by Melissa Duarte
Students are finding it difficult to adjust to the new start time and struggling to make it to school on time. The buses weren’t dependable with pick up times when school started at eight in the morning, but since the time change some of the buses are still picking up the students after school has started. What if the switch was flipped and school started in the evening?
Night School
An advantage of night school is having the ability to do homework with a fully functioning brain. Puberty (which usually starts in 8th grade) changes the brain’s response to sleep; it begins to feel tired between 10:45 pm to 8:00 am, so starting at 4:00 pm and ending at 10:00 pm would ensure that students have the capability to sleep around the time their brain becomes tired. Insomniacs would also profit from night school because after five hours of socializing and learning their bodies would be tired and finally be able to sleep an entire night with no troubles. Most schools start around 7 am, which is why most teens find it difficult to get themselves out of bed; their brains don’t want to be up that early. Having school begin in the evening would give students a chance to wake up, eat properly, get energized, prepare, and be ready for school. Homework can be done, and even give a momentary time to hang out with friends and get the social energy started.
A disadvantage of night school is elementary school students do not find drawbacks from starting school in the morning. Having elementary school students start late could result in harm to their growing bodies and minds. Young children’s brains are programmed to start earlier since they have more energy. Furthermore, siblings going to school at different hours could be worse for the family. Families sometimes require the older siblings to watch over the younger siblings during the night in case they are working a night shift, but if those older siblings are at school, finding and funding a babysitter is needed.
Morning School
An advantage to having school in the morning is that it teaches students structure and discipline. Students going to school in the morning learn what it’s like to wake up on time, prepare school bags and supplies beforehand, have homework completed, arrive at the bus stop on time, and have everything ready for school. When they enter the real world, most of the students will understand time management and organizational skills.
A disadvantage of morning school is the lack of quality time with family. Parents tend to drop off their children at school or at the bus stop and go home to prepare themselves for work. By the time the children get home, many parents are still at work. When the parents get home, children are working on homework and need silence to focus on their assignments and projects. This especially affects those students who have jobs, the family time slims even more and they typically don’t see them at all until it’s time to go to bed. Quality time with parents is critical in the time during high school to make sure that students feel they have a true and genuine connection with their parents; the less time together, the more they are going to drift apart once high school is over. Also, this connection is good to have in case the children are struggling with their mental health, then their parents are able to help. Children need a safe and trusted adult to talk to when it comes to their mental health. It’s not difficult for children to trust, but rather stay trusting. Quality time with parents is needed to keep that trusting foundation, once lost it becomes even more difficult for a child to open up to their parents about any mental struggles. Morning school makes it tough for parents and children to find that balance of responsibilities and quality time.
There are both positives and negatives to night and morning school. Each definitely has an effect on the life of everyone in a family. Night school has more benefits in my opinion from the viewpoint of someone with a job and insomnia. Just take a moment to imagine a flipped school setting.
