VOA慢速英语-- More US High Schools Adopt Later Start Times

 

Like many American high school students, Josh Leong used to eat breakfast while it was still dark outside.

But that changed when his high school, McLean, in the American state of Virginia, changed to a later start time two years ago.

Proponents¹ of late start times

The issue of school start times has become increasingly important in recent years. A growing number of sleep research studies have pointed² to high schoolers' need for more sleep.

The American Psychological Association, or APA, says that more than half of teens between ages 15 and 17 sleep for 7 or fewer hours per night.

Teens like to stay up at night. They tend to go to bed late and wake up late in the morning. These habits are a result of biology, according to the APA.

Changing the sleep schedule of teens may not work. "Simply going to bed earlier does not necessarily make someone less tired in the early morning hours," says a statement on the organization's website.

The American Medical Association, or AMA, has also advocated for later start times.

At last year's annual AMA meeting, Board Member William E. Kobler said, "Sleep deprivation³ is a growing public health issue affecting our nation's adolescents, putting them at risk for mental, physical and emotional distress⁴ and disorders⁵."

In 2016, the group issued a new policy proposal that "encourages middle schools and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m."

Concerns about changing sleep times

While the medical community has largely supported later start times, Americans do not always agree on the issue.

American schools are separated into districts. According to the U.S. Census⁶ bureau, there are over 14,000 school districts in the country. Each district has its own governing body, which sets school start and end times, and other important school policies.

Some have opposed the adoption⁷ of later times on the grounds that after-school sports will suffer. The Atlantic reports on strong opposition⁸ to later start times in the American state of New Jersey⁹.

“It seems like there’s a disconnect here between the people who are making the decisions and the kids who actually want to play sports,” said Rich Perello, a parent and opponent of later start times.

Others have opposed the adoption of later start times because they believe schools are adopting later start times without enough planning.

Gregg Lindner is a school board director in the Unionville-Chadds Ford¹⁰ school district in the state of Pennsylvania. He voted against the adoption of later start times.

Lindner says he believes the scientific evidence about the benefits of later start times. But, he said, it would have been better for the district to adopt the later start time after careful consideration. He felt there was "a rush to implementation¹¹."

Lindner's main concern was logistics. Logistics refers to the things that must be done to plan and organize a complicated activity or event that involves many people.

Lindner's school district, Unionville-Chadds Ford, is very large, about 77 square miles, or about 200 square kilometers. School buses must travel far to pick up students.

Many teachers live outside the district. Later start times mean they might have to travel during peak traffic times. In addition, many of the teachers have children themselves. Their children might study in different school districts that have different start times.

"It [the adoption of a later start time] is impactful," Lindner noted¹².

Lindner said he would have preferred adopting later start times in the 2018-2019 school year, instead of the upcoming 2017-2018 school year.

Phyliss Payne is the implementation director for Start School Later, an advocacy group. She agrees that school districts can, and should, plan for these logistical problems.

Payne notes that Americans already expect change in school schedules when their children move from elementary to middle and high schools. American districts often have different start times for each of these types of schools.

“The biggest challenge is that people do not like change... we like to protect ourselves from change. So, when we hear that something new is coming, our immediate¹³ gut¹⁴ reaction is to say ‘I don't want this, this is going to be bad’ and we speculate about what's going to be different and how it is going to be hard for us.”

Perspectives on school start times

Payne adds that culture plays a role in how different people think about later start times. What might seem reasonable in one place might not seem reasonable in another place.

“The definition of 'later' varies from culture to culture. When I talk to friends who have lived in England, for example, who then come back here after having the high school experience in England, they are very shocked at how early we [Americans] start, how short of a time we give the kids for lunch. There are interesting cultural differences.”

Sleep experts – notably¹⁵ in the UK – have called for school start times as late as 10 or 11am, according to the Guardian¹⁶.

Josh Leong, the student at McLean High School, likes his school's new start time of 8:05 am.

“I think I appreciate the fact that I get to wake up a little bit more with the light. I get to wake up with the sunrise. I'm not trying to make my breakfast in the darkness.”

He said, "If you get a good night's sleep, your next day at school is significantly better.”

I'm Jill Robbins.

And I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

district – n. US: an area or region containing the schools that a school board is in charge of

disconnect – n. a separation of (something) from something else; breaking of a connection between two or more things

benefit – n. a good or helpful result or effect

rush – n. a situation in which someone is doing something very quickly or hurrying

logistics – n. plural¹⁷ the things that must be done to plan and organize a complicated activity or event that involves many people (ie transporting many students to school)

impactful – adj. having a major impact or effect.

1 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

2 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

4 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

5 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

7 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

11 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

15 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

16 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

17 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。