TIME TO GET UP!

Early School Starts = Kids Going to Sch Sleepy = Bad for Learning In my days (more than 40 years ago), school used to start at 8:30 a.m. in elementary school, and 9 a.m. for high school. So when I first came to this country, I was shocked to see kids go to school at 8 a.m. I thought it was un-Godly hour, especially in the dead of winter. Then school began to start even earlier. It is now not uncommon for high schools to start at 7 a.m., and saying "Good night" means 2:45 p.m. Many teachers have grown to like the idea that they have practically half the afternoon and evening off. Pities are the parents and the students who have to get up before 6 a.m. to prepare for school. This also means that for all practical purpose, activities stop at 9 p.m. This means that after-school sports, band practice, music lessons, Internet surfing, e-mail chatting and TV, as well as homework and studying for tests have all to be done before 9p.m. On the other hand, for reasons still unknown, the biological clock on sleep pattern of teenagers is pushed back to become more of the adults’, that is, they like to stay later than 9:30 p.m. and get up later than 6 a.m. The result - they fight to stay up at night but wake up drowsy and go to school with sleep fatigue. More of us are realizing that early school day is a significant factor for chronic fatique for many students (and their family). Some parents and health association have started to rebel. The Minnesota Medical Association warned school districts that early start is incompatible to students’ body clock and bad for their health. Starting in 1996, Minneapolis postponed their school start time from 7:15 to 8:40 a.m. According to the National Sleep Foundation, school districts in 13 states rolled back their start time. One hopes this trend will expand.

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