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Unbiased Longer School Days Pros and Cons

navajocodetalkersadmin on May 13, 2015 - 5:33 pm in Pros and Cons

School is an unavoidable part of most children’s day for all of their childhood. On average, 8 hours a day is spent in the classroom learning, but is this enough? With more and more students falling below the standards for academic achievement, the idea of an extended school day has surfaced. Supporters of longer school days say that it allows more focus to be put on subjects that are lacking. Critics think this is a nuisance and infringes on the free time that children should have to play and learn on their own. In order to really understand the issue, you need to take a look at both sides of the argument.

The Pros of Longer School Days

1. More Time To Learn
With more time in the day, teachers can focus on any areas where there is struggle. It would also allow for more one on one time with students who are having difficulty.

2. Longer Day, No Homework
Students typically spend between 1 and 3 hours per night completely additional assignments for school. Increasing the time spent in the school, would allow for a no homework approach.

3. Supervision Benefits
Schools let out in the mid afternoon, which poses a large problem for working parents that do not get home until the evening. Many children are left unsupervised in the hours between getting out of school and when their parents get home. Longer school days would eliminate this problem.

4. More Subjects
The amount of subjects that are typically covered in schools are limited. This is because with the short amount of time that they have, and the large amount of essential information they have to cover do not work well. Extending the school day makes more time for additional focus on subjects like art or music.

The Cons of Longer School Days

1. Sacrifices Family Time
Kids already spend a very long time each week in the school and away from their family. Extending the school days even longer would further cut into valuable time to bond with family.

2. Very Costly
There are many different costs associated with running a school. Extending the day would also extend the costs. Teachers, electricity, and other resources would cost more for the tax payers.

3. Hinders Outside Interests
Many students are involved in extracurricular activities outside of the school. Things like sports, music lessons, or dance are just some of the common activities students do. Extending the school day would not leave them time to pursue these interests.

4. Doesn’t Address Problem
If students are not making the cut with the current teaching methods put into place, then simply extending the time they are subjected to these methods will not fix anything. The longer school day is simply a bandaid on a much larger wound.

Important Facts About Longer School Days

  • The issue of extending the hours students attend school began in the early 1980’s.
  • Many school districts in Boston have already implemented longer school days.
  • The average time of a school day in America is 8:30 A.M. To 3:00 P.M.. Extended school days would end at 5:00 P.M.
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