In the “Baltimore County Public Schools” 2020-2021 virtual school year, each week consisted of four days with synchronous classes and the fifth day being an asynchronous work day. Since then, there have been many discussions about permanently changing the school week to four days with a fifth day for independent study.

  A survey given out to Dulaney students showed 95.3 percent of students want a four day school week. A four day school week could be greatly beneficial for many students who find an extra work day their only way to keep up with the abundance of assignments that are given to them. A week with an asynchronous work day would also give teachers an opportunity to meet individually with students who require additional assistance. Students are given an extensive amount of homework and many are also involved with different clubs, sports and other extracurricular activities. Changing the school week to four days would give students a day to catch up on their work, sleep, extracurriculars and social life.  

There is an immense amount of pressure to become a well rounded student by participating in a variety of activities to create the “perfect” resume. This kind of pressure on high school students leads to burnout and constant stress which is not healthy for anyone.  Overwhelming stress has become an increasing problem for many high school students who struggle with meeting the ever increasing demands placed on them at school and at home.  Finding a balance which allows students to achieve and be successful is important to healthy development.  

High school students find themselves committing hours of time away from school doing homework after completing a six hour school day. Additionally, students involved in sports or clubs after school have even more difficulty finding time to accomplish all of the work assigned to them.  Students should have some homework in order to have extra practice to study for their classes. But, the quantity of work that is given in many cases is too much, allowing very little time for students to relax and have their own time to do things that they enjoy. It is extremely important that students have time to do things that they enjoy and make them happy. High schoolers carry the unfortunate burden of spending a majority of their time stressing over the next test, competition or time they can see friends even when they are not in school.  

Mental and physical health and well being go hand in hand. Adults, for the most part, are limited to a 40 hour work week. Students should not be required to do more or be held to different standards than their parents. Six hour days, plus homework and extracurricular activities quickly run higher than 40 hours. A four day work week would allow students to spend a solid day independently focusing on their studies and health, without compromising our school’s core curriculum goals.

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