School makes up most of a high schooler’s day, week, month and year. A high school student will spend about 7 hours at school a day, and that’s before extracurriculars. That’s a lot. School is extremely taxing and difficult, especially when a high schooler partakes in clubs, sports, time with loved ones and other extracurriculars.
School is such a prominent and important part of our society and each person’s life. Now, if school is one of the most important things in our lives, shouldn’t it work to our advantage? If school ended earlier each day, without sacrificing any of our education, I think students would better thrive in the school environment.

If school were to end an hour or two earlier each day, it would create a better balance for students. Moreover, having a healthy balance between extracurriculars, school, homework and being a teenager who gets to hang out with friends and family is difficult to achieve. Currently, many students may not even arrive home until 9:00 PM and then still have to do homework, eat dinner etc. If everything after school were to move up an hour or two due to school ending earlier there would be more time for a student to do homework, study and be with loved ones.

Furthermore, an earlier release time could have health benefits. It’s a well-known fact that teenagers require more sleep than adults. Yet most of us are up later than our parents and most of the time it’s not our fault. Many students are unable to go to bed until 11:00 PM or midnight because of the late hours that extracurriculars takeup and the amount of homework we receive. In addition, students may get up as early as 6:00 AM to get ready for school. It’s not a healthy amount of sleep for a teenager. If school were to end earlier it would allow for students to get to bed earlier and better their health.

Lastly, an earlier release time may prompt students to enjoy school more. The idea of sitting in uncomfortable chairs, in a brick building for six hours is appealing to no one. Oftentimes, the work done in 45 minutes could have been done in 20 and it can feel as though we are wasting our time. An earlier release time would force students and teachers to be more productive within class.

Therefore, with the mixture of not wasting time and less time at school students may begin to dread school a little less.