The Early Bird
September 13, 2023, Syracuse, New York. First day of school and it was chaos! Many were standing in lines that could barely be seen as linear, more like a roller coaster. This was our first sight for the first couple months. I constantly heard people complaining about the early start of 7:25 am and how everyone around me was late even though they were early. The people around me suggested the time should go back to 7:50am.
But most don’t realize that the district changed the school time to solve the bus problem. The Syracuse City School District provides Centro buses, public transportation that have different routes during school days to provide service for students. In recent years, there has been a shortage of bus drivers not only in Syracuse but all over the country. 37 bus drivers are needed to solve another problem that caused an outrage by parents. Bus drivers were leaving students at the bus stops causing many to miss school. So, superintendent Anthony Davis made the decision to change the time of school from 7:50am to 7:25am to counteract the bus driver shortage problem. And many were dissatisfied with this new decision. Although many seniors dislike the 7:25am time change, positive reactions like afterschool activity involvement have increased compared to last year.
This is important to address because we say things like “I don’t like to get up early.” Without realizing that just because people want the convenience of not waking up early doesn’t mean that is a big problem. We should accept reality because that is life. I did a survey which asked students “if you are late why?” 39.4 percent of around 26 people said that they wake up late. It has been 4 months since school started yet people are late due to their sleep schedules, which suggests that the students don’t care to come to school on time. The issue is constant complaining without any regards to why the situation happened. In this case understanding that it was a solution to a bigger problem and that there are more positive impacts than one might have assumed.
Most 12th graders desired a time change, whereas 9th graders were content with the current time, as it allowed for early mornings and more extracurricular activities. In my survey, I had 19 seniors and 19 freshmen to get an even number of answers. I asked both parties if they had the choice to change the school time, would they want a. 7:25am to 2:00pm or would they want b. 8:00am to 3:00pm? Out of 19 freshmen, 13 said a. while out of 19 seniors 15 said b. I was shocked by this evidence because it implies that seniors aren’t happy with their school time change and the Freshmans have no problem with this change. This is surprising because the seniors have more freedom with transportation to school, like having a driver’s license or permit, while freshmen rely more on the Centro buses. This means freshmen must wake up earlier to not miss their bus while seniors have more control over when they leave their home.
But we need to consider the fact that the seniors have become accustomed to the previous time of 7:50am and it would be harder for them to change compared to the Freshman who don’t have a different expectation than 7:25am.Other considerations would be different responsibilities like work and taking care of younger siblings but what was shocking was that many freshmen had said they work during the day. But there is a difference since freshmen can work around 3 hours and it needs to be between 7:00 am to 7:00pm meaning they can spend around 2 hours to finish their homework and go to sleep at 11:00pm. Seniors who range from 17- to 18-year-olds can work longer hours, meaning they make more money which is great but working long hours affects their ability to sleep on time to wake up on time. But we need to understand that they are becoming adults or are adults who need to get used to multitasking. When they go to college or get a job which starts at 7:00am they can’t complain and choose to come to work late because they woke up late. They would get fired because of bad work ethic. They need to accept reality because that is part of adulthood.
I had an interview with my first period teacher, Mr. Francis Perrotta. He teaches pre-calculus and from our conversation I came to understand that he enjoys the new school time change. “Actually, for me personally right now, I don’t mind the 7:25 because I get home earlier.” (4:48) This suggests that Mr. Perrotta can spend more time at home with his family because he spends around an hour after school grading papers and helping kids for office hours. So, he can leave around 3:00pm.
School ending earlier in Syracuse, it is important to take advantage of that where the sun is rarely available during the winters. I have vitamin D deficiency because I don’t spend enough time in the sun. This makes my bones weaker, causing me to have pain when climbing stairs or trying to perform basic physical activities. Due to the lack of sunlight, I must rely on medication. If school were to start at 8am and ends at 3pm but then there are extra-curricular activities which take around 45 minutes, but it really depends on the club. There would be around an hour of sunlight during the winter months, but this is Syracuse, where it is mostly cloudy. School ending at 2 gives more possibility for students to spend time in the sun. If a student does sports during winter. They spend the entire day inside the school because practice lasts for 2 hours starting at 3. Now; we don’t want the students to have vitamin D deficiency when this is their prime age to grow.
Furthermore, this year there has been an influx of extracurricular activities. The creation of 4 new clubs shows that there has been an increase in student participation. 19 people said they can do more extracurricular activities while 7 say they work during the day (Survey). This implies that due to school starting early there is more time to invest in things students love and things they need to do to support their family and livelihood. This is important because to get into a decent college. Students must engage in activities for a strong college application. But this is also the time to experiment with their curiosity and try to discover what their passion might be. When asked why they chose 7am to 2pm. 11 said they liked getting up early (survey) and I agree with those 11 people because I must wake up early to pray my morning prayer instead of waiting for 2 hours so I can go to school. I now must wait around 1 hour before leaving for school.
Many seniors said that the lines are too long and cause them to be late even though they are on time. I agree with that statement because the lines are long, but they usually last around 10 to 15 minutes. This line doesn’t affect a student’s ability to understand class because class starts at 7:32am due to SEL (social emotional learning) and most teachers don’t start class until they see a good number of students present. “.... They start trickling in at like 7:30, 7:35am. So, I try and get started at 7:40am.” (7:31) Mr. Perrotta explained how he tackles students being late and Mr. Perrotta doesn’t get affected by starting the class later because of the way he teaches. He mentioned that he must rush his lesson, but the time students miss means less time to do their homework and practice problems. But this might differ based on what classes each student takes for example I had a talk with a classmate of mine who mentioned that she has SUPA Psychology which is a college class for Syracuse university. The expectation of that class is different from a pre-calculus class. She said that she is always 15 to 20 minutes late for class. When I asked why she is late? It was because of the long lines. I understand that the system of entering the school is problematic, but this differs based on every class and method of teaching. I suggest a solution of adding more scanners and opening more doors to decrease the chaos rather than changing the school time.
The school time change was a solution to another problem. Yes, it might have created the problem of long lines which affects students' ability to arrive on time but the solution towards that problem is not changing the time but investing more money on sensors and security guards so students can enter the school faster. Also opening other doors to not create chaos. Hopefully next year’s September 13, 2024, is a less chaotic morning than ours.
The Gaming Club
A lovely Wednesday with the gaming club. One of the newer clubs in this school. This is presented to show that after-school activities are thriving.
The Solution
The security sensors are in front of the school but the lack of these creates chaos and the narrow space leads to more crowds forming which helps to create longer lines.
General Meeting
This is a monthly general meeting hosted by the student council to discuss with other students. The student council presents all their ideas, and students from all classes tell us their thoughts and ideas.
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