4 day working week … for schools.

[AutumnIsHere21]

Inspired by another thread discussing the merits of a three day weekend and following on from the results of a study which concluded that a four day working week (for full time pay) had numerous benefits for employers and employees.

I just wondered how people would feel if schools followed suit and were only open Monday-Thursday.

Full disclosure: I’m a teacher so - obviously - would be very much in favour! 😆

4 day week. Longer terms. Fine!

A 4 day week with much less holidays might be OK.

To be honest I'd be happy to get paid for the hours I work now.

I am in Ireland. Here the kids and thus teachers have a LOT of holidays including 3 MONTHS off for summer and then there is easter, halloween and christmas, mid term breaks and random days on top of bank holidays. If it went to a 4 day week our kids would have to stay in secondary school till they were 22 to catch up on the curriculum. Also I dont want to share my one day off a week with the kids. Be nice for me to do a 4 day week and they do a 5 and I get all the stuff done on my free day that i cant do when they are milling around the house under my feet.

Kids are leaving school lacking basic skills having attended for 5 days a week, how are they going to be having done 20% less schooling? It's ridiculous. Teachers are always looking at ways to do less work for more money.

@Florenz You interested in the lack of government funding for schools being the reason why children aren't meeting the basic standards? Or just using this thread as an opportunity to teacher bash?

@Florenz “Teachers are always looking at ways to do less work for more money.”

Isn't everyone?! 😆

I'd worry about the well being of some children and access to food. There ate schools running free breakfast clubs as well as free dinners as people can't afford to feed their children.

Do you worry about them at the weekend? Do you think that perhaps wages generally should enable people to feed their children?

It's me (was my thread) ... my DC isn't at school yet, and I feel guilty but I'd say no thanks, or else I think I'd need a 4 day weekend 😆 although I'm assuming (hoping!!) school age children are easier and maybe things settle down a bit then

I think this would be a bad idea, children would then miss out on 39? days of learning a year? So on a global scale I'd assume be behind many other children. Where I am they are already falling behind in maths and now literacy so I don't think this is a good thing at all

I bet it's because private schools have higher standards and the children are therefore more 'academic' so can afford to take that extra time off

This.

Unless you are talking about doing it this way and then reducing the holidays down to compensate.

I bet it's because private schools have higher standards and the children are therefore more 'academic' so can afford to take that extra time off
Not just higher standards, but they don't have a lot of the pressures and expectations that are put on state schools, part because of the cohort selection and part because they're independent.

If you're free to design the curriculum you want and can dedicate most of your time and resources to delivering it well to students whose parents aren't going to be happy at them wasting money on fees, it's much easier to get through the required work.

More money wouldn't solve anything, most of it would just go straight into the greedy pockets of the teachers. The problem is that we have teachers that don't want to teach, kids who don't want to learn, and parents who don't care one way or the other. The whole system needs a total root and branch overhaul. Schools should be open 6am-10pm, with a wide range of courses on offer, kids wouldn't have to do all of them. The essentials would be taught during the traditional school day of 9am-4pm with additional courses in the early morning and later afternoon/evening. Sports, arts and crafts, vocational lessons and everything else.

@Florenz would this be the greedy teachers whose pay has reduced by 23% in real terms in the last decade while their workload has increased?
Your posts show you have zero understanding of children/adolescents or education in general so I think we can happily disregard them.

Do many private schools still do this? I only know one out of many in London but maybe there are still a few

Agree with this in another pp

I think this would be a bad idea, children would then miss out on 39? days of learning a year? So on a global scale I'd assume be behind many other children. Where I am they are already falling behind in maths and now literacy so I don't think this is a good thing at all

Sure. Teachers are known for being greedy. What with all the buying resources for their classrooms from their own money and working lots of hours unpaid...

Young children need more than 8 hours sleep.

Parents are also part of their child's loves.

Opening schools for 16 hours per day would require quite a significant amount more money, to be paid to...who?

"greedy pockets of teachers". Oh those ones with a real terms 20% paycut since 2010. Those ones who regularly buy stuff for their classrooms because the government don't? Those ones who work 60+ hours a week and still it's not enough for entitled parents like you?

16 hours a day of school needs money from somewhere....

Think about why kids don't want to learn? They don't see education as a way out. Because of the structural inequality in our underfunded system.

Well some of the countries who are ahead of us don't even start school till the children are older so they miss out even more, but seems to work ok for them.
I bet Florenz would put her dc in from 8 till 10 at night. Madness.

We are in Scotland and our kids already do a half day on Friday. Lots of kids go to childcare providers for the afternoon which is pricey.

I wouldn't support longer days for kids. Mine are tired when they come home already and are primary school aged.

There may well be evidence to show those that work a 4 day week already happier but many will be compressing their hours and doing longer days. That won't work in every industry.

Nice sweeping generalisation there. As others on this thread have already said, it would be a good start if teachers and TAs were actually paid for all the work they do. One example - in the schools I’ve taught in there is no over time or time in lieu for staffing week long residentials. That’s before all the compulsory after school clubs we’re required to run, staffing evening concerts etc. All of these are nice extras that benefit the children but it’s galling to hear people say that teachers are always trying to get out of working.

My friend in California does this. Her kids attend school 4 days per week. Homeschooling for one day, standard in her area.

Do all the teachers in Scotland have their PPA time on a Friday afternoon?

Im sure a reduction in school would be a good excuse for the government to dump all those subjects they hate like music and art.

There are increased issues in our town with teenage behaviour, I don’t think more time on their hands would help.