This upcoming school year, my classes start 10 minutes earlier than they normally do from 8:30 in the morning to 8:20 a.m. Now this doesn’t make much of a difference to me (I secretly like this change since I am a morning person), but it prompted me to think about how my less early-rising peers will have to adjust to accommodate such a change. You can read more about how to cope with earlier school start times.
Do the pros of starting school earlier outweigh the cons? The debate about ideal school start times continue to wage on especially, as the school year is right around the corner. Here are some pros and cons to starting class early.
Pros
- There is more time for extracurricular activities and homework thus, improving morale levels and grades.
- Transportation such as busing, sport teams, and daycare facilities won’t be affected and costs won’t go up.
- Kids might have to go to bed at a reasonable time, which would make parents happier.
Cons
- Students are less alert and awake because they are forced to wake up early therefore, attendance and performance may decrease.
- Bus times will have to change, teams may have to play later or even in the dark, and older teens cannot pick up younger siblings.
- Many teenagers despise the idea of waking up early so this can make them despise going to school even more.
Weirdly enough, this earlier start was implemented to avoid “so many lates” at our school. In turn, it may have the opposite effect. There could be even more lates. Time will tell. 
Herminia Chow 