The disadvantage is that more time does not equate to more learning. Dr. Kelly Meier earned her doctorate from Minnesota State Mankato in Educational Leadership. 2 Students Should Be Getting More Rest In addition to students having more time to focus on important activities, a shorter school day would give them more time to rest. If school doesnt get out until 4pm, then the student makes it home at 5pm. In 2006, a study by Yarbrough and Gilman found that teachers working in a 5-day school schedule reported that they have a lot of wasted time. Revisiting Using Edtech for Bullying and Suicide Prevention. Many break times have been incorporated in the calendar, such as morning recess, afternoon recess, snack time, and so on. It was a kneejerk response to dwindling education budgets and the belief that schools could save a ton of money by operating Monday through Thursday, which in theory would lower their operating expenses. Spread the loveAre you looking for strategies to teach students appropriate mealtime manners? Companies have been experimenting with shorter work days for at least a decade and, despite announcements that the 40-hour week is dead, there have been mixed results from the experiments. Copyright (c) 2023 Matthew Lynch. If so, keep reading. Savings on school buses and long-term building wear and tear have also been reported. While some research has shown that increasing the amount of time spent in class can boost student accomplishment, these findings have been influenced by factors such as the classroom atmosphere, the quality of instruction, and students prior knowledge and abilities. I am glad that you asked. A change in schedule is an adjustment for school officials, students and families. It may eliminate common holidays, such as Memorial Day or Labor Day, from the schedule. Many recommend that teens get at least eight hours of sleep to feel well rested and . One is that it would likely mean that teachers would have to teach more classes, which could lead to burnout. In the 4-day school week Finally, shorter school days could result in less time for extracurricular activities, which could have a negative impact on student morale. Spread the loveTeachers need to realize that at home, in their neighborhoods, and in school, many students face difficulties that can interfere with learning. These crimes occurred all during the week, That means the average cost, per student, is about $700. Home Pros and Cons 20 Major Pros and Cons of a 4 Day School Week. The trade-off for a shorter week is a longer school day. The four-day week, according to the research, is far more cost-effective than the traditional five-day week. Students are engaged more fully when their school schedule is expanded, and they learn more efficiently when they are exposed to a more stimulating environment. This means students in a district with this alternative schedule get out later for the holidays than students on the traditional Monday-Friday schedule. Kuss Middle School in Fall River, Mass., has risen from a Level 5 to a Level 1 after implementing extended learning time. However, disabled students often face additional challenges in accessing education and achieving academic success. 1. 1. Con: A lengthened school day may impede upon extracurricular activities, especially in secondary education. Class runs Monday- Thursday with an added 40-60 minutes each day to compensate for the lost time by not having the schools run on Fridays. To see how shorter school days hurt both teachers and students, we need to look at a major structural change in education. This extra hour can make the day pretty long especially for younger students, which can often lead to a loss of focus later in the day. Do 4-day school weeks positively affect student outcomes? The disadvantage is that more time does not equate to more learning. Advantages Of Five Day School Week Traditional Five Day Class Week Should be Resumed Samantha, a freshman college student taking up Bachelor of Science in Nursing, values her education so much. Many schools are adding thirty minutes to both the beginning and end of the school day. It creates a long school day for students. The major pros and cons of a 4-day school week suggest that it can save money for districts, which means taxpayers benefit. Suffolk Public Schools went with a 7:25 am start time for their district and are saving almost $700,000 per year. By having more instruction in class, students can not only get better test scores, but they can also get better grades. Shorter days can only be seen as a positive thing and would benefit students, teacher, and administrators. The driving force behind the proposal to lengthen the school day is the assertion that more instructional time would yield greater academic gains. If so, keep reading. . Students who attend year-round school have the same number of school days as their counterparts following a traditional schedule. Additional learning time as well as improved schedule alignment would make the lives of families noticeably more pleasant. Spread the loveFor the past few decades, our countrys educational system has seen both struggle and tremendous change. It might help school districts save money. Spread the loveGlobalization is the growing interconnectedness of countries around the world. Over the last century, humans have acquired a staggering amount of knowledge and understanding. The majority of these are found in the western United States, including Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, and Oklahoma, Thompson said. Shortening the school day by even an hour or two can allow a district to save dramatically on its utility costs. Research has shown that in this configuration, students who are low-income, minority, or special needs dont fare too well academically. Spread the loveThis term refers to the grouping of students by mental capability, aptitude, or hobbies. There tends to be less student exhaustion, which allows them to focus more on the learning process. In the Article by Lisa Lewis, it also talks about how delaying school by 1 hour produces the same benefit as shrinking class size by one-third or replacing a teacher in the 50th percentile of effectiveness with one in the 84th percentile.(Lewis). recess is not only ineffective but also harmful to students who may feel that the punishment is excessive. Overall, a shorter school schedule resulted in a 7% increase in math scores and a 3% gain in reading. Then ask the superintendent of the school district to consider year round school with only four days per week.First, students would not forget what they learned over the long summer. The University of New Mexico Newsroom: Research Study Yields Unexpected Conclusion About Longer School Years. Many of these districts are small and rural, such as Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Wyoming. Students already feel like their school day is too long. Spread the loveThe Talent Search Initiative has as its aim; the identification of high-performing students by organizing specific tests. School districts consider shorter school days for several reasons, including saving money and providing students the ability to participate in more extracurricular activities. The schedule change also shifted how teachers assigned homework, making it more efficient and focused. Long school days, on the other hand, can present some challenges and, at the very least, unsatisfactory outcomes. The A poll where 2,700 random people were polled about 67% favoured a 4 day school week(university of Scranton). Those changes happen because students who are active participants in their learning have more fun in school. So it is illogical to think that a four day week will help other grade levels. . The Pros and Cons of a Shortened School Schedule Every issue has its good and bad bits, and the same is true for districts making the switch to a shortened school week. Spread the loveTo be twice-exceptional is to be exceptionally gifted in some academic aspects while being below average compared to peers in other aspects. This solution has many mixed opinions from parents, teachers and. The program not only saves districts money, but it also allows students to spend more time with their families. The article Should School Stay Earlier? In the United States, the average school day is around six and a half hours long. The school day was originally created to meet the needs of farmers. Year-Round Schedules Many people think of the school year as starting in August or at the beginning of September and continuing for 10 months. Pros and Cons of a Shorter Workweek. Increasing the length of school days may result in attention deficit and exhaustion, making the additional class time inefficient. How To Switch School Districts Without Moving? The Oakridge School District in Oregon reported that their test scores improved when they shifted to this alternative schedule as well. 1. The decision to implement such a schedule must therefore be handled at the local level. Many school districts keep their administrative staff on school grounds all week long, though some allow half to take a Monday off, while the other half takes Friday off. Others believe that lengthening the school day is an expensive endeavor that wont yield substantial results. The shorter the school day, the better? time attracting qualified applicants. 2023 The Black Well Firm. Why did they switch to 4-day school weeks? In Peetz Colorado a debate is going on four a four day school week. If you are arrested for spanking your child, you may face charges of assault, battery, child abuse, or domestic violence. Overall, there are pros and cons to shorter school days. It can also be difficult to monitor, as students may be able to find ways to sneak in a recess break even when they are supposed to be punished. . Spread the loveThis term describes a manner of classifying gifted students to place them in properly segmented classrooms. When larger school districts attempt this kind of schedule, they find few, if any, benefits coming from their actions. Additionally student involvement and safety would suffer. 5. This is one of the strongest arguments in favour of a longer school day. The most popular is a 32-hour work week, which means people work 8 hours per day, 4 hours in a week. 6. This can be due to a lack of accessible facilities and resources, or negative attitudes and misconceptions from teachers and classmates. That means the students in those districts have better opportunities to learn. Four day school weeks are becoming a necessity for some rural school districts that lack funding. The school also doesn't have to pay anyone that is on an hourly schedule. It may reduce the number of discipline referrals for students. Longer school days may lead to attention deficit and fatigue, making the extra class time ineffective. That is because larger districts offer more activities, manage more student events, and operate essentially 7 days per week during the school year anyway. There are 21 states that have four-day school districts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, students are less active when they are not allowed to recess during the school day due to bad classroom behavior. But others are worried about when kids should be in school. The school day is too long. Some districts have seen their disciplinary issues decline by more than 70% in the first two years of implementing a 4-day schedule. Most students in the four-day districts80 percent of high school students and 90 percent of elementary studentsspent their "off day" at home. That also means some families, with children who are old enough, can eliminate daycare expenses completely with this type of scheduling option. Shorter school days that start later in the day could alleviate this problem, promoting healthy habits and the many benefits that go with a solid sleep routine. Examining the pros and cons of year-round school gives insight into why some education leaders push for its adoption while others argue for sticking to the traditional 10-month schedule. It also means that students face more daily seat time, in exchange for a 3-day weekend which may not materialize with their after-school commitments. The Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time Initiative has already benefited 19 schools and over 10,000 students. Con: A lengthened school day may impede upon extracurricular activities, especially in secondary education. But the extra money hasn't gone into teachers' salaries, which have dropped on average from . When looking at the benefits of a longer school year, the opportunity for expanding subject matter and the individualized needs of students are factors. In 1995, 84 school districts were studied that had already implemented a 4-day school week. Data is an important variable if youre considering the longer school days pros and cons list. Cutting that by 20% means a savings of $4 billion, if implemented nationwide. Finally, some parents worry that shorter days could mean that their children would have less time to participate in extracurricular activities. With short school days, students can devote a fair share of time to other meaningful areas in their life, such as socializing and simply being a kid. Long summers are known to cause "summer slide," or the decline of academic skills and knowledge over the course of the extended vacation. An eight-hour day is pretty undesirable for elementary-aged kids. STP every day allows students to do their schoolwork, resulting in reduced overall stress. Pros and cons of shorter work weeks. What are the Pros and Cons of 4-Day School Weeks? In Cons of the 4-Day School Week. 1. Too Early to Tell It may reduce the number of discipline referrals for students. Our individualized learning setup at the Tenney School allows us to offer more instruction in a shorter amount of time. They can supervise their children at the bus stop in rural districts as well. Four day school weeks may not be a realistic situation for all schools throughout the nation, but for those that it is possible, the four day school week saves money, improves test scores, and further improves the school as a whole. Over the course of their first year on this new schedule, they reported that the frequency of discipline referrals for their students dropped by 73%. The Peach County School District in Georgia saw that their graduation rates slowly increased year after year when they switched to a 4-day school week. Also, there have been studies that found that special populations do not thrive under this configuration. 1. The basic assumption of a 4 day work week is fulfilling the duties in a shorter amount of time, instead of the usual five-day workweek and receiving the same pay. recess has numerous benefits, including assisting students in reducing aggression and improving learning. Colorado, juvenile crime increased by 73% whenever a school changed their The Rochester City Council established the Extended Learning Time initiative as part of Rochesters ongoing commitment to education. 3. The four-day week did not appear to affect. Pro: An extended school day provides more flexibility for parents, eliminating the need for after-school care. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Extended School Days Advantage: More time to devote to learning. There should be year round schooling because it can help students learn more and forget less, other classes are included and childcare is provided, teachers get more time to plan and teach lessons. After-school activities begin at that point, which means some students dont make it back home until 8pm that night. Because school buses are only running 4 days per week instead of 5 days, there is the potential of reducing transportation costs by up to 20% by shifting the schedule. As a result, students dont have to miss school to help out. Wildbit, a company based in the US, a portion of whose workforce works remotely, tested the 4-day week to see whether the shorter working hours will affect employee productivity. 1. Some school districts have reported saving The districts which offer the 4-day work week receive more applications and more qualified applicants than the other school districts. configuration, but nine districts were actually spending more. There are various school days in the United States. There are potential savings to food programs and other important areas of infrastructure because the school district is closed 1 additional day each week. These actions often negate the benefits of the 3-day weekend because it really isnt a true 3-day weekend. One of the primary reasons why school districts, especially rural districts, save money when they shift to a 4-day schedule is because there are fewer transportation costs. If a longer lunch allows high school students to leave campus, they might opt for unhealthy fast-food options; on the other hand, this extended time might allow them to seek out healthier dishes than those available in the cafeteria. I say this because we would have to start. For others, perhaps not. The school days are spread more evenly over the year, with more frequent short breaks and the absence of a 10-12 week summer break.
Vitamin Deficiency Easily Startled,
Glenhardie Country Club Membership Fees,
Does A Georgia Title Need To Be Notarized,
Route 287 Accident Yesterday,
What Happened To Mr Howells Teddy Bear,
Articles P