Persuasive Essay On Shorter School Hours

In some states and cities across the country, public schools have begun to short their day in order to save money. While in other states, schools have lengthened the day in order to increase learning time. There are positives and negatives about each situation. However, I believe that slightly shorter school days could benefit many students.
The average school day in the United States is 6.64 hours and this does not include extracurricular activities and sports. Students involved in activities often do not get home until 5 to 9 P.M., which leaves little time to complete homework. When students stay up late completing homework, they have the risk of having immune system problems.The average teenager needs about 8 hours of sleep to function properly. Being at school all day …show more content…
This would give students five hours of learning time and extra time after school. Also students would be able to wake up slightly later than they would typically for school. When the students wake up later, they could have more energy to complete their school day. At 1:15 students could report to a designated classroom to complete homework. This study session could last for 1-2 hours, depending on the amount of homework. By completing their homework directly after school, students could go home and spend time with their families. Finally students could go to bed on time and receive the recommended hours of sleep.
Obviously a shorter school day has many benefits including more time with family, more time to study, and more time to sleep. However, a shorter school day does have its negatives. For example, students would lose crucial learning time and have more time to watch television, play video games etc. Those things would be of no benefit to the student’s future. Possibly the average school day length is enough, but regardless many children are losing sleep, which can negatively impact their