The controversy isn’t new–it was brewing when I was teaching many, many years ago. The difference now is that there are several studies proving the obvious: kids are too tired to learn during their early morning classes.
The proposed solution is to start school later. The main argument I’ve heard against that is that it will mess up after-school activities, like sports and clubs. I’m not for it for another, more practical reason. That is, if school begins later, kids will con their parents into letting them stay up later, which defeats the purpose. I can hear it now–“Mom, Dad, school doesn’t start until 10:00 so I can stay up later because I can sleep late.”
If parents would stop giving in to kid-logic and make them go to bed at an earlier hour, the problem is solved. I’m a mom; I remember bedtime battles. But there are certain things we need to put our foot down about. A youngster’s being in an alert state so he/she can learn is one of those things. It’s up to parents to take responsibility.