Should High School Start Later

Most high schools in the United States start school before eight a.m. Boards of Education do this to help make transportation easier and to finish the day quicker (Eight). Alas, they seem to forget about the effect of early start times on students. Later start times, anything after eight o’clock in the morning, would benefit students in multiple ways. First of all, it is a fact that teenagers stay awake later than others because they produce the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin until around eleven at night (Kalish). Parents and teachers blame teenagers for staying up late, but they naturally go to sleep at a later time than adults and children. Our first periods are practically wastes of time because brains of teens are still stuck in sleep mood at this time of day. Teenage bodies continue to produce melatonin until around eight a.m., yet they are expected to show up for class at seven-thirty in the morning with weary minds and annoyed attitudes (Kalish). On the contrary, people those who oppose the later school times like to bring up the many problems created by the change. For example, many mention that
extra-curricular activities would start at a later time; although this is true, studies have also shown that this had no effect on attendance. The same number of students participated in sports when their practices started later, and some athletes actually saw their performances improve (Kalish). Buses are another obstacle in the way. However, all one would have to do is flip the elementary and high schools’ start times, for grade school children can function normally waking up before eight (Eight). One personal study I unconsciously performed at my high school was comparing the way people acted when they would show up to school on a two-hour delay versus a regular school day. When students showed up to Scott High School on a two-hour delay, meaning we had to be at school by 9:30, they seemed to be more energetic and happy. I have even noticed it in myself because I wake up so much easier even though I most likely got the same amount of sleep. This is probably because the melatonin in my body has worn off by the time I wake up to eat breakfast. Starting school later has already shown school wide improvements in places where it has been implemented.
Educating kids starts with effort and attendance and both of those went up in Jessamine County, Kentucky. Because of this, the county also saw standardized test scores rise (Kalish). One other eye-popping statistic for parents is after Fayette County, Kentucky began starting school later, teenage car wrecks went down (Kalish). Educational improvements help schools out immensely, so why not give these start times a try? Overall, the benefits of starting school later in the day highly outweigh the opportunity costs. Schools would see happier and more attentive students filling the desks every day. When the students are happy, everything else works out. This idea has proven to benefit trying schools, so this idea has many reasons to be given a
chance.