High School Should Start Later - Argumentative Essay

Introduction

Most parents expect their children to wake up early to study and go to bed late at night in order to have sufficient amount of time of the study. It is also a common expectation among parents that going to bed early obviously make it easier for a child to wake up the following day. However, a majority of students in high school find it very difficult to wake up very early in the morning to attend classes. At the same time, they prefer going to bed early before 10.30 pm (Richmond, 2015; Lawton, 2003). Although sleeping late and waking up early by students give them more hours of study, it needs to be discouraged because it is wrong biologically as young adults such as adolescents function well when they go to bed later and awake later. This is because these groups of students are biologically timed in a different pattern as opposed to those of children and adults.

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The time when a child or adolescent goes to bed or wakes up depends on the biological changes that happen in the individual. There are differences in biological changes that take place in children, adults and in adolescents, and this requires a difference in timing at which either children or adolescents or adults go to bed and wakeup. In the body of a person, there is melatonin hormone which is produced in the pineal gland which is responsible for showing the biological time at which one should either go to sleep or wake up(Richmond, 2015; Lawton, 2003; Varley, 2003). Some studies show that mature adolescents have a later timing of the diminishing of melatonin production and this is a significant indication that children who are at post-pubescent teens should sleep later in the morning because they have a biological need to do so. This has a negative effect on the body and the general functioning of the brain (Richmond, 2015; Wahlstrom & John, 2000). High school children should therefore not wake up very early in the morning to study sciences, mathematics and other complex subjects as believed by parents and some teachers. Students who wake up earlier in the morning would be tired because their nerves still require sleep. Evidently, it is not biologically good to force people to be awake when their nerves require sleep (Richmond, 2015; Varley, 2003). It is, therefore, imperative for parents and teachers to obey biological requirements for children to either go to bed or wake up in the morning.

There are several consequences of having insufficient sleep in students in high school. The students who go to bed late and wake up early are likely to develop depression, perform poorly and sometimes have accidents while going to school (Richmond, 2015; Wahlstrom & John, 2000). Although, many school authorities require students to attend morning classes that begin at 7:30 am, there is little benefit that students get from because they are not able to understand what they are being taught in the morning as their biological needs have not been met at that time. A depressed child is not adequately prepared for absorption of knowledge. As a result, the rationale for going to school is compromised in the sense that adolescents go to school to learn but this does not take place as anticipated.

The students who wake up early are also faced with different indiscipline cases because they are not alert during the day (Richmond, 2015; Varley, 2003). This makes to be always at loggerheads with their teachers. Such outcome not only affects performance but also gives teachers a hard time in controlling students during lessons in school.

Besides poor performance and indiscipline and depression, students who sleep less tend to sleep in class or fail to participate in extracurricular activities. Such dormant lifestyle has a negative implication for their health. Lack of activity in school not only affects alertness but also hinders another biological process necessary for the healthy functioning body (Richmond, 2015; Wahlstrom & John, 2000. As a result, costs related to diseases increase per an individual child who does not have adequate sleep or wakes up early in the morning.

Although the conflict between going to school early in the morning and going later in the morning appears difficult to solve(Lawton, 2003), some schools in the districts of eastern Minnesota that have implemented later in the morning class attendance after they have understood the benefits of waking up later and going to bed early. Schools such as Edina Public School advised their students to go to class at 8:00 am instead of 7.25 am and this has significantly improved the performance of most students (Wahlstrom & John, 2000). Teachers also experienced fewer behavioral problems and the time students take to rest. This is because the students have enough time to rest thereby meeting the biological needs of the body in readiness for the events of the following day.

However, there are few districts that have adopted the change owing to the very many benefits that are experienced when students wake up later in the morning. When all the districts allow students to start classes later in the morning, it is more likely that many students will have good grades because most students will be more active in educational activities than when they wake up early in the morning to study technical subjects such as sciences and mathematics (Wahlstrom and John, 2000). On the contrary, children at the primary level should wake up early because they secrete more of the melatonin hormone at night and this allows them not to have a biological need for sleep in the morning. This gives them the opportunity to do well when they wake up early to do complex subjects than high school students (Lawton, 2003). The adoption of the change in most districts will eliminate different problems such as indiscipline cases, depression and other problems that students face while at school. The most important thing that can be used to influence educational stakeholders is to educate them on the benefits of students waking up later in the morning when they reach high school. They should understand that it is a biological requirement but not a legal requirement.

Conclusion

In conclusion, due to complex patterns of biological activities in the body of adolescents, it is necessary to allow children to go to bed early and wake up early but to allow adolescents to go to bed later and wake up later. Starting school later reduces cases of depression, improves the academic performance of students, increases the ability of the students, and reduces incidences of indiscipline in schools. These benefits not only improve the lives of adolescents but also reduce costs related to keeping children healthy. Therefore, high school classes should star later.

References

Lawton, M. "For whom the Bell rolls. School Administrator, American. Association of School Administrators, Mar. 1999 web. 22 Mat. 2003.

Richmond, E. (2015). Why school should start later in the morning. The Atlantic [Boston].

Wahlstrom, Kyla I. and John's. Taylor. '. Sleep research warns: Don't start high school without the kids." Education Digest 66 (2000): 15-20. EBSCOhost. Web. 22 Mar. 2003.

Varley, J. (2003). High school starting time. Western Wyoming Community College, 123-125.