Amy Shell

Persuasive Speech

SC 105-01H

April 22, 2013

Title: No More Mondays?!

Purpose: To persuade the audience to support shorter school weeks.

Introduction:

  1. Have you ever left a sink faucet running while you were gone all day?
  2. What about leaving your car on while you sleep at night?
  3. I’m assuming no one in this room has done those things on purpose.
  4. It’s a waste and just doesn’t make sense.
  5. What if I told you it doesn’t make much sense the way some of our school systems operate?
  6. It’s as pointless as starting your car in the morning and heading back to bed.
  7. There could be a much more efficient way to run things.
  8. Many rural schools around our country have begun implementing a new type of school week, by eliminating a day entirely.
  9. States with school districts that have started this system include Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Louisiana, New Mexico, Idaho, and Nebraska. (Beesley & Anderson, 2007)
  10. They are onto something well worth considering.
  1. [Thesis] Our community will benefit from extended school days and shortened school weeks.
  2. [Preview] Just by making this minute change, families and schools alike will appreciate the payoff.

Body:

  1. The process to planning a four-day school week is a relatively simple one.
  1. Most states have a minimum requirement of hours that students must be in attendance at school.
  2. In Missouri, that number is 1,044 hours.
  3. Missouri must also be in attendance for 174 days, if using the 5 days a week system.
  4. This means that in a 5 day school-week, students are required to be there for 6 hours per day.
  5. If using a 4 day school-week system, students are required to be in school for 142 days at 7 ½ hours per day.
  6. Most schools in Missouri already go from 8-3, or some type of 7 hour day.
  7. This means that all school districts would have to do is add anywhere from half an hour to an hour every day.
  8. By doing this, they could eliminate a fifth day of school every week and still be in compliance with state law. (“Missouri department” 2011)
  9. Think about it – one less day every week.
  10. I don’t know about you, but I love weekends, and I would appreciate a three-day weekend every weekend!
  11. The week would get off to a better start as well: Eliminating school on Mondays could help combat the “Monday Blues.”
  12. In addition, many federal holidays fall on Mondays, making it convenient to create a day off of school.
  13. [Transition] Not only can a four-day week be easily accomplished but if our community applies this strategy in our school districts, we can also help families.
  1. Switching to this system of schooling benefits children and families alike.
  1. Students waste less time with this proposed four-day system.
  2. A study done at Colorado State University reported that in one rural school –
  3. 51% of intermediate students said they “just goof around” on Friday.
  4. 68% said they had more time to plan and do things at home.
  5. 65% reported that they had more time to prepare for class.
  6. 72% had more time for family and friends.
  7. 60% had more time to work a part-time job.
  8. 53% of parents said there was more time for family.
  9. 51% said there was more time for the child to work at home.
  10. 62% said there was more time for appointments, such as a dental checkup.
  11. In addition to working, babysitting, family trips, and dealing with appointments students said they did homework on the extra day (Beesley & Anderson, 2007).
  12. If you’re worried that parents will be unable to find child care for the eliminated day of school, there’s a solution for that as well.
  1. In the same study from Colorado State University, researchers found that “students often arrived home on school days just a little earlier than their parents did which reduced or eliminated latchkey issues for many families.” (Yarbrough & Gilman, 2006)
  2. School districts would apply this four-day week from elementary to high schools.
  3. Multiple high school babysitters or nannies become available for small children that cannot care for themselves.
  4. This also creates more jobs for teenagers struggling to find work.
  5. As researchers Yarbrough and Gilman report in recent issue of Educational Leadership, “In general, families found it just as easy arranging a single day of babysitting as arranging a couple of hours five days a week.” (Yarbrough & Gilman, 2006)

(Internal transition): There are other noteworthy benefits as well.

  1. Test scores are uninterrupted, and often increase.
  1. Merryville High School belongs to a school district in Louisiana that began using the four day school week in response to budget cuts.
  2. While they were initially worried about the academic problems they might face, they found that overall grades improved.
  3. Not only were grades better, but other improvements also were seen.
  4. More students made the Honor Roll
  5. Test scores improved, such as the ACT.
  6. The Colorado school district found that its ACT scores grew an average of 2 points and are now higher than the state’s average, ultimately leading to more scholarships for students (Chmelynski, 2003).
  1. The fifth, eliminated day would not be a waste of time.
  2. Students can come in for a few hours for remediation or extra tutoring.
  3. This, in turn, motivates students to work hard and keep their grades up so they won’t have to come in on their “free day”.
  4. Schools could also offer the option of allowing students to come in and do research in a library or make up schoolwork and tests.
  5. Moreover, students who break school rules can come in and do tasks such as sweeping and mopping floors, washing windows, or landscaping instead of facing suspension (Chmelynski, 2003).
  6. [Transition] Students and families are not the only ones to benefit from a four-day school-week; schools could also gain from this alteration in the schedule.
  1. Schools will profit from this change.
  1. An extra day becomes available for students and teachers to schedule appointments and routine business matters, instead of missing school.
  2. This reduces absences from students and additional costs for substitute teachers.
  3. As Susan Schank, a member of Kansas City’s Federation of Teachers and Personnel,observes“Mondays could be used for professional development, eliminating the need to release students during this activity” (Schank, 2009).
  4. In addition, if snow days start to cut into summer vacation, they could easily be made up on the fifth day.
  5. Schools are also able to save money during detrimental budget cuts through four-day school weeks.
  1. Yarbrough and Gilman , cited earlier, report that some schools have been able to save as much as $200,000 a year, or 2% of their annual budget (Yarbrough & Gilman, 2006).
  2. The same studyfound that the four-day school week saved 7-25% heating fuel costs over what schools were spending with a five-day week.
  3. Schoolswere able to help the environment and energy costs on the fifth day by leaving the lights off and reducing heating and cooling.
  4. They were also able to save by paying less for gasoline and bus maintenance.
  5. Many schools have even been able to cut 20% from their transportation costs, because some bus routes can be almost 100 miles a day. (Chmelynski, 2003). Just think, too, fewer miles equals fewer emissions!
  1. Some schools have seen additional advantages after their switch in school weeks. This includes:
  1. A decline in dropout rates.
  2. Decreased disciplinary referrals.
  3. Improved attendance.
  4. Fewer class interruptions.
  5. More positive attitudes about school.
  6. Better staff development.
  7. Greater participation in extracurricular activities (Yarbrough & Gilman, 2006).
  1. [Transition] Now that we know how four-day school weeks will benefit our schools, let’s put words into action.

Conclusion:

  1. If we’re looking to promote efficiency in our community, we now know one means of doing so that would prove quite worthwhile.
  2. All it takes is a simple re-working of a school district’s calendar and the lives of our families and children will change.
  3. Schools would be wise implement this change—deriving a wide range of benefits.
  4. So I encourage you: Go home. Tell your families.
  5. If , or when, you have a child, consider contracting the school board, and see if this could be an option for your community. With all the benefits we’re seeing, they’ll surely listen.

Works Cited

Beesley, A., & Anderson, C. (n.d.). The four-day school week: Information and recommendations. (2007). Rural Educator, 29(1), 48-55. Retrieved from

Chmelynski, C. (n.d.). Four-day school weeks? Only if they fit. (2003). Education Digest, 68(5), Retrieved from

Missouri department of elementary & secondary education. (2001, October 17). Retrieved from

Schank, S. (n.d.). Should schools adopt four-day schedule? Yes. (2009). American Teacher, 93(8), 3-3. Retrieved from http>://library.semo.edu:2343/ehost/detail?sid=125bf232 9b01-44458b05a015ddac0245@sessionmgr114&vid=1&hid=118&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZW

Hvc3QtbG12ZQ==

Yarbrough, R., & Gilman, D. (n.d.). From five days to four. (2006). Educational Leadership, 64(2), 80-85. Retrieved from