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Early Classes = Sleepy Teens (Duh!)

       Sleeping is important factor to start life for a new day happily.     Younger people want less time to sleep than older people because of biological factors. There are surveys in group of American teenagers and find they get an average of 60-90 minutes less than their need. In addition, there are several reasons why younger people go to sleep later than older people in several opinions.

      Firstly, Experts say teens biologically to go to sleep later and wake up earlier than other age groups because many schools start class at seven o’clock in the morning. As a result, many students who are seventeen years old go to study. For example, Danny plays two sports, lacrosse and football. He is active not studying in the morning. He doesn’t like to get up in the morning because he is so tired. Michael Breus is a clinical psychologist who says "These aren't a group of lazy kids, although teenagers can be lazy. He says teenagers need to sleep about 8-10 hours per days. Teens, he says, need to sleep eight to nine hours or even nine to ten hours a night. Michael Breus says tired drivers is not safe, especially a teenager who don’t have experience.

      Secondly, the psychologist says if starting classes in the morning, students can improve their full letter grade. He says visiting to the health center and to getting half of tired students decreased and they were less sleepy during day. Eric Peterson knows changing start easier classes, private school like his. Patricia Moss, an assistant dean at St. George's School, says students were not the only ones to report better. PATRICIA MOSS says, all the teachers noticed immediately much activeness in class and more positive mood.

     To sum up, every part of bodies want enough rest in each day in order to spend live in a new day happily. Especially, teenagers are a group who want to sleep well about eight to ten hours or even nine hours per day. Most of young people don’t like to study in the morning because they are so tired and lazy. On the different way, if they go to bed early and get up in the morning, they may feel fresh for new morning. Do you think that getting up in the morning is good or not good for you? Why?

Original Manuscript

Early Classes = Sleepy Teens (Duh!)

     This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

     Surveys of American teenagers find that about half of them do not get enough sleep on school nights. They get an average of sixty to ninety minutes less than experts say they need.

     One reason for this deficit is biology. Experts say teens are biologically programmed to go to sleep later and wake up later than other age groups. Yet many schools start classes as early as seven in the morning.

     As a result, many students go to class feeling like sixteen-year-old Danny. He plays two sports, lacrosse and football. He is an active teen -- except in the morning.

     DANNY: "Getting up in the morning is pretty terrible. I'm just very out of it and tired. And then going to school I'm out of it, and through first and second period I can barely stay awake."

     Michael Breus is a clinical psychologist with a specialty in sleep disorders. MICHAEL BREUS: "These aren't a bunch of lazy kids -- although, you know, teenagers can of course be lazy. These are children whose biological rhythms, more times than not, are off."

     Teens, he says, need to sleep eight to nine hours or even nine to ten hours a night. He says sleepy teens can experience a form of depression that could have big effects on their general well-being. It can affect not just their ability in the classroom but also on the sports field and on the road.

     Michael Breus says any tired driver is dangerous, but especially a teenager with a lack of experience. So what can schools do about sleepy students? The psychologist says one thing they can do is start classes later in the morning. He points to studies showing that students can improve by a full letter grade in their first- and second-period classes.

     Eric Peterson is the head of St. George's School in the northeastern state of Rhode Island. He wanted to see if a thirty-minute delay would make a difference. It did. He says visits to the health center by tired students decreased by half. Late arrivals to first period fell by a third. And students reported that they were less sleepy during the day.Eric Peterson knows that changing start times is easier at a small, private boarding school like his. But he is hopeful that other schools will find a way. ERIC PETERSON: "In the end, schools ought to do what's the right thing for their students, first and foremost."

     Patricia Moss, an assistant dean at St. George's School, says students were not the only ones reporting better results. PATRICIA MOSS: "I can say that, anecdotally, virtually all the teachers noticed immediately much more alertness in class, definitely more positive mood. Kids were happier to be there at eight-thirty than they were at eight." And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. You can read, listen and comment on our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. We're also on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Bob Doughty. Reporting by Julie Taboh, adapted by Lawan Davis

Reference: http://www.manythings.org/voa/0/13116.html

Early Classes = Sleepy Teens (Duh!)

Vocabularies	Pronunciation	Meaning
Bunch (n)	/bʌntʃ/	กลุ่ม    A number of things of the same type that are growing or fastened together     Ex: She picked me a bunch of flowers.
Barely (adv.)	/ˈbɛrli/	แทบจะไม่     in a way that almost does not happen or exist     Ex: She barely acknowledged his presence.
Anecdotally (adv.)	/ˌænɪkˈdoʊt̮li/	โดยแท้จริง   Based on anecdotes and possibly not true or accurate   Ex: Anecdotal evidence suggests there were irregularities at the polling station on the day of the election.
Virtually (adv.)	/ˈvərtʃuəli/	โดยแท้จริง almost or very nearly, so that any slight difference is not important    Ex: This year's results are virtually the same as last year's.
Definitely (adv.)	/ˈdɛfənətli/	อย่างแน่นอน a way of emphasizing that something is true and that there is no doubt about it    Ex: Some old people want help; others most definitely do not.
Alertness (n)	/əˈlərtnes/	การเตรียมพร้อม    aware of something, especially a problem or danger    Ex: We must prepare alertness to the possibility of danger.