Waking up on a late start Wednesday comes second to only one thing: waking up on a “latte start Wednesday.”
Latte start Wednesday might be a reality for the high school students who utilize their extra hour to stop by Starbucks on Wednesday mornings, but far more prefer to use late start for its intended purpose: sleeping in.
It’s a well-known fact that sleep is important, and especially essential for the developing minds of teenagers. The National Sleep Foundation estimates that teenagers need about eight to ten hours of sleep each night. Unsurprisingly, only 15 percent are actually getting that many Z’s.
With 85 percent of American teenagers sleep deprived, it is no wonder to see students slumping into their seats seconds before the bell, warming their hands around their caffeine-filled thermoses like the cavemen at the discovery of fire. In some ways, coffee is comparable to the discovery of fire. Caffeine can drastically improve productivity, which is essential to the sleep-deprived student.
Plenty of companies provide free coffee to their employees and customers. Just ask your parents–chances are they can direct you straight towards the cappuccino machine on “bring your daughter/son to work day.” Obviously, employers care about keeping their workers productive and above all, awake.
Generally speaking, if students do well on standardized tests, a school gets state funding. In that case, students and their teachers could be considered the “workers” at a school. The “workers” often need caffeine in order to stay productive and above all, awake.
Now, to answer the question, “how can schools show their support in promoting the productivity of their students?” I suggest selling coffee on campus at Carlmont.
On top of all the individual benefits to students would be the definite economic benefit to Carlmont. Nowadays, 16 oz. of coffee is commonly sold at a little over $2 according to USA Today. With a student population of over 2,000, revenue from selling morning coffee would be high.
Staff members would be saved the time and gas money they’d otherwise spend buying their daily cup of joe at a local coffee shop, and spend $2 on Carlmont coffee instead.
For the concern about providing growing teenagers with caffeinated beverages, a compromise for only selling coffee on latte start Wednesday could be reached. But let’s not forget that not providing coffee at school isn’t going to stop any sleep deprived teenager from getting the stimulant they need to function. No, it’s only going to make them late to school and interrupt their educations.
In any case, the benefits from selling coffee at Carlmont, even if it’s only once a week, would greatly outweigh any negative repercussions. As 2015 fades away and a new, promising year looms near, I hope latte start Wednesday will be on future calendars.
