BY RACHEL WINDLER
It's a battle that's been waging for years. And it may only be September, but the opposing sides have already begun sizing each other up. At stake, the ultimate question: whose sleeping schedule is going down? In this battle, everyone has an opinion.
Donning gloves on behalf of the early-to-bed, early-to-rise perspective is principal Donald Stewart, who feels strongly that school should even start earlier than it already does. For Stewart, the main advantage of an early start is allowing high school students to transition to a more adult schedule.
"See, if we started at the same times elementary schools do, say 7:30, we could get out of school earlier as well. You all are adults now, and you're busy. If we could get you guys out of here earlier in the afternoon you'd have the rest of the day to yourselves," Stewart said. "I don't know many students who just go home and sit around and do nothing. You have extra-curricular activities, homework, lives, and jobs!"
Stewart went on to say that he himself doesn't stay up past 9:30 very often, and wishes that students at Wagner had the opportunity to say the same. According to Stewart, his goal is simply to move students' schedules up in the day, so they aren't running themselves in to the ground late into the night.
In the opposite corner are the yawning students, including junior Sarahalizia Nieto. "Yes, school starts too early! I'm tired by fourth period and need a nap," Nieto said. "Did you know that teenagers need fourteen hours of sleep and we only get like eight? If school started after nine, I would have woken up naturally by then and would be more willing to be here then being forced to get up early."
Senior Justin Norris sides firmly with Nieto in blaming the systemic structure of American public school. "They work us just like an assembly line," Norris said. "They just speed it up so that quality takes a hit but productivity increases.,"
But what about the unsung heroes of student transportation? As a JISD bus driver, Mr. Sirene punches the alarm clock at 5 a.m., and feels that school starts at just the right time -- for high school students. "But for elementary students, it's too early," Sirene said.
Heartily slugging it out right next to the students, aquatic science teacher Rebecca Ayala shares principal Donald Stewart's opinion. "I prefer to be up in the mornings. Afternoons suck with all the traffic and everything else," Ayala said. "I think we should start at the same time as the elementary or middle schools."
But as with all final rulings, it's down to the referee. According to sleep study information published by Stanford University, "Adolescents need 9 hours and 15 minutes of sleep. Children need 10 hours and adults need 8 1/4 hours. They rarely get that much due to early school start time, inability to fall asleep until late at night, work, social life and homework. Parents may need to adjust their child's schedule to allow more sleep. Most teens are chronically sleep deprived and try to 'catch up' on their sleep by sleeping in on the weekends. Ultimately they should go to bed and wake up at the same time. That is considered 'good sleep hygiene.'"
But the man who invented the sport is Dr. Paul Kelley, Honorary Clinical Research Associate in the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute.at Oxford University. As the man with the longest title, and a specialist with a focus in how biological timing impacts learning, he gets the final say. According to his research, "the timing of the day in schools and universities for students aged 14-22 does not match their biology, leading to significant sleep loss."
According to Smithsonian magazine, Kelley isn't the only one on the later-start bandwagon. In their recent article "Smart Scientists Say School Days Should Start Later," the publication cited the CDC's recent statement that high school should not start any earlier than 8:30 a.m. Judson ISD currently has 8:30 as its high school start times, which is later than many other schools start their day, and does fit within the CDC's recommendations.
Dr. Kelley, meanwhile, continues to advocate for a 10 a.m. start time. No word yet, though, on whether high schools will be willing to accept that ruling as final.
It's a battle that's been waging for years. And it may only be September, but the opposing sides have already begun sizing each other up. At stake, the ultimate question: whose sleeping schedule is going down? In this battle, everyone has an opinion.
Donning gloves on behalf of the early-to-bed, early-to-rise perspective is principal Donald Stewart, who feels strongly that school should even start earlier than it already does. For Stewart, the main advantage of an early start is allowing high school students to transition to a more adult schedule.
"See, if we started at the same times elementary schools do, say 7:30, we could get out of school earlier as well. You all are adults now, and you're busy. If we could get you guys out of here earlier in the afternoon you'd have the rest of the day to yourselves," Stewart said. "I don't know many students who just go home and sit around and do nothing. You have extra-curricular activities, homework, lives, and jobs!"
Stewart went on to say that he himself doesn't stay up past 9:30 very often, and wishes that students at Wagner had the opportunity to say the same. According to Stewart, his goal is simply to move students' schedules up in the day, so they aren't running themselves in to the ground late into the night.
In the opposite corner are the yawning students, including junior Sarahalizia Nieto. "Yes, school starts too early! I'm tired by fourth period and need a nap," Nieto said. "Did you know that teenagers need fourteen hours of sleep and we only get like eight? If school started after nine, I would have woken up naturally by then and would be more willing to be here then being forced to get up early."
Senior Justin Norris sides firmly with Nieto in blaming the systemic structure of American public school. "They work us just like an assembly line," Norris said. "They just speed it up so that quality takes a hit but productivity increases.,"
But what about the unsung heroes of student transportation? As a JISD bus driver, Mr. Sirene punches the alarm clock at 5 a.m., and feels that school starts at just the right time -- for high school students. "But for elementary students, it's too early," Sirene said.
Heartily slugging it out right next to the students, aquatic science teacher Rebecca Ayala shares principal Donald Stewart's opinion. "I prefer to be up in the mornings. Afternoons suck with all the traffic and everything else," Ayala said. "I think we should start at the same time as the elementary or middle schools."
But as with all final rulings, it's down to the referee. According to sleep study information published by Stanford University, "Adolescents need 9 hours and 15 minutes of sleep. Children need 10 hours and adults need 8 1/4 hours. They rarely get that much due to early school start time, inability to fall asleep until late at night, work, social life and homework. Parents may need to adjust their child's schedule to allow more sleep. Most teens are chronically sleep deprived and try to 'catch up' on their sleep by sleeping in on the weekends. Ultimately they should go to bed and wake up at the same time. That is considered 'good sleep hygiene.'"
But the man who invented the sport is Dr. Paul Kelley, Honorary Clinical Research Associate in the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute.at Oxford University. As the man with the longest title, and a specialist with a focus in how biological timing impacts learning, he gets the final say. According to his research, "the timing of the day in schools and universities for students aged 14-22 does not match their biology, leading to significant sleep loss."
According to Smithsonian magazine, Kelley isn't the only one on the later-start bandwagon. In their recent article "Smart Scientists Say School Days Should Start Later," the publication cited the CDC's recent statement that high school should not start any earlier than 8:30 a.m. Judson ISD currently has 8:30 as its high school start times, which is later than many other schools start their day, and does fit within the CDC's recommendations.
Dr. Kelley, meanwhile, continues to advocate for a 10 a.m. start time. No word yet, though, on whether high schools will be willing to accept that ruling as final.