Is a 7 Hour School Day Too Long?

On average, a typical school day lasts 7 hours. Students begin school at 8:00 am and typically will end school at 3:00-3:30 pm. Throughout the day, students may have 4-6 classes, depending on how long each class is and what it requires. As a student in twelfth grade, I have had the experience of waking up every day at 6:30 and going through a school day that students call ‘long’. I have also heard students say that the school day is not long and lasts a suitable amount of time to get everything done. I have therefore decided to interview students from multiple different schools in order to understand what students believe is a long school day.

As I spoke to students, I found many students believed that the school day was not as long as most say it is. They mentioned feeling that a 7 hour school day gives students engagement throughout the day and entertains them in an effective way. Although they may not enjoy all of their subjects, school is an effective method in keeping them busy. Speaking to my friend A. Reis, who currently attends Mahattan College but attended Iona Prep High School in New York last year, he mentioned that his school day began at 8:40 and ended at 2:40. In comparison to the school hours of AISG, the school hours of Iona Prep were over an hour shorter. He specifically said “I think that my school day in high school could be longer. I found that there wasn’t enough time to complete work and a lot of work was left for home”. A. Reis also mentioned that his classes were 40 minutes each and that he finds college to hold way more freedom in regards to class scheduling.

I also decided to speak to Esther, a sophomore who attends AISG. Ester presented the opposite viewpoint, saying that she feels as though the typical school day is too long. “The longer I sit in classes, the more I tend to zone out and therefore am not always paying attention to what is going on”. The way Esther feels is common among most students, as we all know students are often on Facebook instead of TEAMS. It is to be noted that from personal experience, the last period of the day is when I tend to zone out the most.

The interviews above clearly show the differences in opinions regarding whether or not the school day is too long or not. Some students believe that a longer school day gives the opportunity to learn more and to get more done. Some students such as Esther and myself find that a 7 hour school day is too long and hinders us from gaining knowledge. Although each school is different, implementing a 7 hour school day for younger grades would be a beneficial means in allowing students to adapt to these hours in future grades.

Do you think that 7 hours in a school day is too long?

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