The Reasons Why School Should Start Later

“Research has shown over and over again that teenagers do better and feel better in schools that start later” - Ingvi Hrannar Ómarsson.

Even though, like the quote mentioned before said, teenagers, excel academically and feel better in schools that start later, many schools do not. Why is that? There is no answer to that, being that, this essay will cover reasons, worthy of mention, that state the contrary. The reasons here will show you why school MUST start later. When I think of reasons school should start later and must, these three are the ones that take the spotlight: academic performance would have a boost, many teens don’t meet sleep requirements but when school starts later they will, and teens will not be able to do unhealthy activities and be less time alone, these reasons are definitely are worthy of listening out. So, without further ado, let's begin.

To start, starting school later would improve academic performance. Starting school later would improve academic performance due to the fact that many teens are not fully awake at 7 or 8 am, when school normally starts. “A pilot study at Monkseaton High School in North Tyneside in 2009 found that starting an hour later improved grades in core subjects by 19 percent.” (Sarah Knapton, 2014 p. 3). After analyzing the evidence given above, it shows that when starting school just an hour later, many students improved their grades and possible their response to school in general. To close this reason, if a school where to start later academic performance and overall grades of students could have a big boost and show what they are actually learning.

Next, beginning school later would make it possible for teens to fulfill their sleep requirements for a healthy life. If school were to start later, teens could sleep the number of hours needed and therefore reduce the amount of caffeine some take to remain awake and avoid health problems like sleep deprivation and such. “The incidence of depression among teens significantly rises with less than nine hours of sleep. Feelings of sadness and hopelessness increase from 19 percent up to nearly 52 percent in teens who sleep four hours or less per night.” (Kyla Wahlstrom, 2016 p 19). After reviewing the evidence, it shows that to achieve a healthy life, without feelings of loneliness or depression, sleep is needed and since many teens tend to sleep at around 12 am starting school later would allow them to sleep and recover from any bad nights, or others. Briefly, if a school wherever to start later depression and other illnesses involving sleep may well be avoided and taken care of.

Finally, starting school later may reduce the amount of time some teens are left alone in their house. If school started later, the time to go home would also be later meaning teens who are usually left alone for long periods of time with no supervision will get less time to be so and could possibly avoid doing unhealthy activities as they won’t have time. “Parents are concerned about leaving teenagers at home alone. There are no guidelines on it and there's a worry around what age they should be left alone at and what to expect.” (Ailin Quinlan, 2013 p 5). When the evidence was analyzed it can be said that leaving teens alone for long periods of time in a state of loneliness and unsupervised could be bad. First, it could cause sadness as being alone too much time or if unsupervised unhealthy activities, like smoking or drinking, which could be practice. To sum it all up, if a school where to start later teens could be happy and have healthy relationships with parents as well as not doing anything they are not supposed to.

Nonetheless, many people disagree with the idea of starting school later. For instance, a good example could be the problem it may cause to parents as their work would start earlier and could affect teens or if teens help out at home taking care of younger siblings, a problem may occur when they arrive later to their house. Even though these are all valid reasons, what may come with them is a problem, making school start later outweighs the problems and create a healthy life, good academic performance, and much more, benefiting the student in many cases.

To conclude, starting school later has a lot of beneficial points that upgrade a teens healthy and overall life by giving them a good academic performance, the availability to complete the required hours of sleep, and the time they spend alone. To sum my reasons up, when improving academic performance teens will feel better and when the required hours of sleep are completed health problems like sleep deprivation could be avoided and finally leaving teens alone for much time could cause melancholy. “The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.” - Brian Herbet. But how could we learn if schools do not listen to our needs?