School day should be shortened

By Jamarion L.

As excited as Airport students are for thanksgiving, kids are more excited about the break that comes with it.  Many students feel that the school day is too long for them to stay engaged with their assignments. Students are forced to come to school everyday until they are 17  so it can feel like students are being held hostage while being at school.The school day should be fewer hours, for example five hours instead of eight.

The first reason why the school day should be shortened is because students have short attention spans so they lose interest after just a bit. A study by Santa Maria College reveals that the average attention span went from 2 minutes to 47 seconds. What this is saying is that kids can give their full attention to something for about 47 seconds without getting distracted or uninterested.  So, imagine how hard it is for kids to stay focused for eight hours. It is scientifically impossible.  Students cannot get their work done if they are not paying attention or constantly distracted, so maybe if the school day were shorter, teachers could hold the attention of their students longer. Students are tuning out regardless, wasting much of the school day anyway.

Secondly, a shorter school day would give students more time to work and do extracurricular activities. For example, if I couldn't work past 9:00 p.m. and I get out at 4:00, that only five hours I can work rather than more. If I wanted to play a game outside I only have 2 hours before it gets dark, and even less when it is deep into winter

Another problem with such a long school day is the feeling of having no choice about it, which makes school feel like jail.  We don't want to feel trapped like we are in prison. For some children, school becomes a source of stress and fear, just like a prison sentence does. 

Some people may disagree and say not to shorten school but make it even longer.  Longer days make students more in touch with the modern world, for example.  In the real world, the workday is 8 to 9 hours, or in some professions like nursing and medicine, even longer. Forcing kids to be in school long hours only prepares them for the long working hours they will someday experience. In response to this opinion, I refer you back to my three previous points I already made.  

I talked with Mr. Shearer is a teacher, a movie fanatic and a person who knows a bit about a lot of things, about this issue. Here’s what he had to say: “It depends on how the time is used. In general I think the current time is appropriate because it allows schools to be more flexible with scheduling (if an event occurs then classes can be shortened and still have time for lessons to be given). I'd be open to a shorter schedule for students if a more efficient schedule can be made and implemented effectively”.

Dr. R., my journalism teacher, actually agrees with me. Even though we are not supposed to quote her in our articles, she has unique expertise in this field having earned her doctorate in education.  She referred me to this article, which reports, “Skeptics of longer school days point out that high-achieving nations such as Finland, Singapore, and China have chosen not to take this route, opting instead for maximizing learning and collaboration time during the traditional schedule. Indeed, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, U.S. teachers already spend more time in direct instruction with students than their peers in practically every other developed country.” Dr. R. also added, “This article also points out that a longer school day would require more tax payer dollars, and I don’t see taxpayers wanting their hard earned money being used this way.”

In conclusion, the school day should be shorter because students have short attention spans, it would give students more time to do work, and so students don't feel like they're in prison. If you agree with me, I advise you to write to your school district about your concerns with how long the school day is.