Shorter School Days

Do you remember when you were a kid in school? Almost everyone does, especially how long and boring the school days were. Two out of three high-school students in a large survey say they are bored in class every single day and there are reasons. School is too long and causes many problems for students. Kids are not employees and shouldn’t be treated like them by going to school for 6-8 hours. School days should be shortened because School the way it is is unhealthy, disliked by most, and isn't efficient.

Even though shortened school days have multiple benefits, there are also benefits for school the way it is. School days are fantastic because of the great timing so that it fits in perfectly with parents work schedule. However, The average worker doesn't start work until 8:24 am and the school start times can vary from around 7:30 am to 9:00 am or later. Schools can end from around 2:15 to 3:35 and the Average American works until 4:30 PM.In reality, school and work time will never be very compatible.

To begin with, sleep is very important. With school being so long, it’s near impossible to get finished with homework and after school activities while getting the recommended amount of sleep. Studies show that ¼ of teens go to bed after 11:30 pm on week/school nights. “A solid body of literature has found that insufficient sleep in this young population is tied to poor mental health, including depression, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation”. This is a big problem considering people are thinking about suicide; schools can help this, but are choosing not to. Additionally,  ”Not getting enough sleep is common among high school students and is associated with several health risks including being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, and using drugs, as well as poor academic performance.” Sleep is very important to all, and with school getting in the way of it is a big indicator that something must be altered.

Furthermore, “Shorter school hours, however, are in the best interest of students, teachers and administrators, as they would have more free time outside of school for extracurricular activities, work or relaxation time.” A woman from india had moved here with 2 kids, one had 2 years of elementary school in india, and one just starting school. She had seen a huge difference with how tired and worn out after school in America they were. The reason was that “In India, schools are open 200 days a year for grades 1-5, for a total of 800 instructional hours per year, compared to 220 days and 1,000 instructional hours in grades 6-8”. Students feel like they have no freedom and are being pushed around by the school. We are forced to sit at desks as though schools try to contain us and that they we are not able to be ourselves. They are forced to sit in a chair for long periods and to complete assignments all day. The repetitiveness of this event results in students not caring for school as much, which soon makes their grades decrease.

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