by Jenna Okada: Photography Editor
Carson High School (CHS) has been starting school at 8:00 a.m. for generations and the amount of students coming late has peaked within the 2000s. Staff member of CHS, Ernie Enesi said, “The tardy problem [this year is] not as bad. It’s not at a level that it’s been in the last six to seven years.” The students are not the only ones at fault for the tardy issue; the people who bring them are too. Everyone can do a better job at arriving to campus before class starts, but starting school later in the day may help the parents or guardians get their children to school on time and give students more time to get to class in the morning. Enesi said, “Parents wake up late, students wake up late, traffic… it could be a number of things. Being tired could be another factor.” To add on, Academy of Medical Arts junior, Reign Casino said, “School should start at 9am. People could get here earlier and get breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” This hints that students may be tired and aren’t really energized or motivated to come to school because they don’t have the time to start their morning with a proper meal. Many of the teens on campus don’t eat anything at all in the morning because time just doesn’t permit. Casino reasoned, “Some students walk here. They need time. Students can catch up on homework because these AP classes aren’t doing it for me.” School is already viewed as a challenging place for the youth; the workload itself may be overwhelming and stressful. It is common for students to sleep late due to the amount of homework they receive, and often, the ones who go home right after school aren’t the ones who struggle with the school’s schedule. The majority of students on campus participate in extracurricular activities, which includes both school related and non-school related activities. Members of the youth are also members of clubs, sports teams, and other organizations, which demands their time, dedication, and energy. These students have practice, which may require working out, service events, church maybe, and on top of that, they are expected to uphold a social life with both family and friends. Not getting enough rest and nutrients in the morning only contributes to the negativity the students undergo. For such reasons, starting school as early as 8am is not a clever idea.
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