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Yet another school district shifts to 4-day week and parents are sounding off

So...when are we getting the matching 4-day work week?

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Students working; an empty classroom.

When talking with other parents I know, it's hard not to sound like a grumpy old man when we get around to discussing school schedules: "Am I the only one who feels like kids have so many days off? I never got that many days off when I was a kid! And I had to go work in the coal mine after, too!" I know what I sound like, but I just can't help it.

In Georgia where I live, we have a shorter summer break than some other parts of the country. But my kids have the entire week of Thanksgiving off, a week in September, two whole weeks at Christmas, a whole week off in February, and a weeklong spring break. They have asynchronous days (during which they complete assignments at home, which usually takes about 30 minutes) about once a month, and they have two or three half-day weeks throughout the year. Quite honestly, it feels like they're never in school for very long before they get another break, which makes it tough to get in a rhythm with work and career goals. Plus, we're constantly arranging day camps and other childcare options for all the time off. After a quick search, I can confirm I'm not losing my mind: American kids have fewer school days than most other major countries.

 school's out, school days, school week, work week, schedules Schools Out Fun GIF by Pen Pals  Giphy  

So, it caught my attention in a major way when I read that Whitney Independent School District in Texas recently decided to enact a four-day week heading into the 2025 school year. That makes it one of dozens of school districts in Texas to make the change and over 900 nationally.

The thought of having the kids home from school EVERY Friday or Monday makes me want to break out in stress hives, but this four-day school week movement isn't designed to give parents a headache. It's meant to lure teachers back to work.

Yes, teachers are leaving the profession in droves and young graduates don't seem eager to replace them. Why? For starters, the pay is bad—but that's just the beginning. Teachers are burnt out, undermined and criticized relentlessly, held hostage by standardized testing, and more. It can be a grueling, demoralizing, and thankless job. The love and passion they have for shaping the youth of tomorrow can only take you so far when you feel like you're constantly getting the short end of the stick.

School districts want to pay their teachers more, in theory, but their hands are often tied. So, they're getting creative to recruit the next generation of teachers into their schools—starting with an extra day off for planning, catch-up, or family time every week.

Teachers in four-day districts often love the new schedule. Kids love it (obviously). It's the parents who, as a whole, aren't super thrilled.

 school, kids, teachers, instruction time, classes, schedule Class in session Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash  

So far, the data shows that the truncated schedule perk is working. In these districts, job applications for teachers are up, retirements are down, and teachers are reporting better mental well-being. That's great news!

But these positive developments may be coming at the price of the working parents in the communities. Most early adopters of the four-day week have been rural communities with a high prevalence of stay-at-home parents. As the idea starts to take hold in other parts of the country, it's getting more pushback. Discussions on Reddit, Facebook, and other social media platforms are overrun with debate on how this is all going to shake up. Some parents, to be fair, like the idea! If they stay-at-home or have a lot of flexibility, they see it as an opportunity for more family time. But many are feeling anxious. Here's what's got those parents worried:

The effect on students' achievement is still unclear.

The execution of the four-day week varies from district to district. Some schools extend the length of each of the four days, making the total instructional time the same. That makes for a really long day, and some teachers say the students are tired and more unruly by the late afternoon. Some districts are just going with less instruction time overall, which has parents concerned that their kids might fall behind.

Four-day school weeks put parents in a childcare bind.

Having two working parents is becoming more common and necessary with the high cost of living. I know, I know—"school isn't daycare!" But it is the safe, reliable, and educational place we send our kids while we we work.

Families with money and resources may be able to enroll their kids in more academics, extracurriculars, sports, or childcare, but a lot of normal families won't be able to afford that cost. Some schools running a four-day week offer a paid childcare option for the day off, but that's an added expense and for families with multiple kids in the school system, it's just not possible.

This will inevitably end with some kids getting way more screentime.

With most parents still working five-day weeks, and the cost of extra activities or childcare too high, a lot of kids are going to end up sitting around on the couch with their iPad on those days off. I'm no expert, and I'm certainly not against screentime, but adding another several hours of it to a child's week seems less than ideal.

Of course there are other options other than paid childcare and iPads. There are play dates, there's getting help from family and friends. All of these options are an enormous amount of work to arrange for parents who are already at capacity.

Working four days is definitely a win for teachers that makes the job more appealing. But it doesn't address the systemic issues that are driving them to quit, retire early, or give up their dreams of teaching all together.

 teachers, stress, education, work, job Season 3 Running GIF by The Simpsons  Giphy  

A Commissioner of Education from Missouri calls truncated schedules a "band-aid solution with diminishing returns." Having an extra planning day won't stop teachers from getting scapegoated by politicians or held to impossible curriculum standards, it won't keep them from having to buy their own supplies or deal with ever-worsening student behavior.

Some teachers and other experts have suggested having a modified five-day school week, where one of the days gets set aside as a teacher planning day while students are still on-site participating in clubs, music, art—you know, all the stuff that's been getting cut in recent years. Something like that could work in some places.

As a dad, I don't mind the idea of my busy kids having an extra day off to unwind, pursue hobbies, see friends, catch up on projects, or spend time as a family. And I'm also very much in favor of anything that takes pressure off of overworked teachers. But until we adopt a four-day work week as the standard, the four-day school week is always going to feel a little out of place.

This article originally appeared in February. It has been updated.

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Teacher reveals 4 surprising skills children need to have before they enter fifth grade

Students need these skills not just for academic reasons but for safety and survival.

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Teacher reveals the surprising skills kids need before fifth grade.

Being a teacher is not an easy job, and no one enters the teaching profession because they think they're going to make a lot of money. Most teachers go into the field knowing that they would likely struggle making ends meet but carry a deep desire for shaping young minds.

But because of things like excessive standardized test preparation due to school districts' funds being tied to test scores, teachers don't always have time to teach basic things some students might have missed along the way. This can cause some frustration from everyone involved because in the end a child is not able to receive the proper tools for success. To fill in that gap, teachers rely on parents to help prepare their children to be as successful as possible in school.

Mr. Wilson, who goes by the name Mr. Wilson's Twin Brother on TikTok, shares several things he's noticed about the students entering his fifth grade classroom over the past several years and reveals four skills children need to have before entering the fifth grade. The list may be surprising for some, though judging by the response from teachers, being underprepared is an all too common issue.


@iammrwilson313

For the safety of your child, you HAVE to make sure they have these 4 skills before meeting their fifth grade teacher!!! Not for us, for THEM. #teachersoftiktok #blackeducator #lifeofateacher #5thgrade #maleteachers

Mr. Wilson prefaces the video by saying, "I take it as a point of pride that I make my classroom accessible to all different types of children, but the main goal of a fifth grade classroom is to prepare a child for the increased demands of middle school. And as you know, middle school is a type of place where there are seven different teachers and they don't have the same ethic of care as an elementary school teacher does. Some of them will and some of them try to but due to the structure of middle school it's just not feasible."

The teacher goes on to explain that the children entering middle school need to have a certain level of basic skill, not just for academic purposes, but for safety and survival. These are the things he says are imperative students know before reaching fifth grade classrooms:

boy writing on printer paper near girlFifth graders need to write their name on every paper. Photo by Santi Vedrí on Unsplash

1. Consistently and automatically writing their name

Mr. Wilson says, "Those of you who are not teachers may be really, really appalled that this is where the list is starting but when I tell you in each of my five years of teaching I have to give a test the very first week of school to make sure my children can spell their names. And when I tell you that in those five years of teaching that I have never had a class where 100% of those students pass."

Wilson clarifies that he's not speaking about children that have significant intellectual and developmental delays, but those who have somehow been passed along.

2. Reading beyond CVC words

CVC words stand for consonant, vowel, consonant, and Wilson gave the examples of short first words like "cat," "bat," and "run." These are some of the very first words children learn to read in kindergarten. They start with a consonant, have a vowel in the middle and end with another consonant. Wilson explains that some of the fifth graders entering his classroom can't read beyond these simple words, which hinders their progress because the curriculum requires children to read paragraphs.

girl sitting while reading bookThey need to read beyond "Hop on Pop." Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

3. Knowing how to add and subtract simple problems

Wilson shares that math is an area where he tends to give a little more grace to the children because so many students struggle with being confident in math. But he notes that by the fifth grade, math skills crank up several notches so counting on their fingers to solve simple single digit subtraction and addition problems can be an issue. This is because fifth grade is the year that they focus heavily on math skills that build on the knowledge of simple addition and subtraction. Before fifth grade ends, students are expected to master multiplication, multiplication and division of decimals, and more.

4. Easily recalling their address and parents' phone numbers

"If for whatever reason I call your kid over to my classroom phone and say, 'Hey, give me a phone number for mom or dad' and they don't know that number, how are they going to get home if God forbid they're out in the world alone, isolated and somebody comes over to them and says, 'Hey, I want to call your parents to help you get in contact with them,' and they don't know what phone number to call," Wilson asks.

boy sitting on concrete stairsboy sitting on concrete stairs Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

In the end, Wilson shares that he's speaking from an area of concern and not judgment because things have been hard for everyone since Covid. He explains that a lot of the skills are not just things that qualify kids for the fifth grade, but things everyone should be able to do to be safe in the world. Several teachers lent their support for his message by relaying their own stories.

"My 8th grade students legitimately struggle to write their names consistently and their handwriting is atrocious," a fellow teacher admits.

"I've had 5th graders that didn't know their birthday," another says.

"In my experience 5th grade is the hardest elementary grade to teach because the academic leap is so wide," someone else shares.

Wilson and others offered some tips to help get the kids who need these skills back on track. Working with the kids at home is a recurring theme in the comments. One parent suggested changing the WiFi password to the parent's phone number to help with memorizing. Wilson shares that if a parent is concerned that their child is missing these skills then one of the most helpful things to do is to ask the school to hold the child back. He explains that this will give the child more time to catch up on the skills they're missing and build maturity needed to succeed in the next grade.

While the message may be harsh for parents and caregivers to hear, it sounds like Wilson isn't simply complaining but making parents aware of an issue they may not know they need to check for. Hopefully sharing this honest message with others will help children excel in fifth grade and beyond.

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Teachers reunite in magical moment to honor former student who always sent thank you letters

Minna Yang began sending notes to teachers in elementary school and never stopped. Those teachers never forgot her.

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So much gratitude racked up over time

Many of us have sent a thank you to that one special teacher who really made an impact during our school days. Those standout heroes who taught us how to shine, grow beyond our limitations, and see the beauty of our potential.

However, Minnesota high school senior Minna Yang has gone above and beyond, sending literally hundreds of notes of appreciation to every single one of her teachers. Yes. Every. Single. One.

Yang began this sweet gesture as a shy elementary student and never stopped. Not only did she add new teachers to the list, she continued writing to teachers from her previous years, so the list would grow exponentially. By her senior year, she had 74 teachers and staffers in total who would receive a note.

“It became a mission for her to leave a wake of positivity,” Sarah Wolfe, one of Yang’s teachers, told NBC News.

To respond in kind, Yang’s teachers banded together on their own mission. The day before her high school graduation, a small crowd of her former educators gathered to celebrate Yang's generosity and offer their own words of appreciation.

“I take your note out every time I feel like I can’t do it, and you help me do it,” one teacher said.

Teaching, as we well know, isn't an easy job. And in some ways—especially monetarily—it’s a thankless one. Not getting paid enough while taking on more and more responsibilities has caused many teachers to quit the job they love, after all.

But still, people continue to take it on as a vocation because of an inner drive to help and nurture young people and help them become the best version of themselves. I imagine getting a note does indeed help them remember why they chose the career in the first place. They deserve so much more, yes, but, as we can see from the exchange below, knowing they made a difference in their students’ lives is priceless.

Watch:

Yang's teachers weren't the only ones moved by her generosity. Several folks commended her attitude in the comments section.

"What's amazingly beautiful is that every teacher seems to have saved the notes she sent them. What a caring human being, one that touched a lot of adults in her life. That is priceless and doesn't happen often."

"She is an upstanding human being who recognizes and respects her teachers who molded her as a person and helped her grow. She is an inspiration to many and will no doubt succeed in life because of her character and the fact that she values the relationships with those who helped her along her journey."

"We need more people like her in the world, especially in this day and age. God bless you Minna in all you do."

Yang might be the student here. But she's giving a great lesson on kindness that we can all learn from.

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Teacher brought to tears by a very special surprise during an online class

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

Teaching over Zoom can be rough. It's the little things…

I only have one Zoom meeting a week, and I find myself facing screen fatigue. I can only imagine the challenges that teachers have been continuously facing during this pandemic—overcoming tech issues, keeping the attention of multiple students from a distance, establishing a stimulating educational environment in a literally sense-less virtual space—all this with little help, and oftentimes even less appreciation.

But then again they don’t do it for the praise, they do it out of a genuine calling to help develop young minds. They certainly don’t do it for the pay.

Still, one group of students found the most heartfelt way to surprise their teacher, and it’s a powerful reminder of why education providers should get a “thank you” during this time.

At first, the teacher thinks that none of his students have their cameras on in order to be “cool.”

“Is that the new cool thing to do-not turn your camera on?” he innocently asks during an online class. “I’ve heard that in some classes, nobody turns their camera on, including the instructor.”

Clearly not this instructor. He’s the only one whose face is visible in a sea of Zoom squares.

Trying to laugh it off, he can’t help but ask, “Seriously is it my fault that you have your cameras off?” he’s met with an awkward silence.

Finally, someone speaks up. A student says, “Dr. Brown, we actually kind of wanted to do something.”

The cameras turn on, and instead of faces, the screen is flooding with handwritten notes of gratitude for Dr. Brown.

One of the most visible messages says, “thank you for making a difference every day.”

Moved, Dr. Brown says, “Oh, you guys…you’re gonna make me cry.” And he does.

The video inspired other people to share their own similar stories.

One person wrote, “During the early days of remote learning, I heard my daughter's history teacher trying everything in his power to just get the kids to respond to him saying "good morning, how are you?" Just....silence. Even if he'd call on them individually. All the cameras were off, despite him all but begging them to turn them on. And this was a teacher they LOVED during normal times…Teachers don't have it easy even on normal days...I can't imagine how hard it was trying to pivot to remote, then hybrid, then in-person....then remote....”

Another person added, “My husband is a teacher…Every day, he fights for his kids. Every day. He works longer hours than I do - even though my shifts are ten hours a day - and even as parents yell at him, the administration refuses to provide curriculum and instead gives busywork, and the pandemic makes it all but impossible to keep kids engaged, he keeps trying to give his kids the kindness, empathy, and understanding they deserve. Teachers are doing their utmost right now. Please, be kind to them.”

It’s hard out there right now, for everyone. But little acts of kindness like this really do make a difference. Here’s to a win for human connection.

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