As the modern world continues to improve and evolve, it’s no surprise that a four-day week or a three-day weekend could be the next normal. Something that’s continued to make headlines when it comes to schooling especially.
Many countries outside the United States have either implemented this new model or conducted simulations to test its effectiveness, Iceland being the most famous example.
“I’ve heard about three-day weekends before on the news,” junior Priyanka Patel said. “I think it’s something worth looking into, and personally, I would love a 3-day weekend.”
Many school regions have also implemented the 3-day weekend during the years of the pandemic. During this time, schools had a 4-day school week and an asynchronous Monday. This allowed students to go to school during Tuesday-Friday, but they would work at home on Mondays.
“When we had asynchronous Mondays, I got to get a head start on the work and tests I had that week,” junior Durga Ghanta said. “It honestly was a lot less stressful back then, and I was more productive, as well.”
Students, teachers and parents had all reported better test scores and a better satisfaction rating toward this model, as it also provided more time for students to spend with their families. Students also got an extra day to prepare for the week and spend more time on extracurriculars.
“School and my extracurricular activities take up so much of my day, that sometimes it’s hard to find time to do the things I want to do,” Ghanta said. “In fact, sometimes I don’t have a lot of time to spend with my family or my friends, because of my work.
One of the most overlooked results that came from a model like this was the improvement in teachers. Not only was this model able to help students, but there was a positive and more effective change in a teacher’s mood and their teaching styles.
“I got an extra day to plan and I got to meet more students one-on-one to help them, while still being able to spend time with my family on the weekend,” physics teacher Piyasi Mukherjee said. “Physics tends to be a hard class with many assignments, so an extra day, helped out teachers a lot”
Many rural areas find it hard to staff schools or keep track of attendance compared to schools in an urban setting. In rural areas, 4-day weeks improved their attendance, test scores, and helped the students pay more attention to their schooling.
In a study published by RAND, an educational organization, they talk about the effects of a 4-day week on rural areas, “In recent years, hundreds of small school districts like Athens have cut one day a week from their school calendars,” RAND said. “In rural areas, especially, kids often use that extra day off for chores, work, or family time.
As 4-day weeks keep gaining more attention, more schools are starting to implement this new model into their educational systems. While some do worry about the consequences of using this model, most teachers and students believe that it could create a positive impact for future generations.
“When we had asynchronous Mondays, I was able to get a lot of my work done for the week earlier,” Patel said. “I think that high school students have it hard already, and a 3-day weekend could help them more than others know.”