Reply to MCPS High School 7:45am for teens is to early

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Reply to "MCPS High School 7:45am for teens is to early"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If they changed the start time for HS where I work, teens would leave school early to pick up their younger siblings. I'd say 60-70% of my kindergarten students are picked up by their MS and HS siblings.[/quote]

Because they can. Schools would adjust. [/quote]

At least 60% of families in your class have children who are in kindergarten and in MS or HS (5 or more year age gap)?

If start times change, there will have to be a way to adjust. Assuming that you are talking able low-income families, having exhausted high school students assume responsibility for younger siblings hampers their academic progress (and furthers achievement gaps).

Also, do they not have buses at your school?[/quote]

No buses except for special ed students. We have Hispanic families with tons of siblings of all ages in ES, MS and HS. It isn't unusual to have a sibling from the same family every 2-3 yrs. These families don't have the means for babysitters and the younger kids would just sit in the office after school if nobody could pick them up. There would be a lot of them there.[/quote]

That is not a reason to start school at an early time for older kids. [/quote]

Of course it is. It might not be a reason you find compelling, but "lots of our students have family obligations later in the day" is a reason to start them earlier.[/quote]
Family obligations are not for teens nor should it been forced upon those who don’t have sibling to “raise.” You are wrong and not looking for what is appropriate for teens. [/quote]

A time is going to be "forced" on people who don't want it regardless of what you choose and your decree that "family obligations are not for teens" doesn't make it so. Teenagers have been taking care of siblings and getting up at the dawn to work since civilization began. They were okay with both.

I don't care much which schedule they pick, but the idea that one schedule is "right" and one schedule is "wrong" is just myopic. Different students have different circumstances and every start time is going to be bad for some kids. I'm not sure why it's impossible for you to admit that, but that's the truth.[/quote]

I’m not sure why it’s impossible for you to justify punishing all teens because some have to babysit, ignoring the fact of ALL of their biological clocks. 
 [/quote]

How about the ones who have early morning jobs, or farm chores, or swim/hockey/skating practice, or elder care duties, or pet care duties, or food prep duties, or water hauling duties, or the million other things that teens around the world wake up early to do every day?

What the AAP actually recommends is that kids get enough sleep. For teens, 8-10 hours. They do suggest an 8:30 start time for schools, but they also say, "If schools start earlier, parents should make sure their children go to bed early enough to get the recommended amount of sleep...." so, the AAP knows an early start time isn't possible for everyone.

The fact that you use the word "punishing" suggests that you are not of a rational mind about this issue though.[/quote]

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