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! 😆

In France many primaries take the whole of Wednesday off. Secondary school is a half day Wednesday until upper secondary. Most kids look forward to it because it's activity day or for chilling but for younger kids it can be a bit of a nightmare to arrange childcare, especially someone who can take them to and from activities if you are working.

But the school days are long in comparison - 8-4.30.

Teachers shouldn't work when they are not being paid to work. And they shouldn't have to put up with violent and/or aggressive kids or parents, there should be absolute zero tolerance of that within the state education sector. If they have any complaints they should be about these things, not just asking for more money. Because when they do that, they're basically just asking everyone else to pay more taxes, and have less money, so that teachers can have more.

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.

Who will be staffing the schools for 16 hours a day? Who would be attending? When would the school be cleaned? In primary schools, how could teachers set up their classroom for 9am if someone else is in there? What about resources? Meetings after school? I don't really think that's a well thought out idea.

I'm sure there are proper studies on this. I'm sure that children who do less hours at school, but achieve more academically are receiving better quality learning. Perhaps it's how they learn, or what they lean. Also, some children are naturally brighter than others and also parents put different standards on their children as well.
Where I live, the standard of learning/comprehension has definitely dropped dramatically. I don't know why this is, I can only assume its because of larger class sizes, teachers perhaps not just focused on teaching and having other pressures, more challenging students, newer learning styles than might not be better (ie learning through play).
There are probably many variables. I think in the current state, dropping to 4 days would be very detrimental

Do you feel that way about all of the public sector?

Back in the real world, teachers are striking for pay and conditions as they do have to put up with massive amount of abuse from parents and children, oh and work many many hours unpaid to get the job done.

Do other countries with less time in school have comparable class sizes and curriculums?

If they have any complaints they should be about these things, not just asking for more money.

The strike is about pay AND CONDITIONS.

I don’t think we have particularly long in school in terms of hours per day or term time.

Looking around on google it seems we’re in the middle for those two.

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

I don’t know. When I was at school it could have been because the school day was 8:50 to 4:50.

In theory I’d love that! Four teaching days and then a full day for takes our evenings and weekends up and then able to have the full weekend to ourselves.
However, something would have to give…we already struggle to fit everything in as it is!!

Great idea if you're a SAHM or someone who can afford to pay for an extra day's childcare. Not so great for those on a low wage who struggle to pay for childcare as it is.

@Florenz Gav, is that you?

A couple of schools in our area close after lunch on a Friday, ballache for people who have to arrange childcare but then again affordable childcare in the UK is a whole other issue in itself and if a reduced school week was in the best interest of children in terms of emotional well-being, educational attainment and other factors then yep. Same as I feel that if you can effectively work a four day week and produce the same results or better as a 5 day then go for it.

I'm conscious some jobs can't be worked like that and have spent the bulk of my career in one that is just unlikely to be able to be worked effectively like that, however if others can do it all power to them.

They should just refuse to work any unpaid hours instead of going on strike. The general public would support that, even those that don't support teachers striking for money.

What is wrong with kids today that their emotional well-being can't take 5 days a week at school? And how are they going to cope when they leave school and they have to work longer hours, over 5 days when they start work?

I'm a parent too.

The disruption of me working to rule would be far far more detrimental to my class's education than the odd day of striking.

Working to rule would be amazing. But it doesn't work, because the pressure is always there to get results.
I think teachers are currently not meant to do admin, or photocopying (as in, standing over the damn thing, praying it will work), collect money, cover lessons often...... but that's all gone by the wayside.

Ooh. I feel the OP 😂 (conservative researcher?) must be pretty unimpressed by the responses. Waay less teacher bashing here than I’ve ever seen before.

There are lots of reasons why it might not work but "not fitting in the curriculum" shouldn't be one of them. The curriculum in English schools, especially primary, is ridiculously overloaded. Things are crammed in then children don't retain the knowledge.

I really disagree with this, in some countries children do alot more, and are much more academically advanced at a young age. I don't think people give children enough credit, children are like sponges.

People fetishize childhood in this country. The purpose of childhood is to produce well-rounded adults who can fend for themselves. At the moment Britain is doing a very poor job of that.

I would love my kids to only do a 3/4 day week. Even if the other day was home schooling.

@AutumnIsHere21 Given you're a teacher OP, do you not value your work if you think children only need 4 days of school?

I’m a teacher and work 4 days (dropped to 0.8 this academic year) and it has done wonders for my mental well being, but also I think as my performance as a teacher.

I spend my day off marking, know it’s unpaid but now I rarely work at weekends - I can actually have Sundays as a family day!

In terms of performance (and to this worrying about fitting in the curriculum), I readily admit there would be lessons where I was so exhausted or I was overwhelmed with marking, so would stick on an educational film or book a computer room and set “busy” work. This academic year I haven’t set any “busy work” lessons and students are getting the best of me, more importantly, so are my own family.

I would rather keep the longer holidays with my dd, I think children need that long break from education to learn in different ways.

I agree with you.

We are in France and yes Wednesday afternoon is non school time. But the school days are much longer to compensate:

nursery 3-5yr & primary 6-10yrs: 8 am to 4:45pm (7:30 am to 6:00pm with garderie), 4 days a week

middle school (11-15yrs): can be 8:00am to 4:30pm, 4 days a week plus Wednesday mornings.

upper school (15-17yrs): can be 08:00am to 6:00pm, 4 days per week, plus Saturday and Wednesday mornings.