Wow! The week is already half over. Maybe all of our work weeks should be four days long. I think we'd not only be happier, but also more productive because people wouldn't be running around tired all day long. Did you know that workers in the United States work longer hours and have fewer holidays than many people working in Europe? Actually, while countries such as Japan, Italy, the UK and others are seeing their average per week work hour decrease, the United States is seeing an increase in the number of hours worked. Could this decrease in working time lead to an increase in productivity? What about school hours?
The Federal Government does not dictate to schools the number of days or hours that you have to spend at school. That task is given to the states. Most states require the school year to be at least 180 days long. 2 states have a longer school year, 11 states have a shorter school year, and one state (Minnesota) does not have a requirement for the number of days public school students must attend schools. So, it is safe to say that the average U.S. students spends at least 180 days per year in school, with each school day averaging about 6.3 hours (you can check out other averages
here) Our school day is over 6 hours long here in Newberg. Do you feel it should be shorter? Longer?
What if we went to school for 8 hours per day for 4 days each week (that'd be 10 hours per day for teachers...which many of us spend anyway)? Then, we'd have a four day work week and a three day weekend. Do you think we'd be as productive? More productive?
In fact, some schools in the U.S. have done just that. But, not for the 3 day weekend, they've gone to four 10 hour days in order to save money (less gas for the bus = more money for the school...you can read about that
here).
Our time is so valuable that the government actually has a group of people who survey Americans about their time use. The findings from the
American Time Use Survey are used by government agencies, business and the general public to change daily habits, make laws, sell products and do a variety of other things.
So, what do you think? Respond to 2 or more of the questions I've asked above and receive extra credit in CORE (responses need to be school appropriate, thoughtful and try to keep them error free)...you haven't got much time, so get started! :)
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