{"id":964646,"date":"2026-07-28T13:30:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/964646\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T13:30:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:30:24","slug":"our-current-clock-changing-system-isnt-perfect-but-it-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/964646\/","title":{"rendered":"Our current clock-changing system isn\u2019t perfect, but it works"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To the editor<\/b>: Regarding all the hand-wringing in Los Angeles over whether to switch to permanent standard time or permanent daylight saving time (\u201cThe dark side of making daylight saving time permanent in California: How late would our sunrises get?,\u201d<\/a> July 22), ask yourself these two questions:<\/p>\n

Do you really want sunrises in L.A. that precede 5 a.m.? That\u2019s what you\u2019ll get for 78 days under year-round standard time.<\/p>\n

Do you really want sunrises in L.A. that come after 7:30 a.m.? That\u2019s what you\u2019ll get for 99 days under year-round daylight saving time.<\/p>\n

The current system of changing our clocks twice a year takes advantage of the sun\u2019s cycles to create optimal sunrise and sunset times. There are no crazy extremes in the average sunset\/sunrise times.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like what they say about democracy: It\u2019s the worst form of government except for the other ones. Leave well enough alone, it still works best.<\/p>\n

Paul Haddad, Los Angeles<\/p>\n

..<\/p>\n

To the editor<\/b>: Rather than discuss the pros and cons of permanent standard time versus daylight saving time, why not just split the difference with a one-time and permanent \u201cfall back\u201d of just 30 minutes when changing the clocks in the fall?<\/p>\n

Philip Ginter, Sunland<\/p>\n

..<\/p>\n

To the editor<\/b>: Absolutely no one has the authority to take our clocks and turn them to their will.<\/p>\n

Daylight saving time originated<\/a> in Germany and Austria as an effort to conserve electricity for World War I. However, it must be noted that in the U.S., it wreaks havoc on children who end up going to school in the dark. Meanwhile, it\u2019s more dangerous for those driving in the early hours.<\/p>\n

The current system isn\u2019t perfect, but people have adapted. We don\u2019t need someone telling us they are going to change our lives to suit their needs.<\/p>\n

Please help our children stay safe, as well as those who need daylight in their earliest hours.<\/p>\n

Rick Mervis, Reseda<\/p>\n

..<\/p>\n

To the editor<\/b>: There is no \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d solution in the daylight saving time debate. Daylight saving versus standard time is the wrong discussion to have. If schools should start or end at different times based on the seasonal sun, then move the start\/end times, not the clocks. The length of daylight hours is more dramatic the farther north you live, so some communities may want to change their schedules (not their clocks) based on what works best.<\/p>\n

If high-traffic density while the sun is rising or setting is an issue, then spread out the \u201cwork\u201d start times. Adapt commute, school and work schedules to fit the seasons.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t change the clocks! Change the behavior based on seasons. And we shouldn\u2019t have lawmakers deciding for all people what works best for us. Such arrogance is so common today.<\/p>\n

Bruce Farber, Oak View<\/p>\n

..<\/p>\n

To the editor<\/b>: Missing in the debate about permanent daylight saving time: student achievement.<\/p>\n

We know low attendance is a problem nationwide, particularly since the pandemic. Dark mornings are not going to help get kids to school.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been a middle and high school teacher for more than 20 years and I can attest that even when students manage to arrive for first-period class on time, their brains are sluggish at best, and that\u2019s when there is some light in the sky (research<\/a> proves starting school later would help, but that\u2019s not feasible).<\/p>\n

If we care about supporting students\u2019 learning, we\u2019ll make choices that put their needs above our convenience and enjoyment.<\/p>\n

Kristin Burcham, Santa Monica<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To the editor: Regarding all the hand-wringing in Los Angeles over whether to switch to permanent standard time…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":951595,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,4471,77169,387669,7129,2961,224,2444,5337,387667,387668,16495,11645,22799,122930,582,8377,387670,1628],"class_list":["post-964646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-child","tag-clock","tag-current-clock-changing-system","tag-editor","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-losangeles","tag-permanent-daylight-saving-time","tag-permanent-standard-time","tag-schedule","tag-school","tag-start","tag-student-achievement","tag-sun","tag-sunrise","tag-sunset-time","tag-year"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116997850833614944","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=964646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/951595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=964646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=964646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=964646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}