Recently, two Victorian schools have delayed their starting times and were satisfied with the students’ response. These schools had introduced their new timetable after Russell Foster, an Oxford University sleep expert, felt that ”teenagers are biologically wired to stay up late and wake late”, while psychologists had also discovered that 40 percent of teenagers were deprived of sleep. After delaying the starting times, students were found to be more alert in school.
In my opinion, although this article was taken from an Australian newspaper (Herald Sun), I feel that the same case can be applied to us too. In Raffles Institution, many students usually find it difficult to juggle their studies and other commitments (CCA, e.g.) at the same time. With the exception of a rare few who are able to manage their time very well, a committed RI student usually reaches home in the late afternoon, leaving them little time to finish their piles of homework. These students will then either: retire early, leaving their homework undone; or rush their homework till late at night, and then sleep during lessons the next day. Hence, if RI adopts the “late timetable” system, it would certainly favour the students’ sleeping needs.
However, there are also many who are against the idea of the “late timetable” system. From the comments given by the readers, many people, especially adults, felt that the younger generation is becoming much lazier. If teenagers could not even stand the lack of sleep now, how would they survive in the workforce in the future? Instead of delaying the school timetable, many felt that the students should learn to manage their time properly by themselves.
I feel that sleep deprivation is an important matter that should be worked out among teachers, students, and their parents. Other than changing the school timetable, there are actually many alternative solutions, like: decreasing the amount of workload, helping the student set a timetable for his commitments, etc. Students should learn to take charge of their lives and manage their own time well, instead of relying on the school to make allowances for their lack of time management. Their school and parents can also help them decide upon the best course of action to take in order for them to have sufficient sleep while finishing their work on time.
“A healthy kid is a happy kid.” – No matter what course of action the student choose to take, he should always get enough sleep (> 8 hours) in order for him to lead a healthy and active life.
