English Argument

Argument of Longer School Days

Longer and shorter school days have been, since long ago, a controversial subject. Now, Michael Gove is trying to lengthen school days and shorten holidays, causing a row between kids and their parents. FOR Firstly, longer school days, would mean that parents, who have long work hours, will be able to maintain their personal and professional life well, due to the fact that they will not need to leave work early due to caring responsibilities. They will work without worry, because the children will be in a safe environment, not watching TV and being lazy, but learning. Secondly, schools days, which are longer, are helpful for the child(s) education due to him/her being able to stay in school for longer therefore learning more. This will hep our economy, in long term, because the whole generation will be smarter meaning less poverty and more innovation for the country and for the world. Thirdly, narrowing the achievement gap, where affluent families supplement their children’s educations with private classes, camps, and tutors, low-income students fall further and further behind. Giving more help to students who are not as bright as others will solve this. This is proved by, “In the year after Massachusetts tested the Expanded Learning Time Initiative, which added about two hours to the school day, participating schools narrowed the achievement gap in English by 35% and science by almost 15%.” AGAINST Firstly, longer days of school would mean more pressure on to teachers as well as students. The teachers, will need a higher wage and will have a higher stress due to more working hours, and might not want to be in the profession. The higher wage will put a strain on the economy, which is already in a bad form due to recession. There will be less freedom for teachers, as they will need to mark work and have nearly no free time. Secondly, the amount of time spent in school is not the most important factor, which differentiates between schools, but also the efficiency of the students and teachers themselves. A recent study had shown factory works to produce the same amount of toys, whether it is 3 days or 5 days. So this shows that the amount of time, in the factory (school), does not help, but the efficiency and hard work you put in yourself. Thirdly, longer school days, will make children and adults have less social time and less family time due to longer days of schools, this will be caused due to extra curricular activities children have and homework set by teachers. Furthermore, this will reduce sleeping times, which are hazardous to children, and may cause insomnia. In conclusion, my own opinion, is that, the school days should stay the same, due to the effects it will have on teachers and families. But, to energize and motivate children to do their best in every subject, so more time in the school is spent better, so it is more efficient.