An increasing number of schools across the United States, especially more westward, are adopting 4-day school weeks instead of the traditional five, to the joy of many of children and even many teachers, while others and parents are on the fence.
The Associated Press did a piece yesterday weighing the pros and cons of the new concept. The AP wrote:
Hundreds of school systems around the country have adopted four-day weeks in recent years, mostly in rural and western parts of the U.S. Districts cite cost savings and advantages for teacher recruitment, although some have questioned the effects on students who already missed out on significant learning during the pandemic.
For parents, there also is the added complication, and cost, of arranging child care for that extra weekday. While surveys show parents approve overall, support wanes among those with younger children.
One parent commented,
I feel like I’m back in the COVID shutdown.
The Journalist’s Resource published information citing a range of the purported pros and cons to this approach, according to those who have tried it and studied the results.
The publication reports, ‘Just over 2,100 schools in 26 states have switched to a four-day school week, often in hopes of recruiting teachers, saving money and boosting student attendance, according to the most recent estimate from the Four-Day School Week policy research team at Oregon State University.’
Based on the data compiled, according to them, summarizes the findings:
- The amount of time students spend in class varies from state to state.
- Some schools offer less instructional time during a four-day school week than they did during a five-day week.
- There’s limited cost savings, considering employee salaries and benefits make up the bulk of school expenses. In a 2021 analysis, [researcher Paul] Thompson estimates schools save 1% to 2% by shortening the school week by a day.
- The impact of the condensed schedule differs depending on a range of factors, including the number of hours schools operate and how they structure their daily schedules. Recent research generally finds small drops in student achievement.
- Staff morale improved under a four-day school week.
- High school bullying and fighting declined.
For journalists looking for a definitive answer to [the question] ‘Are four-day school weeks a good or bad thing?’, I would caution that it is still too early to tell.
Thompson, an associate professor of economics who is part of Oregon State’s Four-Day School Week Policy research team, wrote to The Journalist’s Resource.
I think too often the importance of instructional time for the impacts of the policy is missed.
It’s pretty critical to the story that districts with longer days (who are possibly delivering equal or more instructional time to their students than they were on a five-day week) are not seeing the same negative impacts that districts with shorter days are seeing.
Morton, a researcher at the American Institutes of Research, wrote to JR.
Mainstream media has been giving this plenty of time of press time as well, discussing the pros and cons of this new move.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
In January of this year, during the World Economic Forum’s annual summit meeting, the concept of a 4-day work week was published as being a new solution more businesses should adopt and workers should call for. So therefore, it is not surprising to see that already in fairly short amount of time we are seeing a rise in schools cutting out an entire day; and if it’s now in the mainstream, then that means a ton more schools and businesses are going to start doing this.
We all know that knowledge and information retention in the public school system is a joke, because the structure facilitates and forces kids to forget most of what they learned pretty quickly. By now removing a day kids are going to retain even less then already did, and will get even more rambunctious with an extra day to essentially kickback and run wild, especially when you consider that parenting is all but gone from the modern parent these days.
The media keeps attributing this to a teacher shortage, but yet they fail to adequately explain how removing one day fixes the problem, because most teachers are still only teaching one course for an entire week anyways.
Ultimately, what I really think is going on at its core is twofold: one, it allows for businesses and schools to increase profit margins but cutting the costs on daily operations, energy, insurance, payroll, etc., while at the same time reducing income for most people and people in the lower rungs of society. And on that note, by enticing workers, staff, students to what 4-day work and school weeks, only feeds into the commercial real estate and office building bust megabubble that is going to pop very soon.
And two, building off of point one, this again make people more lazier than they already are, as the Covid lockdowns made people incredibly slothful and barely even able to get out of bed at all anymore.
As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.
Proverbs 26:14
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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Just a giant push for total control; having the gov do everything!
Pro_19:24 A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again
I think they want stupid people in our society. A four day week is one less day of learning. They don’t want our kids to learn. Remember when they stopped teaching cursive writing? How terrible was that?
I know their is a lot of “crazy things” the school system and Government is doing these days. I would say it is why parents should home-school their kids. It would also save them from the non-sense that is so crammed down the children’s throats, or the evil peer pressure and bulling that comes out of those “crazy” buildings! Though I know that a lot of kids aren’t blessed with the proper and loving households they would need to grow, which is unfortunate.
I may be stupid, but I think this is a good thing.
For example:
1.) less kids spending time in schools = Less time to indoctrinate.
2.) Parents are now being pressured to take responsibility for their child’s education.
3.) More free time to yourself – I know for some jobs, they want you to work as their slave, everyday for 10 hours a week, however this will break that stigma. Hopefully It’ll reach over to places like japan and china where people are dying from working too much.