4 day school week?

[CorbLand]

Are they reducing teachers salaries for that day? Most jobs if you don't work the hours you don't get payed. I pay almost $5000 dollars a year in taxes for these schools. If they are going 4 days a week to save operating costs, should everyones taxes be reduced? or does that money just disappear? Don't get me wrong I'm all for educators when they work.

Generally there is a minimum classroom hours that is set by the state. When going to a four day school week, the school year gets extended and the number of hours per day do to. Kind of like working 5-8 or 4-10.

 

[Burnsie]

I'm sure there are valid arguments for this, but it just feels like everything is too hard these days.

It's too hard for kids to get up (they want to play video games until 2am instead).
It's too hard to teach kids because everyone learns differently (somehow other generations managed with much less).
It's too hard for kids to concentrate (social media is calling).
Teachers complain about their long hours (even though much of it is done online and with computer grading).
Adults complain about working 5 days a week now too.
Parenting is too hard.

It just feels like we've become so accustomed to comfort and mediocrity that even getting up from the bed to walk over to the couch is too much work. Kids in Africa would love the opportunity to attend our schools 5 days a week. Maybe there is a better way and maybe less is better (seems unlikely given declining standards), but I am concerned with how we've managed to view so much of our lives as "hard".

Nailed it.

 

[jmez]

Number of student contact hours do not change with a 4 day week. That is mandated by the state. District North of me has been doing the 4 day week over ten years now. It isn't something new.

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[roadrunner]

I'm sure there are valid arguments for this, but it just feels like everything is too hard these days.

It's too hard for kids to get up (they want to play video games until 2am instead).
It's too hard to teach kids because everyone learns differently (somehow other generations managed with much less).
It's too hard for kids to concentrate (social media is calling).
Teachers complain about their long hours (even though much of it is done online and with computer grading).
Adults complain about working 5 days a week now too.
Parenting is too hard.

It just feels like we've become so accustomed to comfort and mediocrity that even getting up from the bed to walk over to the couch is too much work. Kids in Africa would love the opportunity to attend our schools 5 days a week. Maybe there is a better way and maybe less is better (seems unlikely given declining standards), but I am concerned with how we've managed to view so much of our lives as "hard".

My only rebuttals are that it's no secret that kids learn differently from one another. Not individually, but as learning types or personalities. It was true back in 1945 too. It's not new.

As far as working 5 days a week? That's an outdated tradition that has no merit anymore in today's society for many occupations when applicable. It's really an evade device so momma can't assign "honey-do's" an additional day of the week

Notice that I did not say industries or services should only run 4 days a week...

 

[wind gypsy]

Did not read entire thread. Sounds nice for family freedom to do things on weekends, a headache for childcare, and thinking about future employers, it is really going to get hard to find help that wants to work in the future. Going to need a lot of adapting in the future!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Number of student contact hours do not change with a 4 day week. That is mandated by the state. District North of me has been doing the 4 day week over ten years now. It isn't something new.

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Those can be negotiated as well through unions. At the school here, Fridays are just fluff anyways. The school day ends early, students have all sorts of activities that get the teachers out of the classroom for hours that day and most teachers don’t do much on Fridays anyhow.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Did not read entire thread. Sounds nice for family freedom to do things on weekends, a headache for childcare, and thinking about future employers, it is really going to get hard to find help that wants to work in the future. Going to need a lot of adapting in the future!

From what I have heard, part of making school 4 days a week is to attract teachers to the profession. Every year teachers leave the classroom for better opportunities (like getting paid more and not being treated horribly by parents while working for unsupportive administrators). I read once that half or more teachers quit the job in five years or less. Also, colleges have less interest in teacher education programs so fewer new teachers are graduating. The state of Alaska started the last school year with a shortage of over 1000 teachers across the state.

Administration teaches changing every year, constant turnover in the buildings, more restrictions etc etc. add that to the fact that the vast majority of parents are unsupportive, they complain that their kid isn’t getting the help they need when they aren’t even willing to work with the teacher. Kids get sent out of the room for acting crazy and administrators send the kid back to class within 5 minutes. Meetings at the end of long work days, a very slow path towards financial independence (do any states even start new teachers out of college for more than 50k/year?).

All in all teaching is an absolutely horrific way to spend the best years of your life. Lots of people are starting to become aware of this and are trying to find ways to incentivize people to teach. A three day weekend is a good start.

Imagine having a class of 35-45 kids that are lazy, rude and performing at levels far below their grade would suggest. Add in parents who think that’s the teachers fault and have zero interest in putting any effort into helping their kid. Parents who just drop their kids off so they can drink and smoke weed all day, kids who have been up all night playing video games, their parents drop them off with cans of red bull and an empty stomach.

To make it worse, administrators don’t care, they became admins because they realized how terrible teaching is and saw they could make 130k + a year and not have to teach by getting into administration.

Yeah teaching is awesome.

 

[sodaksooner]

My nephews loved it. one more day to hunt or fish. Was good for their sports teams as well.

 

[Clarktar]

It would be great for teachers and students. Not so great for lowlife parents who use the school system as nothing more than a free daycare center.

Potentially not great for non low life parents who both work M-F jobs.

If work schedules mimic school schedules sounds great. But otherwise I could see this being another challenge for households where both parents work.



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[amassi]

It would be popular here, many of these kids live/work on farms and would be appreciated


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[jmez]

In SD it isn't negotiated. There is a statewide standard number of contact hours. It is up to the districts to meet the standards. If they want to go to a 4 day week they have to figure out how to make it work. It isn't through teacher union negotiations.

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[manitou1]

The research on how important sleep is and the negative effects on kids getting dragged out of bed at odark30.

Google something along these lines, there’s a lot of studies and experts out there.

And my own anecdote of remembering how insanely hard it was going to school at 7-8. I would fall asleep everyday in middle and high school on my desk… this was also probably a factor of my diet as well, but that’s another topic on how we feed our kids horrible food in the US.

Maybe put them to bed earlier?
They are going to have to be used to it when they get a job, unless that isn't the goal.

 

[manitou1]

I'm sure there are valid arguments for this, but it just feels like everything is too hard these days.

It's too hard for kids to get up (they want to play video games until 2am instead).
It's too hard to teach kids because everyone learns differently (somehow other generations managed with much less).
It's too hard for kids to concentrate (social media is calling).
Teachers complain about their long hours (even though much of it is done online and with computer grading).
Adults complain about working 5 days a week now too.
Parenting is too hard.

It just feels like we've become so accustomed to comfort and mediocrity that even getting up from the bed to walk over to the couch is too much work. Kids in Africa would love the opportunity to attend our schools 5 days a week. Maybe there is a better way and maybe less is better (seems unlikely given declining standards), but I am concerned with how we've managed to view so much of our lives as "hard".

Amen brother!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Potentially not great for non low life parents who both work M-F jobs.

If work schedules mimic school schedules sounds great. But otherwise I could see this being another challenge for households where both parents work.



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I guess it would be on parents to figure out daycare for their kids. The schools are running out of $$$. Time to pass on the financial burden of kids to the people who decided to have them. I don't mean that in an offensive way but the schools have been rung dry by folks who abuse the system.

At this point, schools are running out of $$$ and can't find people to work in them, there are constant shortages of every position that schools need. Like it or not, the 4 day school week is becoming a reality in many areas and for good reason.

I've sat through meetings where schools have discussed shortened school years and weeks. Parents always say "what are we supposed to do with the kids during that time?"....I guess the real answer is: you'll figure something out.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

In SD it isn't negotiated. There is a statewide standard number of contact hours. It is up to the districts to meet the standards. If they want to go to a 4 day week they have to figure out how to make it work. It isn't through teacher union negotiations.

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In alaska, several districts have gone to "subsistence" schedules which shorten the year considerable and it dosen't get "made up". Most of these schedules start school around the 5th of september and end may 1.

 

[jmez]

Wow. They don't do that here. We go late Aug to mid May. Most of the 4 day week districts start a week earlier than us and go a week later.

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[CorbLand]

In alaska, several districts have gone to "subsistence" schedules which shorten the year considerable and it dosen't get "made up". Most of these schedules start school around the 5th of september and end may 1.

Are those districts primarily made up of small towns/villages? It blows most peoples mind that the school I went to got two weeks off for potato harvest. A lot of small districts in Idaho get some time off during harvest season to help facilitate the needs of the families/farmers during that time.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Are those districts primarily made up of small towns/villages? It blows most peoples mind that the school I went to got two weeks off for potato harvest. A lot of small districts in Idaho get some time off during harvest season to help facilitate the needs of the families/farmers during that time.

Most of those districts are made of smaller communities but its been spreading to rural hub locations as well. The amount of money schools save by not keeping hourly staff and serving meals one day a week is a lot.

When my dad was growing up, they got the first week of deer season off from school. I'm sure there were upset parents back then too saying they don't hunt, so what are they supposed to do with their kids.

 

[307]

They are going to have to be used to it when they get a job, unless that isn't the goal.

Well, they won't be growing/developing by the time they're in the workforce so they won't need the extra sleep at that point, thus making it far less problematic to be up earlier.

Kids aren't just small adults, they're still growing and developing.

My two high school girls start classes at 9, but go until 4. I think they like it better than 7:45-2:45 which they've done previously.

A 4 day week seems to make lots of sense in terms of efficiency. One less day of bus routes, one less day of school lunches... I'm betting that adds up to significant savings over a full year.

 

[manitou1]

Well, they won't be growing/developing by the time they're in the workforce so they won't need the extra sleep at that point, thus making it far less problematic to be up earlier.

Kids aren't just small adults, they're still growing and developing.

My two high school girls start classes at 9, but go until 4. I think they like it better than 7:45-2:45 which they've done previously.

A 4 day week seems to make lots of sense in terms of efficiency. One less day of bus routes, one less day of school lunches... I'm betting that adds up to significant savings over a full year.

No doubt the savings would be significant. Heck, a reduction on electricity and heating/cooling would be realized also.