Students are able to study crucial academic subjects such as science, history, social studies, and foreign languages. School years are set on the state and local level. And, like any precious resource, it can be wasted. This can lead to better job satisfaction, which can translate into better classroom performance. Disadvantages of longer days often . Teachers say there's never enough time in class, and they're always rushed, so many welcome the idea of an extended day. Here are a few to consider. Administrators and teachers experienced fatigue and burnout, and many students did not attend class in the beginning of the summer, the report said. With all the advances in technology and psychology, we are still maintaining what is essentially an 18th century system. The new school day also produces that most elusive of academic results: striking improvements in test scores. Raise your hand if you think these children (numbering in the millions nationally) would do better in school if they had more time to work with their teachers on their English language skills, and to practice English with their schoolmates. Extending the school day is a hot topic for educational policy making bodies. Time, however, is an indispensable foundation for new levels of student achievement and educational success. The U.S. has the best universities in the world and students only have 15-20 fifty-minute class periods per week. All these activities contribute mightily to helping children receive a truly well-rounded education. There is much argue over whether or not extended college days are beneficial. A lot of parents are shaking their heads at the consideration of a four-day school week, and a longer school day. A con to this concept is that increasing hours in the school day reduces the amount of time that students have for extracurricular activities and school sports that are necessary to learn new life skills and to have fun. What else should school be about, if not answering kids questions? When timing was added up, districts in the sample using the four-day schedule had longer days by about 50 minutes, but over the course of the year averaged 58 fewer hours of school. What Happens in the Book "Loser" When Zinkoff Is in the Fifth Grade? Additionally, when sporting events take place on a day off, students who participate in them miss fewer classes and have less work to make up. We have another group, said Principal Jean Teal, that we call new beginnings, whove had no formal schooling in their own country. Other pros and cons exist in the school lunch debate. School calendars are dictated by states minimum instructional time requirements, which are in turn tied to funding formulas. By reducing the number of school days, schools can save money on transportation, food and energy costs. They use time as a tool to support other innovations and reforms. Can we really add more time to school days without maximizing what happens within the time already allotted? Everyone points to many states that have extended their school year and the results so far gained. Some politicians suggested reducing the summer break to help learner catch up on lost learning, but other educational experts argued that both learners and teachers need a long summer break to recharge their batteries. I think something could be said for teaching children a healthy life balance. Learn more about why some kids struggle, what effective interventions look like, how to create inclusive classrooms so every child can thrive, and much more. Children already spend a large portion of their day being told what to do, how to do it and what rules to follow, and have little free time as it is. Longer school days mean less time for other activities -- family time, recreation, exercise, sleep, philanthropic involvement and entertainment. Schools are able to switch to a four-day week by simply increasing the length of their school day. For children enrolled in non-school-based extracurricular activities, having mandatory classes until 4:30 can interfere with scheduled commitments. PolitiFact found no evidence that Willis said she would get Trump as she fundraised for reelection. ARand Corp. studyused quantitative and qualitative methods and collected surveys and interviews on the four-day school week experience in Idaho, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Parents also benefit, saving money on childcare and worrying less that their child is at home after school spending too much time playing video games, or potentially getting into trouble. Further, students who are food insecure may not have access to sufficient meals during the off day. However, the researchers also found that a four-day schedule had no detectable effect on student attendance or scores on the ACT college entrance exam. Instead of narrowing the school curriculum to focus on reading and math, the new school day opens up the range of subjects students study and get exposure to. Why is it preferable to have later school start times? Ali Richardson , ReporterDecember 10, 2021, On average, students in the United States (U.S.) spend approximately 6.6 hours a day in school. Melissa is an award-winning educational blogger atImaginationSoup, an award-winning teacher with a M.A. Who knows? Increasing the length of school days may result in attention deficit and exhaustion, rendering the additional class time unproductive. If a longer lunch allows high school students to leave campus, they might opt for unhealthy fast-food options; on the other hand . What Are the Pros of a Longer School Day? The district provides full-day child care for a fee on Mondays, when schools are closed, for students ages 5 to 12, and it continues to evaluate needs and capacity for these programs. The Pros and Cons of Year-Round School Calendars Pros and Cons of Extended School Day for Working Parents - Unpakt blog District administrators also claim that the appeal of a four-day work week helps recruit teachers in areas where it is consistently difficult to attract new staff. Proponents of a four-day school week argue that it offers several benefits, including cost savings, improved student attendance and increased teacher morale. So kids do better. How Much Does it Cost to Move Locally in Cleveland? A four-day schedule involves reducing the number of school days to four, usually from Monday to Thursday, while increasing the length of each school day. Special ed kids work better with other kids, sort of see them as role models and learn from them.. When theres not enough time for learning-disabled children to learn in the ways they can learn best, were giving them an alienating experience of school that actively discourages them from higher education and works against vocational success in their future lives as well. Maybe, working full time, her job started providing health benefits. Most four-day-a-week districts are smaller and rural, but a few notable exceptions have raised questions about the possibility of more urban districts moving toward a four-day week. top 6 cities for raising a family in 2017, 5 Things to Consider When Moving With Children. They point out that athletic competition holds first place in the U.S. For example, many families place great energy and emphasis on playing basketball and football in High School so that their kids can get athletic scholarships. Perhaps the biggest con of longer school days would be the effect on the students. The Japanese system is high pressure. Measured against statewide averages, the ten ELT schools began to make progress in the single most difficult task in public education these days: closing the achievement gap. Thats why, despite the widespread impression that children spend much of their time in school, the truth is they go to school for only about 20 percent of their waking hours. 10 Main Pros and Cons of 4 Day School Weeks Jan 27, 2016 by Brandon Miller It seems like educational systems in the US are always looking for new solutions to improve their effectiveness for students, and one of the newest trends in such a reform is a shorter school week. His mother was tremendously excited about his social and motor-skill progress in less than a year, and she has been able to move her hours to full time instead of staying part time to care for her son in the afternoons. Extended school days can result in scheduling conflicts, low energy, sleep deprivation and exhaustion. In areas where children tend to struggle academically, having additional time in a supportive and structured environment with mentors and role models has produced notable improvements like in Washington, D.C.s public schools, which started implementing longer school days in 2013 and saw significant improvements in math and reading. This is time they currently spend on extracurricular activities of their choice. Unless you live in a community where most of the schools have a similar schedule, many child-focused programs assume that children finish school around 3:00 and plan their activities accordingly. Extracurricular activities start later, forcing middle school and high school students to get a later start on homework, chores and nighttime routines. Asked about the impact of Massachusetts new school day on student academic performance, fully 70 percent of the teachers in new day schools said it was better (23 percent saw no impact and a tiny minority, 7 percent, thought it was worse). But, as you will see in some of the material to follow, there is far from conclusive proof that longer school years produce better students. Whats that you say, parents? One said he had friends who dropped out because they couldnt keep up any more they didnt get their questions answered. These factors combined could affect their mental health in a negative way. We have inclusion math class, Mrs. Cohen of Jose de Diego Middle School in Miamis Zone told us, special ed and regular kids together, doing math together. It seems logical to assume that more time spent in school will equal improved test scores and greater learning. Based on the Word Net lexical database for the English Language. ), Permalink Comments (1) Send to a Friend. Being able to . While Michael Gove says shorter holidays and longer days could help to improve outcomes, a quick internet search reveals he is cherry-picking his facts, finds our headteacher diarist. Pros and Cons of Longer School Days | GCU Blog | Impact of Length of Lengthening the school day will give teachers more time to spend with students, to focus on trouble areas and more difficult material. Discover how to support your childs growth as a young reader and writer with our Reading 101 for Families guide, bilingual parent tips, ideas for building your childs knowledge of the world, Q&A with experts, and guidance on connecting with your childs school. Research-Tested Benefits of Breaks | Edutopia MentalHelp.net is operated by Supermind Platforms, Inc. Keep Reading By Author Allan Schwartz, LCSW, Ph.D. http://sitemaker.umich.edu/arun.356/structural_differences The Pros and Cons of Year-Round School - ThoughtCo It is possible that parents may be able to save money on child care as a result of the lengthening of the school day, since their schedules will be more compatible. In many US school districts, the first class begins 1-2 hours after most parents need to be at work. Time to Learn: Benefits of a Longer School Day, Key Lessons: Class Size and Student Achievement, Position Statement on Student Grade Retention and Social Promotion, Early Literacy: Policy and Practice in the Preschool Years, Instructional Routines, Grouping, and the ELA Block, Neurodiversity and Children with Learning Differences, Time to learn: core ideas of the new school day, Receive individualized instruction and tutoring, Experience the arts, music, drama, and sports, In affluent suburbs where parents create a new day by purchasing after-school activities, In the thirty-nine-school School Improvement Zone in the poorest big city in the country Miami, In Massachusetts, where the Expanded Learning Time Initiative is rapidly expanding. They wrestle with finding the best ways to apply more time in core academic subjects, to help teachers incorporate more individualized instruction and project-based learning into their classes, and to balance added core academic time with more time for engaging enrichment in arts, music, drama, sports, and other essential aspects of a well-rounded education. If the hours were extended, there would be greater expense associated with heating and cooling the buildings. Can climate change be blamed for the Maui wildfires? Lengthening the school day adds to the fatigue and low energy. 3. Second, it allows for more study time for other courses. Extending the school days even longer would further cut into valuable time to bond with family. No, she didnt say that, Why climate experts are criticizing a Hawaii headline from ABC News, A shortened video distorts Hawaii governors comments about the state buying land in Lahaina, How journalists in Hawaii are covering (and coping with) the Maui wildfires, Remote Digital Reporter - San Diego, CA (92109), WUNC Marketing and Communications Manager - Chapel Hill, NC (27517), Business Account Executive - Carmel, IN (46032), News Director at WXXV-TV Gulfport, MS - Gulfport, MS (39505), Associate Professor of the Practice in Advertising, College of Communication - Boston, MA (02215), Stigler Center Journalists in Residence Program 2024 - Chicago, IL (60637), Advertising Director in Fredericksburg, Texas - Fredericksburg, TX (78624), Copy Editor / Page Designer - Springfield, MA (01103), Managing Editor Sports Business Journal - Charlotte, NC (28202), The issue isnt time per se, but how it is spent, The key to increasing achievement is not necessarily more time in school but maximizing the amount of academic learning time, Any addition to allocated time will only improve achievement to the extent it is used for instructional time, which must then be used for engaged time, which, in turn, must be used effectively enough to create academic learning time, Quality is the key to making time matter Educators must to the greatest extent possible make every hour count, Improving the quality of instructional time is at least as important as increasing the quantity of time in school, Most calculations suggest that a 10 percent increase in time would require a 6 to 7 percent increase in cost but could save parents money in child care costs. These are large claims. Teachers can develop their lessons and have kids engage for longer periods of time, using all these best practices weve put into place with our students. As one social studies teacher mourned after her school canceled the new school day for budget reasons, The amount of material I could get through was amazing. Kentucky Public Charter Schools Association. They can cause a disruption and affect the other students' learning. Learn more about which pros and cons on extended school hours hier. School-related stress affects 65 percent of college students, according to the American Psychological Association (APA). According to Parents magazine, research has not established a clear link between extended school days and better test results or more positive learning environments. The report highlights positive qualitative findings, such as improvements in student attendance, behavioral and emotional well-being, and school climate. Teachers unions dont want to work longer hours. We listen to teachers in new day schools who love the extra time, which means they can allow classroom discussions to flow more freely and still provide small group and individual teaching for students based on skill level. Your comments are encouraged. Not supported by research or anecdotal evidence. The advantage of an extended school day for working parents is clear, and the numbers are slowly showing that students benefit too. Updated on August 11, 2019 Year-round school in the United States is neither a new concept nor an unusual one. SHORTER SCHOOL DAYS Science Leadership Academy @ Center City This material is used by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Buy the book (opens in a new window). Easily browse the critical components of this report. From Miami to Boston, Houston to Newport News, principals and teachers talked to us about the importance of teachers getting more (and more targeted) professional development training to be more effective as well as much more grade-level and subject-level planning time. Most have after-school responsibilities such as planning lessons, preparing activities, organizing and decorating classrooms, grading papers, reporting grades and corresponding with parents and staffers. Students are more engaged and learn better when they are in a more exciting setting, which is why school schedules should be increased. Second, an extended school day would produce an increase in daily operating expense of the buildings. The 5 states in this 3year trial are getting money from federal, state, and district funds plus funding from theFord Foundationand theNational Center on Time and Learning. The report also found that reading suffered more than math on four-day schedules. Students will have extra time outside of school to devote to other essential elements of their life as a result of this change. Half of the teachers who were part of a test group to get 300 more hours of teaching time in a school year said there was adequate time to cover the curriculum.. Why should school start later pros and cons? She writes nationally for newspapers, magazines and websites on topics including careers, education, women, marketing, advertising and more. This page summarizes resources and state policies to strengthen the early childhood workforce. Rapper Iayze releases two new singles off of upcoming album Reverence, The Student News Site of Southeast of Saline High School, Your email address will not be published. Below is a video from @CNNschools which Sam Chaltain (@SamChaltain) talks about impacts on both sides from these changes to the school day. http://sitemaker.umich.edu/arun.356/structural_differences See disclaimer. Teachers gain a greater ability to work with diverse skill levels at the same time. Teacher time will be increased when the school day is extended, allowing them to spend more time with pupils and to concentrate on problem areas and more challenging content. Good Essays. Education | K-12 By Kristine Tucker Increasing the length of the school day for children and teenagers in grades K-12 has been proposed by government agencies and private educators alike. We urge you to help make family engagement a priority in education reform. With student loan payments expected to resume after Sept. 1, borrowers will have access to temporary flexibilities to restart payments, a new income-driven plan that promises more affordable payments, and multiple pathways for loan forgiveness. More time on task really makes a difference for our students, says Dr. Jean Teal, principal of Miami Edison High School. Gov. Disadvantages of longer days often outweigh the benefits. Posted December 26, 2012 by Seamus [Impetus Engagement] The four-day school week has gained popularity in recent years, with many school districts adopting this schedule in an effort to improve student performance and reduce costs.
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