Sure, we can all survive a lot of stuff. People survive abuse ... that doesn't make it good for kids. All I'm saying is there is very little that is 100% clear about kids and education (educational research is notoriously messy and difficult to get clear findings on). But one of the clearest things we know is teens would do a WHOLE lot better if school started after 9. They'd be happier, they'd learn faster/better, they'd have fewer suicides, etc. Honestly, it's criminal what we do just so adults can get to work on time or kids can do sports after school. You should check out Why we Sleep, which is a really good summary of the research on this.