In a Los Angeles Times op-ed article from last fall, Lisa L. Lewis argues that schools should start later in the day in order to produce long-term benefits for both the schools and their students. Specifically, Lewis argues for a start time of 8:30 a.m. or later, supporting her central assertion with the claims that a later start time is not only “easy and efficient” but is also capable of producing such benefits as reduced absences, improved grades, and even reduced injuries from sports or car accidents; each claim is also carefully backed up by a number of statistics. Lewis makes some concessions regarding how the process of transitioning to later start times could be troublesome in the short-term, as well as how a later start time could negatively impact after-school activities; however, Lewis still asserts that the long-term results of starting school later are beneficial overall.
Lewis’ main purpose in writing the article is to persuade her audience into supporting later start times for schools. To accomplish this, Lewis makes extensive use of logos appeals, primarily through the presentation of numerous statistics from a variety of sources, to give numerical substance to her claims about later start times for schools. For example, Lewis cites a report conducted by the Children’s National Medical Center in 2014 to state that “absences dropped 15% in Bonneville County, Idaho” after enacting later start times for school; this simple yet effective demonstration of facts strengthens Lewis’ claim regarding the effect of later school start times on attendance records. Similarly, when discussing the contribution of later start times in reducing sports injuries, Lewis references a 2012 study of middle- and high-school athletes in Los Angeles to report that “two-thirds of the athletes who [did not get eight hours of sleep or more] got injured,” thus providing credible, factual support for her argument on the benefits of delaying the start of school in the morning.
As a high school student, I am one among many who would agree that students need more time to sleep in and get ready in the morning. As school start times currently stand, it is always a rush to prepare for school in the morning and rush out the door in order to get to school on time; a later start time would certainly reduce the amount of stress felt by students in the morning. However, for every hour shaved off of the morning schedule, an hour is added to the afternoon; this not only cuts into sports activities, but also into the amount of time spent on homework. This can be especially troublesome for students who face rigorous academic courses, who may find themselves staying up an additional hour at night to complete their daily assignments. Thus, the morning benefits of later start times have the potential to be completely nullified by the adverse effects felt in the evening; as a result, it may be better to leave school start times as they are until a solution can be found for this problem.
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