5 More Minutes…

“Delaying the start of the school day until at least 8:30 a.m. would help curb their lack of sleep, which has linked with poor health, bad grades, car crashes, and other problems.” said The American Academy of Pediatrics. Studies have found that most U.

S. students in middle school and high school don’t get the recommended amount of sleep. At Mac 9, in order to arrive and be on time you must be through the metal detectors before 7:00. That is too early, not including school bus pick up times typically means kids have to get up even earlier if they want the ride to school. School officials see it as a “big stretch” because the times remained the same for so long.

They also see it as a big hassle, but in reality pushing school start times a little later isn’t too hard. As a student here at Mac 9, I personally see students very sleep-deprived in their first few classes. Most of the time, teachers typically have to constantly call on kids for them to keep their heads up, or to “not sleep in class”. And honestly, it is most likely because of how early students have to constantly be up and going. However, school officials see this issue as debatable. Many teachers believe this problem won’t be resolved, mostly because they still have to fit in after school activities.

If schedule times were successfully altered, school activities would extend to later hours, only pressing the results of the issue we’re currently facing. We must also factor in the consideration of those students who have part-time jobs. We can clearly see why now the matter is disputable. On a positive note, early school times prepare us for the real world jobs we are going to confront in the future. We will be so adjusted to starting our day early, we won’t see it as a big deal! But, hey, having a little more snooze time wouldn’t be that bad.