Next, A four-day school week is a relatively new and innovative idea gaining popularity with students and teacher across the United States. For some, the advantages of attending school only four days per week far outweigh the potential disadvantages.
It helps students stay out of trouble. And it helps students ability to learn. One reason school times should start later is because it will help students catch up on sleep. “Sleep deprivation has become virtually epidemic among American teenagers. Research suggests that adolescents require about 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep, but according to the National Sleep Foundation, only 14% achieve this goal.” said Julie Peorgers from The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter.
Should We Adopt The Four-Day School Week? Imagine only having to go to school four days a week, for some kids that 's a reality. Some topics I will be discussing in this paper are, where do students go on the Monday/Friday they have off, will the district save money with the extra day off, and how do kids perform in class with the extra day off? The four day school week is a relatively new idea that some schools are beginning to implement in rural areas. The shorter week can help the schools save money without the extra day to operate and have also demonstrated some unexpected positive changes like students performing better on tests, higher grades, and better behavior.
With a four-day school week helping schools and students, the only other people to help is the parents. The four-day school week would lead to lengthened school days, giving the regular-hour, eight to five, working parents the ability to cancel out after school care. One parent even said it herself “‘I approve of the four-day week’” (Johnston). “Sixty-seven percent of parents stated that their child liked the new schedule, 60 percent of parents thought their child was doing well, and 82 percent of students stated that they liked the calendar’” (Yarbrough and
Are students in the United States being overworked by the school system? Traditionally, American schools use a five day school week. The five day week is prolonged and overworks children and teens. Extra days decrease motivation of not only students but staff or teachers as well. Lowered motivation creates low performance, which discourages the students even more.
In the article, The Four Day School Week, by Don Kordosky, the author states, “ Attendance in some schools increased 3% as against available instructional hours” (Crosscut: "The Four-day school week: why less really is more"). These results show yet another reason why we should have a four days school week. Furthermore, attendance is great, but so is saving money.
Some companies and work places have adopted a four day work week to conserve energy and resources. Every day consists of a ten hour work day, should your school follow this model by extending the school day by two hours? If you think about all the benefits and the disadvantages to a four day school week would you want to do this? School is already long so why add another two hours, most students hardly get enough sleep with the hours we have now so how do schools expect us to stay up if we do not get enough sleep. Most students have after school activities they do so if we were to add two hours we would get out around five, and after school activities are usually two to three hours long but it depends on what you are doing so you literally would not get out till seven or eight at night.
Longer School Days: Does it Really Help? Longer school days would diminish a child’s happiness. Students barely want to attend school now, so why would the Board of Education even want to extend the hours? Oh, I know extended school hours increase test scores which increase ratings and that’s what really matters right, not the student’s social life, or their well-being, but what place you’re in, in the vast education race against billions of schools. However, it’s wrong, false, simply inaccurate, I mean there’s even evidence to verify its deceitfulness, such as “Children and teenagers in the United States spend more hours in school than kids in Asian countries, according to data compiled in 2009.
They cannot concentrate, especially at school, with too much homework. A student’s mind should stay focused and calm. They should rest, if rest enough so that they can work with energy. The student should be given a certain amount of work so that they can be prepared if a test or an exam is near. But this does not mean that they should be given endless stacks of homework.
When we think of schools around the world that are changing from a traditional five day school week to a four-day school we think “okay why not” but there are actually both pros and cons about having a four day school week. Faced with unstable fuel and energy prices and rising education costs, school districts across the nation are considering ways in which to reduce their money and increase use of limited resources. Leadership is one of the main things students need work on when having a four day school week. Also, professional development for teachers is a big thing for a four day school week. The lack of revenue causes schools to look at ways to reduce money such as a four day school week.