School Starting After Break is a Bad Idea
By: Ethan Ding
After a whole day’s travel, you lay down on your bed and suddenly remember that some of your teachers have added homework due tomorrow! You finish your assignment just as you give in to your sleepiness just to be jolted awake by your 7:30 a.m. alarm. Such are the struggles that some Exonians go through.
The administration’s commencement of classes the day after a break ends is simply not a good idea. Students, especially international students, can spend hours, even days traveling back to campus. Classes starting the following day present a number of problems that can be detrimental to student well-being and their ability to learn in class. After arriving on campus, students are completely drained, some having not slept for many hours as a result of long distance travel.
For many, waking up at a reasonable time before their 8 a.m. class undeniably results in students’ not getting enough sleep. Numerous factors including jet lag, stress about the next day’s work, unpacking, dormmates, hunger, and much more also will interfere with students’ sleep. Exonians are already infamously sleep deprived and helpless at creating functional sleep schedules. Having them start off after a break sets the stage for lots of sleep troubles to come.
Even for students who don’t travel far, just the thought of the immediate full return to school, forcing students to completely flip their mindsets around overnight, can take away from their well deserved break. The fact that students are expected to fully transition over the course of less than a day can be a daunting task facing many students.
When students are tired, there are consequences in the classroom as well. Knowing firsthand what it’s like trying to Harkness while your classmates are falling asleep around you, I have observed that class in this state is thoroughly unproductive, especially in a Harkness environment. Even if just one person is suffering from sleep deprivation, there is a profound effect on the mood of the whole table.
Teachers also prepare and present a lesson that many students don’t absorb as well as they would’ve if they were at full awareness. Teachers will find themselves reteaching many concepts over the next few class periods, and will have taught a class that wasn’t as productive as it could’ve been. This first day will have been wasted, while students still experience the stress of a full-fledged school day. Having classes begin the day after break ends hinders students’ ability to learn as well as wastes teachers’ time.
Exonians generally dislike the fact that school starts the very first day. Given, most students also prefer break over classes, but the above reasons most definitely play a significant (if not major) role in that belief. It’s understandable why the Academy would want to not waste any time and cram as much class time in as possible, but this first day ultimately just isn’t worth it. It prevents students from constructing an effective sleep schedule, deprives students of a complete night of sleep after exhaustion from travel, as well as forces an ineffective day of school unto students and teachers.
There are many solutions to these problems. For example, making the first day a free day to help students settle in. Designing the break to end on a weekend for the same purpose. Even making the first day a half day, an inverted Wednesday, would drastically reduce student stress, and promote student wellbeing.
What occurred on the first day of the school year, when everyone was moving in, is exactly what should have happened. If students are able to transition easily back to school, they’ll be able to function properly in class, as opposed to them being unproductive until the next weekend. Having school start the first day after break starts a really unhealthy cycle, and it’s simply not a good idea.
