1st Place, Pro-Con Opinion Columns
2022-23, Division 4, News Writing
By Anjali Kakarla & Serena O’Brien
The Communicator Magazine
Ann Arbor Community HS
Agree to
I sit, half-asleep in my second hour class. The teacher has been lecturing for the last 20 minutes, but I haven’t heard a word. My eyes are heavy and my mind is foggy. I know that my homework will take twice as long tonight, but I can’t bring myself to focus. I’m too tired.
As a sophomore in high school, I’ve become used to this feeling. Every morning, I struggle to get out of bed and start the day. Instead of feeling energized, I wake up drowsy and exhausted.
I’m not alone. The GENYOUth Foundation found that 74% of high school students identified as sleep-de- prived. Notably, a majority of students, 63%, recom- mended delaying school start times.
Administrators are forcing students all over the coun- try to wake up before the sun has risen to go to school, causing our mental, emotional and physical health to suffer. The American Psychological Association (APA) reports that students who receive the recommended amount of sleep — approximately 8.5 to 9.25 hours — have improved memory, less difficulty paying attention, better control over their emotions and an easier time staying awake during class than their sleep-deprived peers. Furthermore, the APA reports that insufficient sleep increases the likelihood of disciplinary issues and classroom conflict. Just a 55-minute delay in the start time caused students at one Seattle school to have improved attendance, decreased tardiness and higher grades.
This is not just teenagers whining about going to school early. According to a study by Michigan Medicine, biological sleep patterns change when humans enter adolescence, causing teenagers to both wake up and fall asleep later than when they were younger. Thus, there is evidence that teenagers need delayed school start times in order to get adequate sleep due to our changing biological sleep patterns.
Critics dispute this overwhelming evidence by citing issues such as the cost of transportation as well as the reduced time for extracurriculars and sports. However, I argue that officials should prioritize the potential benefits for students when determining policy instead of looking at possible economic costs. Even though delayed start times does mean a delayed release time for schools, which affects extracurriculars and sports, there are advantages of delayed start times for sports as well. A study published in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics found that student athletes who received less than eight hours of sleep each night were 1.7 times more likely to experience a sports injury than student athletes who slept the recommended amount. The study also found that the likelihood of injury increased for sleep-deprived athletes as they entered higher grade levels.
Although delaying school start times may cause an increased cost for transportation and reduced time for extracurriculars and sports, these minor inconveniences are worth it to ensure students get enough sleep and are able to feel rested and safe during the day.
Disagree:
For almost the entirety of the spring of 2020, I had no reason to get out of bed. In fact, as a general rule, I didn’t. I typically spent the first two hours of my day laying in bed with my phone or a book. If I wasn’t in my bed, I had probably dragged myself down the hall- way to chase the sunny spot to the couch. I wouldn’t say the experience was objectionable; in fact, if I could be curled up in a sun-kissed ball at all times, I assuredly would be. However, I also got approximately nothing done for the first three hours of every day.
There is an argument to be made for sleeping in. Many teenagers might cite circadian rhythms, but the unspoken motivation is more selfish. It’s simply easier to lay in a warm bed than it is to get out of it. Delay- ing the start time of school would definitely allow for more comfort on a cold winter morning, but it would be unlikely to solve any of the issues that we typically associate with the current school start time.
I understand that many high schoolers don’t get an adequate amount of sleep. Amid the flurry of home- work, extracurriculars and socialization, not much time is left for sleep. I myself have been guilty of staying up too late and reaping the consequences in the morn- ing, but I find it difficult to believe that an extra hour or two in the morning would have changed anything. In fact, when I know that I can sleep in the next morning, I just stay up later. I could have my contacts out and my retainer in and still completely backtrack from the concept of “bed” upon hearing that school is canceled. No matter what time students have to get up, the majority of us are likely to sleep until the last minute.
Furthermore, pushing back the start of the school day will only cut into student’s valuable after-school time, particularly in terms of daylight. If we were to push the school start time just an hour later, students partici- pating in outdoor sports would lose practice and game time. By adding more time in the morning, we would be taking away time in the afternoon — highly utilized time for many students.
Changing the start time could also pose an often over- looked problem for many families. In many households — particularly those with children and working parents — scheduling can be difficult. My parents, for example, drop me off at school on their way to work. If the start time is delayed, a transportation issue would arise. For me, the problem is solvable, but for families with younger children or single-parent households, signifi- cant conflicts could arise. Not to mention, families with students in different school districts would encounter more problems as the current start time tends to be ap- proximately the same nationwide.
Our current school start time is not exceptionally harmful, and the minor inconveniences it poses do not warrant inviting further issues by overhauling our schedule. An extra hour in bed is not worth uproot- ing the historical school start time, particularly when that extra hour would not necessarily change anyone’s sleeping patterns. It surely would not change mine.
NW-10. Pro-Con Opinion Columns
Each entry must:
- have two (2) columns, each written by a different author, that express opposing viewpoints on one topic.
- show the two columns as a package, allowing readers to view both at the same time. Columns appearing in print should be published adjacent to each other on the same or opposing pages; columns appearing online should link prominently to each other or appear on the same webpage.
- have both columns submitted together in the same entry form
- have a standing head that indicates the pro/con nature of the package
- carry bylines or other writer identification to indicate the personal opinion nature of the content
FOR ONLINE ENTRIES, submit the URL to one column in the URL field and the other in the Additional Information field.
A school may submit a second entry in this category, and the pieces may be written by the same columnists or combination including one of the same columnists. Submit a PDF of the print page(s) on which the entry was published or the URL to the entry on an online news site.
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Topics relevant to interests and/or welfare of school or students
- Two pieces, while offering opposing views, are consistent in style and tone
- Both pieces win reader interest with compelling leads
- Present evidence/interpretation in logical sequence
- State issue; uses effective examples, facts and comparisons to clarify
- Deal with specific issue; avoids preaching, rhetoric and clichés
- Show sufficient thought and knowledge of subject, developed with personal style
- Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely and vividly
- Proper diction/grammar