On January 24, 2018, the superintendent of the Princeton School District announced the approval to push back high school start time from 7:50 to 8:20. The proposal was put into place in an attempt to alleviate stressed students who may need some extra shut eye to stay productive in school. There is a wealth of research illuminating how students who get more sleep are more productive, but realistically, how much can a later  start time actually help?

Let’s face it, whether you have to get up at 6:30 or 7:00 a.m., either way it’s going to be a drag. The majority of us will be pinned with this predicament for a good part of our lives so I don’t believe starting now will drastically alter our productivity.

What people fail to realize about an early start time is the positives that can happen. A 2:25 dismissal allows students several hours after school to do whatever they please after the final bell. This extra time can be used for athletics, academics, and a number of other extracurricular activities. From my own experience, getting out of school at this time allows me to hold an after school job, something that has become a very important part of my life.

Not only is this beneficial for students, but teachers who also have busy lives, are able to do more after school. More time to do things other than school work is essential for someone to be able to achieve their goals.

Waking up early is awful, but I don’t believe that there is an effective way of eliminating it, while still starting school at a reasonable time. Time after school is a great time to kick back and relax as well as to do whatever interests you outside the walls of the classroom.

Delaying school start time for a little bit longer rest would be nice, but it would only make doing other parts of our lives harder.