♫♪My+Ideas♫♪

My Ideas behind this Madness.... Here is a copy of my argument essay for this subject. My side is for a four day school week. __(if you are like me and go away when seeing long, boring words, just scroll all the way down to he "highlights" area for the overview of my arguement ^o^)__ = A Four Day School Week Schools in Virginia Beach should change to a schedule that is all year, but with longer vacations and only a four day school week. It would have the same amount of days as our regular summer vacation, but it would be spread out in the year. This could be more effective to the learning process because the year of three months of summer and a five day school week has had some problems according to the people I have asked who are my friends and they go to school in Virginia Beach. Having the school year rearranged would benefit all of the students, especially the high schoolers, by allowing breaks between the stresses of school. This new schedule would benefit the education efficiency, not only in Virginia Beach, but also in the United States. By having a four day school week, that extra day would give time to students if they want to finish up homework, or join an extracurricular. They would also get time to rest from school, especially the high school and college students, who have to wake up before sunrise. Some teachers would say that they would need more teaching time, so they would want a five day school week. However, that extra day off would benefit them too! The teachers could make lesson plans, grade papers, and still have time to spend time with family on that extra day. All of that work would get done and minimize the stress. Also, rearranging the school year would allow kids and adults to enjoy different sports in almost every season, which would spark interests and improve the health of the society. ^-^ As courses become harder as the level of the grade changes, the amount of homework rises too, especially in AP classes, which helps students going to college. The extra day off can also be used to study for upcoming tests and quizzes in all subjects and also the students can devote themselves to a club or other extracurricular activities, such as a sport. Some people would say that the students would just fool around and not study, but the majority, and really dedicated students, would devote themselves to keeping their grades up in school by taking the challenges that are thrown at them in rigorous subjects. With the school year being all year round, the midterms and final exams would be after each break, so students would usually remember at the last few days of the break and start cramming, which could get them better grades than what they would have gotten if had did not crammed. This timeframe also helps if a student has questions to ask the teacher about a hard subject. This schedule would be misunderstood by a person who is not interested in pursuing a school related job. School, however, is mandatory until the end of high school, but in the meantime, they could build skills to enhance themselves that are required for the job they want to pursue in the future. With the school year schedule we have now, I have observed (and experienced) that most students are very likely to slack off as soon as Thursday comes because they are ready to get away from school (not only the students ^o^) and this would affect their academic performance and frustrate the teachers. The three months of summer that we currently have is a very long time and students would probably have a hard time retaining what they learned in school because they do not use all of what they have learned during the previous school year. When September comes the students have to get back into “school-mode.” Most students and their families’ waste summer vacation time, unless they have the money to go on vacation which normally would be ranged from 2 weeks to one month at most. Then when they come back, they usually go about their regular routines. Some people would say they had fun ALL summer but I would ask: oh really? Did you go to Disney World or stay out of state for all three months doing something every day of summer? That would be too costly and unlikely. Personally, at the time of exams and taking an AP class, breaks and extra days seem like heaven. I want to study for exams and ask questions in my weak subjects, but the time does not allow me to (or I am terrible at time managing >_<). This schedule would be a relief to students who are passionate about school or what they are going to do in the future, and if all of this is not reasonable, compare the United States’ schools’ academic ranks to other countries who have this schedule right now, such as Japan, Russia, and Korea. I am for changing the current school year schedule to a four day school week.

Yeah it's long >_< ... but it is broken down into the benefits and other links and the main points of arguement are in the highlights section.

__Some highlights __ -Shorter school week= more time for teachers and students to have that one extra needed day for school work or a rest day. - also the all year round school, but don't get at me just yet! there will be the same amount of teaching days without making the school day longer (because who wants that?) so the winter, spring, and summer break would equal to the amount of the current summer vacation time. - from the all year round school with long breaks sprinkled here and there, the students could be opened to sports and extra curriculars that only happen during a specific time of the year such as snowboarding in the winter to surfing in the summer which encourages better health of the society. - that Friday with no-school will give students a break to catch up on school work (and sleep) to help reduce stress and also improve health. ^_^

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(That extra time can be utilized to help bond family and friends please see "students and other benefits" page)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(financial benefits were not in my essay but to make my arguement stronger, look at the "financial benefits" page)