The best feeling is having a random Monday or Friday off during the school year. It breaks up the week, and you get an extra day on the weekend. Now imagine having that feeling every week–having an extra day to do what you wish, every week of the school year.

This debate has been going on for quite some time and everyone leans one way instantly. Clearly, having more school per day for fewer days is more attractive. As previously mentioned, every weekend would become a three-day weekend. Every weekend would then have more time for you to get more done, do more things you want to do, give you more time to relax, the list goes on. 

Now this may all seem like rainbows and butterflies, but with this extra day off, the other seven hours of the school week don’t just disappear and go out the window—they have to go somewhere. And that somewhere is the other four days of the week.

The traditional 35 hour school week consists of about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Going either Monday to Thursday or Tuesday to Friday, those extra seven hours have got to be implemented somehow and someway. Perhaps making those four days 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., or another combination, would work.

It may seem to be a lot at first, but in hindsight it’s not that bad as it seems. The two extra hours for four days–as opposed to a whole extra day of getting out of bed, commuting to school, and coming home exhausted–doesn’t seem that bad when put in that perspective. 

Beside personal preference, there are educational and professional benefits to this change in format of the week. For instance, the four-day week has proven to recruit and retain teachers for longer periods of time. This is especially important for school districts that are struggling with hiring. In addition to employing teachers, teacher attendance has risen, and so has student attendance, according to “Shortened Work Weeks: What Studies Show.” Positive trends in attendance only provide benefits. With more people at school, education tends toward the right direction. 

Additionally, stress levels of all people participating in this new format have dramatically decreased, according to “Shortened Work Weeks: What Studies Show.” Now, that could be for a number of reasons. Whether that be because students are more caught up on school because they are missing less school, students are more caught up on sleep, or teachers and students have more time to spend with friends and family, the benefits are endless.

Ultimately, schools should transition to the four-day work week with longer hours as opposed to the eight-hour, five-day week. The benefits and positive trends that reside from this change in structure far outweigh the minimal drawbacks. The pros of changing the format now will pave the way for a more productive and happier future.