Rise and Shine: The Debate Over High School Starting Times

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Recommended: Sleeping habits and academic performance

Universal education is one of the boasting points a developed country such as the United States can make. It is required by law for children to go to school until they are at least 16 years old. Since schooling is such an integral part of life, one would think that it would be constantly in repair, being improved so that society can improve. Some aspects of school life, however, have fallen behind. Specifically in high school, one such aspect is when the day is scheduled to start. There are have been major strides in the research of sleep, and many of them find that the common first bell for adolescents negatively coincides with their sleep schedule. The traditional time for high schools to start is based off of outdated factors. Scientific evidence on adolescents’ sleep needs and studies conducted on the results after changes were made show that the major benefits to delaying the beginning of school a half-hour to an hour later outweigh possible obstacles.
The most common school schedule, a start of about 7a.m., was at one point suited for American society. This was when America was a newborn country and an agrarian society. Families saw the importance of basic schooling for the children, but the children were an important source of labor for the farm. Back then, school was usually in the home or in a neighbor’s home. It also started early in the morning and ended early so that children had time to do their chores and work on the farm in the afternoon. By the late 1900s, America was much more industrialized. This meant fewer families on farms and less work for children. In response, the school day got longer as society saw the importance for more complex schooling and had the time to give it. Science was also starting to look i...

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Painter, Kim. "Teens Rise, but They Certainly Don't Shine Before School." USA TODAY. 15 Mar. 2011: D.3. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
Rosenberg, Russell, and Michael Monaco. "Should High School Students Have a Later Start to the School Day?." American Teacher. Nov/Dec 2012: 3. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
Sohn, Emily. "Later May Be Smarter." Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA). 23 Aug. 2010: E.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
Spinks, Sarah. "Inside the Teenage Brain." From Zzzz's To A's. PBS, 2002. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.
Tanner, Lindsey. "Study Shows Teens Benefit from Later School Day." The Call (Woonsocket, RI). 05 Jul. 2010: N.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
Wrobel, Gordon D. "The Impact of School Starting Time on Family Life." Phi Delta Kappan. Jan. 1999: 360-364. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.

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