Five day weeks can be long, tiresome, and downright dreadful. Though some people may think a three day weekend would be best, I would argue that school should go on as normal, with a day off on Wednesdays. There are so many benefits to a four day week for everybody involved, such as lower stress levels and more comfort for everyone.
Many students get exhausted from balancing the long school days with their personal life, sports, jobs, or existence in general. Cutting the week down to only four days of school would help students a lot, not only mentally and emotionally but also in the classroom, according to a study by Sacred Heart University. I asked for an opinion on what a student, Han Pham, would think the benefits would be if we went down to four days for not only her but other students. “Everything,” she said. “More time for work and study, more time to sleep, more time to relax, more everything.” She says, “With more sleep, we’d be less sleep deprived and can focus more.”
Some think that changing to a four day week might take away students’ education, and that kids wouldn’t be as focused during class time. But the Student Success Advocate here at Franklin, Charles McKinney, disagrees. “Providing [a day for] academic and mental health support to individual students would be very helpful and impactful for those needing … the support,” he states.
Four days of school can help reduce some of the stress levels in students. A day off will give more of an opportunity to make sure that the mental health of students, teachers, and parents are more aware and known. Other states like Colorado, Montana, and Oklahoma, as well as districts in Oregon outside of Portland Public Schools have changed their schedule to only include four days, and improvements are already starting to be seen, according to an article by seattlepi. Attendance has improved, teachers are more prepared, students are more engaged, and student athletes are more well rested for school the day after games that go late.
There’s a chance that changing the schedule could be quite difficult for people to adapt to, especially if the day we have off is in the middle of the week since we’ve grown so accustomed to a five day week. “I think it would be [easy] to adapt,” McKinney shares. “We already have shortened school weeks due to holidays and no school days that are already a part of the yearly school calendar.” He also shares his belief that students and teachers would be much happier, and that this could lead to having a more positive school climate in Franklin or even district-wide.
Schools should make a permanent change to make Wednesday a day off and have only four days of school. The benefits teachers would have and the reduced stress rates for faculty and students would improve mental health and the general emotional well-being in schools. If students had an extra day to reset and reflect on their personal needs, we could see student participation rates increase like they never have before.
