way, to provide benefits for high school students learning. From the beginning of 1980-s parents and teachers started to re-examine their attitude towards early start time. They considered that academic results (especially in literacy, mathematics and natural sciences) were worse in high schools with start time 7:30 a.m. It was quite obvious.
The results of tests in high school and results of entrance exams in colleges were low. Administration of colleges and managers of enterprises started to complain that high school students miss classes. The attendance rates were low; school administration noticed the increase in drop-out rate, suspensions, expulsions and truancy. The committees started to examine the correlation between start time and academic success and found out two main things: 1) There is interdependence between low amounts of sleep and low grades. 2) The difference between amount of sleep during the week-end and weekday can cause depression, nervousness and inattentiveness. It was quite obvious.
Early start time deprives students of full-fledged sleep. According to recent medical researches, the teenagers need 9-10 hours of sleep each night. On the other hand, students spend more than 2 hours each night doing the homework. Only 15-20% of adolescents sleep more than 8 hours, while the others sleep less than 7 hours each night. We know that the organism rests during the sleep. Brains stop to react to numerous irritant.
The balance of the most important vital processes is restored; excessive excitement of nervous cells decreases, the muscles relax, the breath becomes slow. The body is resting. Full-fledged sleep is arguably one of important factors influencing growth of children and development of their skills. Thus, the value of sleep can be used as a guide to develop different methods chosen to improve the grades of high school children. Another important point is internal clock. The National Sleep Foundation has conducted numerous researches, asserting that the internal clocks of high school students are shifting to later start times.
This is the reason that the adolescents need to sleep more while they dont get enough sleep. The teenagers wake up while their internal clock is still sleeping. Thats why due to peculiarity of sleep needs, the adolescents are not able to concentrate their attention on studies after the lectures has already begun. Some scholars propose that high school students should fall asleep much earlier to wake up early in the morning due to early start in the high school. However, due to delayed timing system during the adolescent age, the natural time to fall asleep is approximately 11-11:30 p.m. In such a way the adolescents are not able to sleep 9-10 hours per day, although they need to sleep later and longer. Even those children who get enough sleep also experience difficulties in concentration during the early morning due to their internal clock (due to medical research findings).
In such a way, the late start time in high school should inevitably improve academic success.
What are the advantages of late start time? According definitive medical research on adolescent sleep patterns from Brown and Johns Hopkins, brains of teenagers start to function at peak only around 8:30-9:00 a.m. So, if to adjust start time in high schools to 8:30-9:00, the students will be able to concentrate their attention on studies more successfully. They will be able to learn, listen and memorize information instead of sleeping or being uninterested in the lectures during the mid-morning. Such high school students gain an extra sleep because they fall asleep at their usual time in the evening and can awake later in the morning. The high school children are more active and attentive during the morning classes due to late start. The students attendance increases because they dont oversleep. According to researches made in Norfolk public schools, more than 65% of high school students believe that late start time will allow them sleep more and be more awake.
45% consider that it will improve getting to school in time. 25% believe that it will improve the performance of students. 29% consider that they would benefit from the extra hour sleep. Also 92% of students from Minneapolis Public Schools, who changed their start time, assert that they prefer later start time. In conclusion I would like to say that changing to later start times in high school will be beneficial to students and schools. In particular, it will give the students opportunity to sleep enough, wake up and come to school, ready to learn. It will match learning rhythms of high school students with the schools program.
Later start time will allow creating the best academic learning day for high school kids. It will cause fewer students arriving late and fewer absences. The attendance rates will be improved; drop-out rates and truancy will decrease, as well as suspensions and expulsions..