As it turns out, online school might not just be a better choice for a child’s education. It could also save their health. According to the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP), “middle and high schools (should) delay the start of class to 8:30 a.m. or later. Doing so will align school schedules to the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents, whose sleep-wake cycles begin to shift up to two hours later at the start of puberty.”
Awesome. This essay gets to deal with every teen’s favorite topic. Puberty. But you know what? If puberty gets this writer an additional two hours of sleep a day, consider her all in.
So, as it turns out, the sleep cycle shifts as one gets older. A baby might need 20 hours of sleep when first born, and a 70-year-old may need only about 6 hours of sleep. And teens? They need at least eight hours of sleep at a minimum (a definite uptick over that is recommended), but typically fail to get that much because, while their sleep cycle ‘shifts,’ their mandatory public school schedule does not. That is, teens typically can’t get to sleep until after 11 pm by biological imperative, and therefore waking them up at 5 am to make the bus by 6:30 am shortens their natural—God Given Right, some teens might add—ability to rest properly. News on this subject matter gets specific fast, if one asks the right doctors. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) seem like a good place to start.
So says the CDC, “An estimated 40 percent of high schools in the U.S. currently have a start time before 8 a.m.; only 15 percent start at 8:30 a.m. or later. The median middle school start time is 8 a.m., and more than 20 percent of middle schools start at 7:45 a.m. or earlier.” The end result is chronic sleep deprivation that even quick naps in history class (gasp? Say it isn’t so. Nah, that doesn’t happen) can’t abate. Furthermore, a lack of sleep is proven to hinder creativity, test scores, physical growth like height, and contribute to childhood obesity.
As quoted via the official statement by the AAP, “(we urge) middle and high schools to aim for start times that allow students to receive 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep a night. In most cases, this will mean a school start time of 8:30 a.m. or later, though schools should also consider average commuting times and other local factors.”
When asked their opinion of changing the schedule based on solid research, most schools have been luke warm to cool on the notion for a number of reasons, most of which are all about what benefits the system best as opposed to the child. Budget constraints, difficulties in bus and teacher schedules, and more were all given as reasons why it simply wasn’t feasible.
And when asked if they are ready to change their schedules now that science has had their say, Principals said what? In a word, “NO.” According to Edweek.org, the excuses ran the gamut from blame the parents to blame the parents more.
“Shifting school times often causes conflicts with carefully crafted family schedules and the timing of afterschool activities and sports.”
Hence, a fundamental tenet of good health cannot be capitalized on by a shift in bell schedule due to the overwhelming issue of ‘inconvenience.’ It’s interesting to note that at the time this article was written teens and children had not similarly yet refused vaccine schedules for a similar reason. Yet convenience (rhymes with inconvenience) is definitely a reason cited by parents and kids alike to try out an online school program. Good news? Admissions for next school year at K12 International Academy are open and rolling.
Sources:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/23/teens-need-more-sleep-but-districts-struggle.html
- See more at: https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/Let-Them-Sleep-AAP-Recommends-Delaying-Start-Times-of-Middle-and-High-Schools-to-Combat-Teen-Sleep-Deprivation.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token#sthash.IsiL09BB.dpuf
