What is the 'middle path' described in the last paragraph?
Should school start later?
Every weekday morning, millions of teenagers drag themselves out of bed in the dark. Some researchers say this is unfair, and that secondary schools should start at nine-thirty or even ten o'clock.
Their argument rests on how young people sleep. During the teenage years the body clock shifts, so that bedtime feels natural later at night and waking feels natural later in the morning. A fourteen-year-old who is told to be at a desk at eight may be trying to learn while their brain still thinks it is the middle of the night. Supporters of later starts point to schools that tried the change and reported better attendance and fewer pupils falling asleep in lessons.
Opponents are not convinced. Later starts mean later finishes, which can clash with sports practice, part-time jobs and the care of younger brothers and sisters. Parents who leave for work early may also find that their children are left unsupervised at the start of the day. 'A change in the timetable is easy to announce,' one headteacher says, 'but families have built their lives around the existing hours.'
There may be a middle path. A few schools have kept the old hours but moved the most demanding lessons to later in the morning, so that pupils tackle mathematics when they are most awake and PE or art when they are still waking up.
Every weekday morning, millions of teenagers drag themselves out of bed in the dark. Some researchers say this is unfair, and that secondary schools should start at nine-thirty or even ten o'clock.
Their argument rests on how young people sleep. During the teenage years the body clock shifts, so that bedtime feels natural later at night and waking feels natural later in the morning. A fourteen-year-old who is told to be at a desk at eight may be trying to learn while their brain still thinks it is the middle of the night. Supporters of later starts point to schools that tried the change and reported better attendance and fewer pupils falling asleep in lessons.
Opponents are not convinced. Later starts mean later finishes, which can clash with sports practice, part-time jobs and the care of younger brothers and sisters. Parents who leave for work early may also find that their children are left unsupervised at the start of the day. 'A change in the timetable is easy to announce,' one headteacher says, 'but families have built their lives around the existing hours.'
There may be a middle path. A few schools have kept the old hours but moved the most demanding lessons to later in the morning, so that pupils tackle mathematics when they are most awake and PE or art when they are still waking up.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Keeping the same hours but timetabling harder lessons later.
- Step 1: The final paragraph says some schools kept the hours. Step 2. They moved demanding lessons later. Answer: Keeping the same hours but timetabling harder lessons later. Why not the others: Starting school at ten o'clock every day for all year groups.: This is the full change, not the middle path. Ending all lessons by lunchtime so pupils can go home early.: This is not mentioned. Giving pupils a free choice of what time they arrive each day.: This is not mentioned.
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