Chesterfield County , Richmond, VA School Start Time Change
Some people think that a change in the start time for elementary, middle, and high schools would be beneficial for students, but I, along with many other students and parents, think this time change would hurt more than help. A time change may have some benefits, such as the possibility of more sleep. Unfortunately, there would also be downsides, especially for teens; for example, a time change would make it harder for teens to have a job.
Chesterfield county (Richmond, VA) wants to change the time that elementary, middle, and high schools start. Some elementary schools would start at 7:45 am and get out at 2:15 pm, and other elementary schools, along with a few middle schools, would start at 8:35 am and end at 3:05 pm. The rest of the middle schools and all the high schools would start at 9:30 am and end at 4:00 pm. Other cities and counties have done this with relative success. There are mixed opinions in parents, students, and teachers alike as to how well it has worked. If Chesterfield county were to make this change, it would, most likely, not take effect until 2018.
Some upsides for this change in start are things such as more sleep for teens. With teens not having to go to school until later in the morning then it is a possibility that they would get more sleep as they could sleep later. The change in start time would keep teens and some middle schoolers in school from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm, which would better prepare them for 9 to 5 jobs. This would better prepare them for life. Also, younger children would gain independence skills earlier on in life as many would possibly be at home alone after they finish school.
Despite the upsides, there would still be several downsides to the time change. While teens having more sleep would be beneficial to them, teens do not need more sleep while elementary and middle schoolers need more. It is recommended that children between the ages of 5 and 13 need 9 to 11 hours of sleep and that teens between the ages of 14 and 18 get 7 to 9 hours of sleep. The possibility of this new time preparing teens for 9 to 5 jobs would be beneficial, but not everyone will be working at a 9 to 5 job and a boss in the real world will not change the time you must come into work because you are tired. The fact the children will be getting out of school before teens and, most likely, before parents will result in children as young as 5 being home alone for any length of time without an older figure to watch them. In addition to those, after school activities might have to be cut because with the later end time they would run past or into dinner and family times. Also, if teens are not getting out of school until 4:00 pm, getting after school jobs would be harder because jobs would run into dinner and family times. Adult’s often complain about how lazy teens are, if the time for school starting changes it will be next to impossible for teens to get jobs, fulfilling the adults’ stereotypes. Volunteering and other experience building activities would be hard to fit in after school and would have to be fit in on weekends, most likely cutting into family and friend time. Also, children as young as 5 would have to be getting up as early as 6 in the morning. With children this young, parents would most likely have to get up with them to get them ready for school, cutting their sleep short.
Overall, there are many upsides and downsides to the school start time change. In my opinion, the downsides outnumber the upsides and make the decision, logically, a bad one. Do parents, or the public, for that matter, want generations of children and teens who have never had, or been able to have, a job? Do parents really want their elementary aged children at home alone?
