Faculty Discuss Efficacy of 8 a.m. Classes

By ERIN HAN, LOGAN BECKERLE, JANIBEK SUBKHANBERDIN, and ALLEGRA LAI

Every week, Exonians across campus are woken up from their slumber by the ringing of their alarm. Groggy, they check the time; it reads ‘8:00 a.m.’ In that moment, they have to make the decision either to rush to class fresh out of bed, only to arrive late anyways, or to give up and fill out a fatigue before going back to sleep. While some enjoy the luxury of a sleep-in, the mornings of the Exeter community often start early and sluggish. Despite the fact that students are often reminded of the importance of sleep by their health teachers, the nature of 8:00 a.m. classes seemingly contradicts that lesson – a fact that has led to much discussion on campus surrounding the current situation and possible amendments. 

Between clubs, sports, and academics, Exonians often have a hard time getting enough sleep, and it is reflected in their performance in 8 a.m. classes. “Early start times can have an impact on the amount of sleep a student gets. Teens are supposed to be getting between 9 and 10 hours of sleep per night,” Instructor in Health Mackenzie Kraines explained. “I have noticed a common trend with tardies, absences, and fatigues used more during 8 a.m. class rather than a class later in the day.”  

Kraines also suggested that looking into this would be beneficial to student health. “There is a lot of research that suggests a later start time would be more beneficial to not only students’ health and well-being but also their learning. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. I hope we can make this more of a possibility and find room in the schedule to make this a priority,” he continued.

Beyond the correlation of increased absences with earlier classes, the experiences of students and faculty with 8:00 a.m. classes further reinforced the fact that a lack of sleep can impact the classroom. Instructor in Mathematics Adam Chawansky noted a possible difference in the engagement of his students depending on the time of class. “I find my 8:00 a.m. class is generally a bit lower energy than when I meet them at 9:00 a.m.,” he said. 

Chawansky described a strategy he employs in his earliest classes to counteract that lull in engagement. “I try to bring lots of energy to math class to set an enthusiastic tone,” he said. “Of course, a lot of the problems we discuss are really elegant and neatly weave together mathematical ideas in surprising ways. So I try to share that beauty with the class.”

Kraines echoed that experience, explaining: “I think that it can be more common for an 8:00 a.m. class to need a little more motivation in class, but that is not always the case.”

However, both Chawansky and Kraines raised the idea that the performance of students in their 8:00 a.m. classes were not necessarily dependent on the early nature of their meeting. Chawansky, reflected on his earliest class that “they’re generally a pretty quiet group, so it’s hard to judge causation vs. correlation.”

Kraines reinforced the theme that classroom energy could be more dependent on the students themselves. “Sometimes the class dynamic depends on the collection of personalities around the table,” he said.

In the meantime, some members of the Academy community suggest potential ways to cope with 8 a.m. classes. Kraines advised Exonians directly, “It can be tempting to stay up late to finish homework or to study, but your brain and body need sleep. It is a fundamental and physiological need that helps you exponentially across the board.” 

He clarified, “I am not saying it is easy to get your required amount of sleep every night, but you should at least make the effort to prioritize it more than other things. Also, don’t snooze more than once. You are just robbing yourself of that quality sleep.”

Chawansky shared how he thinks a change like this would actually influence students’ sleep. “I think work expands to fill available time. So regardless of when classes start, students will get about the same amount of sleep, maybe just shifted around.” 

“This is my first year at PEA, so I’d be curious to learn from seniors what strategies they use to effectively juggle academics, sports, extracurriculars, downtime, and sleep,” he added.

To conclude, the Academy’s early class times do not exactly align with what students need, but who knows if the student body would feel a change? Until any changes are made, it’s hard to tell. However, many students, teachers in the community, and experts worldwide support longer rest for students.