Thu Le

Period E
Ms. Levine
English L4
Nov.16 2016

Starting School Later in The Morning

How many of us here get at least 9 hours of sleep each night, then wake up and go to

school set and ready to learn? Early school hours prevent many students and teachers from

getting the 8-9 hours of sleep per night that most teenagers and adults need. If students come to

school to learn and are not learning and obtaining information properly just because of an early

start that makes them tired, whats the point of school? Starting school at a later time will allow

students to actually obtain more information and knowledge. At such a young age, adequate

sleep is a significant part of a healthy lifestyle; it can benefit your heart, weight, mind, and as a

result can benefit you academically.

Research have shown that sleep helps improve your memory which will also help you do

better in school. Your mind is surprisingly busy while you sleep. During sleep you can strengthen

memories or "practice" skills learned while you were awake ( a process called consolidation). So

if you are struggling to learn your English, Spanish, Latin, French vocab or to study your biology

or chemistry test, getting more sleep is one of the key.

Sleep is extremely beneficial but not all of us are able to get the right amount we need

due to our busy schedule with school starting so early everyday. When our body doesnt get the

right amount of sleep it requires, during the school day we will not function properly and it will

be hard for students to focus during classes which defeats the purpose of school.

According to Nauset Regional High School officials in 2012, when the school pushed

their start time from 7:25 to 8:35 a.m, giving students an extra hour to sleep in, the results were
instantaneous. More students showed up to school refreshed. Tardiness fell by 35 percent, and

the number of Ds and Fs dropped by half. Researchers analyzed that shifting the school day later

in the morning results in an increase in attendance, grades, standardized test scores and overall

lifestyle.

If youre an athlete, sleep is one simple way to improve your performance. A Stanford

University study found that college athletes who tried to sleep at least 10 hours a night for seven

to eight weeks improved their average sprint time and performance. If our athletes get extra

sleep, maybe it will improve their performance.

Many of us are getting closer to getting our drivers license or already driving, sleep can

affect the way you drive and also the amount of accidents that occur. The National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration reported in 2009 that being tired accounted for the highest number

of fatal car running off road crashes due to the drivers performance; even more than alcohol!

Lack of sleep affects reaction time and decision making. Insufficient sleep for just one night can

be as detrimental to your driving ability as having an alcoholic drink. As many students do drive

to school, sleepy drivers especially in early mornings are not just dangerous for them but also for

others on the road. By providing and allowing students just an hour extra of sleep, the rate of car

accidents could decrease.

Although by delaying school start, we will eat dinner a little later and sports practice will

be a little later, we will be in a safer environment and live a healthier lifestyle. Lack of sleep can

lead to depression, lack of sleep can make students struggle academically, physically and

emotionally. If everyone gets the right amount of sleep required, the risk of health issues,

accidents and low grades would decrease. If all it takes is a later start to school to get a healthier,

happier and safer life, why not start now. Just by allowing students to have an extra hour of
sleep, there will be a potential to improve the health, safety, and academic achievement of all

students, immediately.

Total Score: 98%

Audience Review: 9/10

Teachers Comment(Delivery): Good inflection, pace, voice, volume and

preparation.

Speech: Speech includes valid persuasive examples with logos, ethos,

and pathos included. You have done a nice job in using counter-arguments to

support your personal argument. The speech and delivery of it in general

was great and shows evident of preparation. You also showed confident and

strong interest in the topic which was great to see. My advice to improve

your speech would be to conclude your speech with a stronger statement to

signify the importance of your argument. Well done Thu!