Early School Start Times
One silver lining of the Covid-19 lockdown has been the realization that schoolchildren, particularly teenage schoolchildren, need sleep — lots of sleep. There are many high schools in the United States that begin at 8:00 AM or earlier; many at 7:30 AM and some even at the unearthly hour of 7:10 AM. This is criminal. No teenager should be subjected to such early starts and certainly not at times which are so dangerously misaligned with a teenager’s biological clock and circadian rhythm. Every individual is different, but the science suggests quite clearly that the optimal sleep time for a teenager (considering the quantity and the natural body rhythms of that age group) is nine hours from 11:00 PM to 8:00 AM. Therefore, in line with many schools around the world, school for those aged thirteen or older should ideally start no earlier than 9:00 AM.
I am aware that many other countries also start school very early, such as China, Brazil, and the Philippines, but these should not be the benchmark and should also be censured. This is because all the research shows overwhelmingly that early school start times, particularly for teenagers, cause a litany of problems: tiredness, lack of motivation, road accidents, poorer academic outcomes, and worse physical and mental health (with alarmingly increased rates of anxiety and depression). It is surely obvious that dragging a fifteen-year-old boy out of bed at 6:00 AM for school is ludicrous and damaging in equal measure.
The teenage child is a fragile being, overwhelmed by hormones; undergoing crucial brain development (especially myelination); and effectively being controlled by the amygdala rather than prefrontal cortex. Simultaneously, the teenager is growing at a rapid rate –physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Therefore, to deprive that child of the essential sleep they need to wire their brains, grow physically, and develop emotionally and intellectually is a scandal. Effectively, we are creating damaged and dysfunctional adults. How are school districts allowed to do this? How can parents be so accepting and complicit in this harmful behavior?
Indeed, and equally worrying, it seems that all the arguments employed against starting school later do not take into account the student’s educational and developmental needs but focus on logistics (transportation), parents (work and childcare needs), teachers (requiring early finish times to complete non-teaching work), and after-school activities. However, the primary duty of school is not to provide childcare or extra-curricular activities, or to support adults, but to educate and develop the child. Everything else is supplementary to this role. Therefore, anything, such as sleep deprivation, that so obviously detracts from this duty should be reviewed and rectified as a matter of urgency.
Many schools that start early can blame parents or guardians for not ensuring their child gets enough sleep due to over-scheduling or lax bedtimes. And they can certainly point to students who have done well in their test scores or gone on to prestigious universities. Nevertheless, these outcomes will always be despite rather than because of the early starts. Even if a student can get the necessary nine hours and start school at 7:30 AM, the problem remains, as the science shows, that the teenage brain is not ready to learn effectively at that time of day. The student will always be under-performing regardless of how well they might do. Early school start times can never be a help, only a hindrance.
Early school starts are obviously not the same as sending children down chimneys or to work in factories, but I am confident that history will judge them harshly and undoubtedly with disbelief.
“Grandad, you really had to get a bus to school at 6:45 in the morning? Really?” Pause. “For God’s sake why?”
