Have you ever woke up so tired that you couldn’t get out of bed? A lot of other students feel the same as well. Only 17.7% of the United State’s middle, high, and combined schools start at 8:30 A.M, and almost 40% started school before 8:00 A.M. According to these results, most students in the United States wake up before 7:30 A.M to get ready for school. The people who were interviewed for this story were 8th grade Unis Middle School Journalists, Zaradasht Barrakat and Omar Salim, 8th grade student, Ahmad Jaber, and U.S. History teacher, Mr. Shockey.

     About 28% of students who go to school before 8:00 A.M fall asleep and the first class is often a waste. Some high school students are so tired that they choose not to go to school which increases failure. Omar Salim, an 8th grader from Unis Middle School said, “I would feel very energetic and awake if school started later in the day.” A lot of other students feel the same about this, and agreed that school should start later in the day, like 8th grade journalist, Zaradasht Barrakat, “I think school should start at 8:30 A.M”  

     Schools who start school later than most schools get better test scores. 73% of students in those school pass their classes and standardized tests. Omar said, “I do a couple of sit-ups and push-ups to get myself energized and ready for all my tests and morning classes.” Zaradasht also likes to do morning exercises, “I stretch and do 20 jumping jacks in the morning to get my blood pumping.”

      Students who fall asleep in class often get yelled at or punished by their teacher which causes distractions in the class, and wastes time. Mr. Shockey, an eighth grade U.S History teacher from Unis Middle School explained, “As a young teacher I would’ve woken up a student who fell asleep in class, but over the years I realized that if a student falls asleep you should let them sleep because you should let them get the rest they didn’t get during the night.”

     A lot of teachers complain that students don’t get enough sleep and are often drowsy in their morning classes. In fact 67% of teachers complain about this and 25% want school to start earlier for students. Mr. Shockey also clarified how he stays awake in the morning, “I like to drink a glass of ice cold water to keep me up and running for the day.” 

     Students who take the bus occasionally sleep in and miss the bus. Most students who miss the bus have somebody drop them off.  A few of those students just skip school which also increases failure and dropouts. About 23% of students take the bus and most of them miss the bus every once in awhile. An eighth grade Unis Middle School student, Ahmad Jaber said, “I usually get to class on time, but sometimes I miss the bus and my parents have to drop me off.” About 30 to 40 kids take the bus in Unis Middle School and about 90% of those kids missed the bus at least once this year. 

In conclusion, most students and teachers agree that school should start later in the day.  However, few students and Unis Middle School staff members disagree with this opinion, but the majority of people think it would be easier to get through the day if school started later in the day and ended later. There’s a very small chance middle and high schools in Dearborn Public Schools would start at the same time as elementary schools, but it’s very unlikely.

Alirida Noureddine

Unis Middle School Journalist