HE SAID – The Lazies Strike Back

Millennials are commonly referred to as lazy. And as a millennial myself, I am typically at the frontline of the defense of my generation, citing many examples of our proactive nature, penchant for action, and constant push for societal improvement. However, even I must admit there are some instances wherein my generation typifies laziness. And the one debate that truly epitomizes and embodies said laziness is the debate over whether or not high school start times should be pushed back.

Realistically, logistically, and on principle the answer should be a resounding no. Let’s examine realities. Most high schoolers have either school related activities or non school related extracurricular activities after school. Some even participate in both! Others have jobs, and some extremely motivated and hard working students have all three! Most proponents of backing up school times say that it should be backed up two to three hours.

So imagine if we, here at North Penn backed school up to 10:21-5:12. That means that students without a car wouldn’t be able to get to work after school until about 6:00 at the absolute earliest. This would leave them with only about a 3-4 hour shift, which at many establishments does not exist. But for sake of argument let us say that they worked a four hour shift and finished at 10:00. Most likely that would be when the store closes, so if we factor in a typical close, this imaginary student wouldn’t get out until 10:30.

Then they typically have two hours of homework. Now we’re at 12:30. Now they need to eat dinner, typically a half hour proposition at least. This imaginary student is now done eating at 1:00 a.m. and may now get ready for bed. At the end of this mundane day, which saw this student have absolutely no social time, it is now the wee hours of the morning and they will be getting to bed around 1:30 a.m. and have to get up in seven and a half hours to get ready to do this all over again.

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) recommends that teenagers get between 8-10 hours a sleep per night. Moving the start time back will not help students gain any sleep, but rather simply push back their internal sleep clocks, which the NSF also says is highly detrimental to teenagers health and well being. It can lead to depression, acne and other skin problems, as well as mood swings and inappropriate behavior.

Those who propose backing up start times contest that it would allow students to accrue more sleep and therefore be healthier, however we see that in fact the antithesis is true. Backing up start times would lead to unsound student health as well as logistical nightmares for extracurricular coordinators.

Lest we forget that backing up start times for school would not also back up sunrise and sunset. Therefore fall and spring sports would suffer greatly. For example, most baseball and cross country programs around here do not have lighting for nighttime games and practices. If start times were pushed back, practices would have to be at 6:00. In early March as well as late October, when the spring sports start and fall sports are finishing up respectively, teams would only have about an hour of sunlight before it became too dark to practice, as opposed to the typical two hours that they have now.

Games would also be greatly affected, as they typically start later and run longer. Having baseball games in March simply wouldn’t be possible if school start times were pushed back. The only way to conceivably make them possible would be to let athletes out of school three to four hours before school ends, taking a large chunk out of their educational time.

And finally we must examine the motive that drives most teenagers to support this movement, which is pure and unfettered laziness. On principle start times should not be moved back to accommodate languorous students who wish to waste their lives away sleeping or “netflix and chilling” instead of embroiling themselves in schoolwork and productive extracurricular activities. I do believe firmly in a lot of the change that my generation is consummating, however in this instance the change proposed is illogical, unnecessary, and unwarranted.

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SHE SAID: Is the clock wrong?

Bumping Back the Start of the High School Day

Schools are academic institutions designed to further develop the education of generations to come. Making sure this information is handed to a ready mind is crucial to the success of the content being delivered. Starting school at a later time allows for this process to mesh with all students. Scientific studies from the National Sleep Foundation show that high school students need about 8-10 hours of sleep to be achieving the healthy amount for their age. However, due to various extracurricular activities that students involve themselves in, many are not getting enough sleep. Coming to school drained and unfocused completely defeats the purpose of absorbing new information.

Changing the time that the school day starts allows for a healthy amount of sleep along with an attentive attitude ready to approach any academic endeavor. Transitioning from a 7:21- 2:12 day to a 9:21- 4:12 day achieves this. After school, many North Penn students can be found heading to practice, rehearsing their lines, or driving to a part time job. Having school end at a later time will not affect these different activities. Sports teams possess the proper facilities and equipment to allow for practices as well as games to be held at varying times of the day. For example, the North Penn Knights Football Team has a stadium containing lights for nighttime play. Along with this, multiple sports are conducted inside, therefore not letting the time of day impact their ability to play.

Starting our school day later in turn would create an earlier school day for elementary school students. In the morning, younger kids are normally already awake and full of energy, making an earlier school day feasible for them. In turn, before school care programs could be cut since parents would have the ability to drop their kids at school before they head off to work. Both students and parents would benefit from a change to the school day structure.

Education shouldn’t be sacrificed in exchange for a certain time of the day. Start school later and in return students of all ages will only continue to become more successful in their academic endeavors.