To the editor:

As a former Barrington High School student, I can say that to this day I bear the deep psychic scars of the unconscionably early start time of the school day. One can only imagine my incredulity upon reading Jane Small’s letter to the editor in this week’s Times. 

The notion that students would somehow be against the proposal to start school nearly an hour later is almost inconceivable to me. As a student, I would have prostrated myself at the feet of the school board to beg for these precious extra minutes personally were it not for my fear of falling asleep in such a position. 

However, I recognize that my opinion is singular and anecdotal, and I was even tempted to side with Ms. Small when she advocated for more student input into the matter, that is, until I read her remark that, according to the survey she cited, 87 percent of students said they would just stay up later if the start time were postponed. 

And herein lies the very reason students are not afforded the agency they so demand. If students can’t be mature enough to go to sleep at a reasonable hour and take advantage of this change, then perhaps their judgment shouldn’t be trusted when it comes to dictating school policy. 

Indeed, only a fool would heed the exhortations of sleep-addled teens over the prescription of rigorously tested science. Who knows, maybe if the students got a little more rest, they’d see the measure in a more favorable light. 

Matthew Riotto

Barrington