Tired pupils, annoyed teachers Zurich reluctantly implements the late start to lessons
Basel abolished them ten years ago. Zurich is now starting the changeover: early lessons have long been controversial. But schools see organizational problems ahead without them.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Scientific studies have long shown that high school students learn less in early lessons.
- The reason for this is the sleep rhythm, which shifts during puberty - while the need for sleep remains the same.
- Nevertheless, schools find it difficult to postpone lessons until later. The reasons are mainly of an organizational nature.
Are they still cheering or are they yawning again? The Zurich municipal council has approved a parliamentary initiative that prohibits lessons in the upper school from starting earlier than 8 o'clock.
But the good news comes too late for Zurich's upper school pupils. Schools have four years to implement the model. If they make full use of this period, even those young people who currently attend primary 6 will have completed secondary school by then.
For decades, perhaps centuries, it was clear that getting up early was part of school. The same goes for dragging yourself to school yawning and battling against lead-heavy eye lids in the classroom.
If the teenagers complain, they usually say: "We got through that too, it's just part of it." Another time-honored argument: "Don't complain! Depending on the job, the working day starts even earlier in adulthood."
Science: early lessons reduce educational success
Zurich secondary schools still rely on early lessons. One example: the daughter of a blue reader has her first lesson at 7.30 a.m. four days a week in the 3rd secondary school.
And not in a "warm-up subject", but in French, mathematics and geometry. Another secondary school pupil known to the editorial team also had four early lessons in the previous school year.
The problem here is not that effeminate teenagers don't like to get up early, but that puberty brings with it a shift in the internal clock that makes them tired later, while the need for sleep is still the same as in elementary school, namely 8.5 to 9.25 hours per night.
The result is a sleep deficit, and this reduces the pupils' learning success - not only in the early lessons, but also during the rest of the slow-moving school day.
Several studies have proven this connection in recent years. The University of Basel has concluded that starting lessons 20 minutes later gives secondary school pupils an average of 15 minutes more sleep, which makes them more alert and attentive throughout the day. Ten years ago, Basel therefore decided to start school at 8 a.m. at the earliest from Year 1 to Year 9.
A study from the USA concluded back in 2010 that school success is greater when lessons start later. Other positive consequences of the resulting increase in sleep time include better physical and mental health and fewer traffic accidents.
Zurich has to change and is struggling
The findings are now also having an impact in Switzerland, as Beat A. Schwendimann, Head of Education at the Swiss Teachers' Association (LCH) explains: "Overall, we are seeing an increasing, pragmatic move towards later starts or fewer early lessons in the cantons and municipalities."
Schwendimann warns that options for a later start to lessons at upper school should be carefully examined, "taking into account other factors such as the journey to school, childcare options and leisure activities offered by clubs in the afternoon."
Learning success is a weighty argument when it comes to the organization of school lessons. The Zurich education authority has now also had to take note of this.
Nevertheless, the Zurich education authority is struggling to cope with the resulting changes, as the answers given by the authority to blue News show: "The later start to school makes timetabling more difficult. It leads to lessons finishing later, increases the pressure on sports facilities and special rooms and restricts the organizational autonomy of schools."
Gyms and swimming pools suitable for swimming lessons are very busy in Zurich. If the first lesson starts later, there are fewer hours available overall during which schools can schedule their sports lessons. Sports clubs often rent the gyms and pools from later in the afternoon.
The Zurich education authority also argues that lessons are being moved even later into the afternoon. This already often lasts until 5 pm. "A later end to lessons significantly restricts the time for recreation, leisure and sport."
Parents' meetings are postponed until later
This is contradicted by the timetable of the aforementioned Zurich secondary school pupil: her lessons end once at 4.35 pm, twice at 3.45 pm and once at 2 pm. Wednesday afternoons are traditionally free - until the end of compulsory schooling.
There is room for early lessons to be omitted without school lasting into the evening. Of course, it is not possible to extrapolate from one timetable to the entire complex planning of all schools.
Another argument heard from the school environment is that teachers prefer to start teaching early and not have to work as long. After all, they still have various other obligations after the end of lessons, such as administrative work, correcting exams, team meetings or discussions with parents.
Schwendimann from the LCH points out that postponing the start of lessons should not lead to an increase in working hours for teachers, as surveys conducted by the association have shown that teachers are already working a lot of unpaid overtime.
It should be added that there is no logical connection between a later start to lessons and an increase in working hours. At best, the later start means that they finish work later. Teachers can avoid this by completing certain tasks during the time that is now free early in the morning.
Postponing the start of lessons by 30 minutes undoubtedly entails numerous organizational changes. A political decision in Zurich has led to those responsible having to shoulder this task.
If the pupils leave school in a better mood, the effort will have been worth it.
