iRead the following article.
The Meadowvale School Board is considering pushing the start of the high-school day back by an hour, from 8:15 to 9:15 a.m., and the proposal has divided the community. Its leading champion is trustee Dr. Aisha Kamara, who points to a growing body of research on adolescent sleep. "Teenagers are biologically wired to fall asleep and wake up later than adults," she says. "Forcing them to start school at 8:15 leaves many chronically sleep-deprived, which hurts their learning, their mood, and even their safety on the road." Kamara cites studies in which schools that delayed their start times saw better attendance, higher grades, and fewer car accidents among student drivers. "This is one of the few changes we can make that costs almost nothing and is backed by solid science," she argues. She adds that several nearby districts have already made the change and reported no drop in students' after-school participation. Others are far less enthusiastic. Marcus Bell, who speaks for a group of working parents, worries about the ripple effects. "A later start sounds lovely until you realize it means a later finish," he says. "Many of us drop our kids at school on our way to work. If the day ends at 4:00 instead of 3:00, after-school jobs, sports practices, and childcare all get squeezed." Bell also notes that bus schedules and the timing of the neighbouring elementary school would have to be completely reworked. He doubts, too, that teenagers would truly use the extra hour for sleep. "If they simply shift their bedtime an hour later, we will have rearranged everyone's lives for nothing," he says. Kamara responds that the logistical problems, though real, are solvable, and that the health of students has to come first. Bell counters that families, not only students, will bear the cost of the change. Elena Ruiz, a Grade 11 student, sees both sides. "I would love the extra sleep," she admits, "but I would hate to lose my after-school shift." The board will hold several public consultations in the coming weeks before it votes.
iUsing the drop-down menu, choose the best option according to the information given.
iHere is a reader comment. Complete it by choosing the best option for each blank.
As a school-bus driver of twenty years, I have watched this argument come and go. Dr. Kamara is right that our teenagers are 6.; I see the proof every morning in the slumped, silent faces on my route. But Mr. Bell has a fair point too, because a change like this never touches only the students. When you move one start time, you 7. every other schedule attached to it, from my routes to the pick-ups. My own view is that the sleep science is too strong to 8., so the board should make it work rather than 9. it. A shift of thirty minutes, rather than a full hour, might 10. most of the benefit with far less disruption.