Pros And Cons Of Extended School Days

Almost thirteen years of a child’s life is spent in school; it is a huge part of a person’s development. School has a different effect on every student who walks through the doors; no two people have the exact same feelings towards it. Some students enjoy school and look forward to learning. Others dread it and view school as something they’re forced to do. Many students look at it as a time to laugh and play, but they forget the main purpose of school: to learn. The problem is that students are falling more and more behind in core subjects. Many educators believe that adding time to the school day will help increase test scores and educate students who are struggling. Others believe that lengthening the school days won’t have a real impact.

There are multiple things that could keep students from excelling in school. According to ‘Pros vs. Cons of Extended School Days’, “Before deciding to extend the school day, consider changes that can be incorporated to solve the specific issues the school is facing.” Extending school hours is the easy way to approach the issue, but it isn’t that simple. One cause of low test scores is the misuse of time in class. There are many students who have trouble with time management. They often struggle to finish their work on time because they’re engaged in conversations or things other than their assignment. Others sleep during class or skip and miss the lesson all together. This is a big part of the problem and longer school days will do nothing to fix it. Also, students get distracted during school as it is. Additional hours will increase the number of students who are off task which will defeat the entire purpose of longer school

It will cause students to be more off task than they already are. Students have trouble focusing during the current school hours, so anything extra is asking for distracted students. Also, it will cause students to miss out on outside interests. Many students are interested in clubs and sports outside of school. There are students who have after school jobs as well. In addition, the teachers have a life outside of school. They have families and other responsibilites. Extra hours in school will cut into time for other things and make life harder on everyone. Overall, the cons of longer school hours outweigh the pros. School hours should not be extended for the sake of the students and their