By Staff Writer, Anayis Barzegar        

It is first period and, as usual, a student is trying hard to stay awake. But the monotone drone of the teacher and the warm atmosphere of the room make it hard not to take a nap.

            Slowly, the student falls into a deep trance, that is, until a classmate’s nudging says, “Snap out of it.” Awakened abruptly, the student is encountered with the teacher’s glaring eyes.
            Statistics show that on a typical day, 20 percent of high school students fall asleep in class.
            What could be a logical explanation for this?
            Could this be blamed on students being up too late, or is there a more conceivable argument?
            School should start later to give students an extra hour to sleep and relax. That way, students can bring with them a clear mind to school, ready to listen and learn.
            After all, what is the point of students coming to school, bright and early, when all they will be doing is fighting the urge to stay awake?
            While it has been proven that teens have different sleeping habits, numerous schools refuse to accept it. They believe that discipline and time management are all that teenagers really need.
            By changing the traditional time, school would have to end later. For example, have school start at 9:05 a.m. and end at 4:07 p.m.
            It is true that many students will not be in favor of ending later. Despite this, it is beneficial.
            Nathan Hale High in Seattle, Washington is one school that starts later. In September of last year, the school decided to change it starting time from 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. Thus far, there has been a visible change in student behavior as well as a positive impact on the academic performance of the student population.
            In fact, Kyla Washington, an educational researcher from the University of Minnesota, found that there is a decrease in the dropout rate at the schools that start later.
            “High Schools Starting Later to Help Sleepy Teens,” an article by Michelle Trudeau, reports teachers having students who are “more alert and ready for learning.”
            Parents believe that the change has made their children easier to live with since their emotions are “more regulated.”
            Students feel more in charge of their learning; due to this time change, they are, noticeably, “less depressed and less zombie-like in school.”
            According to education-world.com, by pushing back the starting time, administrators from various high schools have reported “fewer discipline problems, less tardiness, better attendance, and, most importantly, happier and more alert students.”
            Jackie Yang (’07) and Roni Manouki (’09) agree with the notion of starting school later.
            Yang believes that time change would be beneficial for both teachers and students.
            “Teachers, many of which live far from school, will be granted more time for preparation while students will be given more time to eat and rest up,” she said.
            Photography teacher Allison Stewart states that the perk of leaving early is that one can avoid traffic. “The downside of this would be that school will take away from family time and other extracurricular activities.”
            Manouki, on the other hand, states that a late start will ensure that students will be “more awake and focused in class.”
            Assistant Principal William B. Sterling states that Hoover is the opposite; there are more tardies on Wednesday than compared to regular school days.
            Sterling, as a result, does not agree that a later start would be a good idea.
            “The working force has to adjust personal hours to work schedules. Students need to do the same,” he said.     
            The whole point of school is so one can get an education and that can not happen if students are falling asleep in class. Our school faces a major problem with students being tired and listless during school and the only way to solve this is to start later.