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Alie Scheunemann

Mass Media, Yellow

Ms. Schultz

March 4, 2022

Should School Be A Four Day Week Or A Five Day Week?

Since it began, school has been five days a week. However, because of the

pandemic, schools had to make a lot of changes, and one of those was having a

four-day week. There are mixed opinions on this topic, but let's dig a little deeper and

go over some pros and cons of the four-day school week versus a five day-school

week.

Let’s start with where the five-day school week came from. According to

an article in the Atlantic, a New England mill became the first American factory to

institute the five-day week. This was in 1908 and was instituted in order to

accommodate its Jewish workers, whose observance of a Saturday sabbath forced

them to make up their work on Sundays. Not only this, during the Depression, President

Herbert Hoover called for a reduction in work hours. Later, President Franklin Roosevelt

signed the Fair Labor Standards Act Of 1938, which established a five day work-week

for many workers. With this being said, since parents were working five days a week,

that meant their children would have to go to school while they were at work, which led

to a very pressing need to have students in school five days a week.

There are many pros and cons of having a four-day school week, but let's talk

about the pros first. To start off, financial savings are taking place such as the water

consumption, electricity savings, as well as meals and cafeteria expenses since there
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are only students or staff at school four days a week. . Also, there are educational

benefits, such as the teachers using the fifth day for professional development and

in-services as well as having time to lesson plan and grade student work. Also, the

students can use the fifth day for tutoring and or studying needs. Next, there are athletic

benefits. This means that athletics can be participated in on the fifth day so that they

don't interfere with academics as much during the school week. Lastly, attendance is a

common problem for not only students, but staff as well, so if the fifth day is used for

appointments and other engagements, that would be a positive benefit to help both

groups not miss school or work. Because it's a four day week, that means longer days

at school. Longer school days are proven to be more beneficial to the students because

they have more hands-on activities and can develop a better understanding with the

extra time they are given.

However, on the flip side, there are cons to school being only four days. From a

financial standpoint, if the student is younger or in elementary school, the family may

need childcare which can be costly. Not only that, but money for meals at home can be

quite expensive as well, which the family might have a hard time providing. Also,

extracurricular activities might be a struggle for some families because they might not

be able to accommodate the athletic schedules on the fifth day, which could lead to

students being unable to participate. Furthermore, there could be personal problems for

the students. For some students, school is the safest place to be; they get the meals

they need, supervision, and peer and adult attention. Lastly, the physical outlook on

things could take a toll on the students and staff members. Longer days means more

tired students and staff; an eight hour school day is a long time to be at school and then
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go home to work on more school work. This also leaves less time for fun activities and

time to relax and focus on one's overall health.

Now that we know the pros and cons of a four day school week, it's up to you to

decide whether or not you believe school should remain at five days a week, or change

to four days a week. There are advantages and disadvantages, so what would you

choose for yourself and what would you choose for future students?
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Works Cited

Sopher, P. (2018, April 30). Where the five-day workweek came from. The Atlantic.

Retrieved February 25, 2022, from

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/08/where-the-five-day-workwee

k-came-from/378870/

The Pros and cons of a four-day school week. Lamar University Online. (2021,

August 16). Retrieved February 25, 2022, from

https://degree.lamar.edu/articles/education/the-pros-and-cons-of-a-four-day-school

-week/

Wallace, A. (n.d.). Four Day School week Overview. Four-Day school week

overview. Retrieved February 25, 2022, from

https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/school-calendar-four-day-school-week-ov

erview.aspx

Ordway, D.-M., & About The Author Denise-Marie Ordway She joined The

Journalist’s Resource in 2015 after working as a reporter for newspapers and radio

stations in the U.S. and Central America. (2021, October 12). The four-day school

week: Research behind the trend. The Journalist's Resource. Retrieved February

25, 2022, from

https://journalistsresource.org/politics-and-government/four-day-school-week-rese

arch/
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Sawchuk, S. (2021, October 26). 4-Day School Weeks: New research examines

the benefits and drawbacks. Education Week. Retrieved February 25, 2022, from

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/4-day-school-weeks-new-research-examines-t

he-benefits-and-drawbacks/2021/10