“School starts way to early”

👏 Supply Chain Advisor at Dell — Emoti-Con Judge

Your project has a great idea and is definitely a sentiment felt by students all over the world. However, I think it would have been more effective at persuading schools to start later if you had come up with solutions to some of the counterarguments for school starting earlier. For example, my high school went from 7:30-2pm, and you are proposing it go from 10-3, how would we still learn all of the content we are required to learn in less time? How would this impact after school activities like sports that must align with other schools if those schools do not change their hours? Would less time in school result in more homework? Considering issues like this and proposing innovative solutions would help to make this argument more convincing.

👏 Software Engineer at AWS — Emoti-Con Judge

This is an interesting idea. I've heard there's actually a scientific backing for this idea. The "circadian rhythm" is essentially the body's internal clock. It's supposed to be 24 hours per day, but as it turns out, everyone's clock is a little different than 24 hours. People who are early risers tend to have an internal clock that thinks one day is less than 24 hours (so they get sleepy earlier, and wake up early). People who stay up late have an internal clock that feels like a day is longer than 24 hours. As we age, our internal clock gets shorter, and we go from night-owls to early-birds.

Your argument could be strengthened by including relevant research about circadian rhythms. You could take it further by sharing research on the importance of sleep on academic performance. Wishing you the best!