Panther Creek’s lack of full school weeks this year have caused a significant amount of chatter around the school. As schools nationwide find themselves switching to the “new and improved” four day school week, many students feel North Carolina has been left behind amidst the hype.
While a shortened week sounds ideal for all, the harsh drawbacks are often brushed over by eager students. As journalists at PCNN, we find ourselves in the hopes of delivering the unfiltered truth showcasing the highs and lows of stories brimming with currency. As such, this story will showcase the good, the bad, and the awful of a modified school week.
A four day week brings an early weekend (hooray!) as well as an improved teacher turnover rate because it offers breaks to our teaching staff. In addition, more time to relax can help students persevere through challenging times amidst our ever growing world-wide mental health crisis within teenagers.
Unfortunately, not all sides of the equation are sunshine and rainbows. A four day week does not let students spend less time at school, but rather borrows from other places. The two most common solutions to keep students in school for a necessary amount of time requires either increasing school days by 1-3 hours or shortening summer break. A four day week also may cause problems within families as the rest of the work world still functions five days a week. Many students rely on school to provide them with two guaranteed meals per day. PCs breakfast and lunch programs are an ideal way for low-income families to ensure that their children are fed at least five days a week. A family’s inability to afford childcare or be able to work remotely and supervise their children is also another drawback to this.
When teachers were asked about a four day school week, they brought up the monetary side of such changes. According to an anonymous Panther Creek teacher, ”Adults look at hours. We don’t just look at days. We think of it like, oh, yeah, four day workweek sounds great. But we do the math. Y’all need that extra time. Our pay is still trash.”
All in all, a shortened work week comes with it’s own individual pros and cons, as with most things that sound a bit too good to be true. The general consensus among both students and teachers starts with a pro four day week stance, but after being presented with the drawbacks find themselves shying away from the new way of learning. A shortened school week may be ideal for some students, however the state stance at the moment seems to fall under the age old saying: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
