"Plan to end the 9am to 3pm school day in NSW" - The Age

[Joseph41]

What do you think? What should school hours be? I think I had something like 8.45am until 3.15pm, but probably would have preferred something like 7.45am until 2.15pm personally.

How about you?

Article from The Age: https://www.theage.com.au/politics/nsw/plan-to-end-the-9am-to-3pm-school-day-in-nsw-20210617-p581w3.html

The traditional 9am to 3pm school day will be overhauled as the NSW government starts trials in primary schools to stagger start and finish times to boost productivity and flexibility for families.

In a radical move from typical school hours, the government will encourage principals to work with parents and students to find innovative ways to modernise the school day.

Pay-walled, but it's still a good discussion-starter!

[mabajas76]

Wow that is interesting, maybe even the Italian system of a few hour break in between to go home and have lunch. If I had to choose however, I would actually boost it up, my school starts at 8:30 and ends at 3:20. I would prefer something like 10:00 to 4:50, I feel like it allows for more sleep for students who find themselves sleeping too late, but also encourages doing work in the morning in stead of cramming it the night before. It also provides the opportunity for students to arrive eat school on time, it would fix the debate on whether lunch or recess is first and also allow events to be run in the morning without holding students back, also evening events do not cause students to be held back for as long. Also it provides enough time for students to get home and have dinner instead of get home, snack then have dinner.

[The Cat In The Hat]

Wow that is interesting, maybe even the Italian system of a few hour break in between to go home and have lunch. If I had to choose however, I would actually boost it up, my school starts at 8:30 and ends at 3:20. I would prefer something like 10:00 to 4:50, I feel like it allows for more sleep for students who find themselves sleeping too late, but also encourages doing work in the morning in stead of cramming it the night before. It also provides the opportunity for students to arrive eat school on time, it would fix the debate on whether lunch or recess is first and also allow events to be run in the morning without holding students back, also evening events do not cause students to be held back for as long. Also it provides enough time for students to get home and have dinner instead of get home, snack then have dinner.

I understand your point, but science has shown that cramming stuff the night before vs cramming in the morning actually works better, if you've slept on something you'll remember it more!
Personally I would prefer something like 8-2 or even 7.30-1.30 and shift the breaks around.

[Coolmate]

What do you think? What should school hours be? I think I had something like 8.45am until 3.15pm, but probably would have preferred something like 7.45am until 2.15pm personally.

How about you?

Article from The Age: https://www.theage.com.au/politics/nsw/plan-to-end-the-9am-to-3pm-school-day-in-nsw-20210617-p581w3.html

Pay-walled, but it's still a good discussion-starter!

Thanks for sharing, I found this really interesting

I personally feel like starting later and ending later like 11AM - 5PM, would be good for me as I am a night owl, but I also see the value in others wanting it to start at like 7AM. Although, students who need to travel long distances to get to their institution could end up being very tired (like waking up at 5AM or something).

Coolmate

[blueycan]

The proposed system reminds me of schools in countries such as Turkey that have a double shift system to accomodate the overcrowding of schools. It also makes me think of schools in South Korea that have super long days, like 9am to 3pm and then school organised self-study periods that can lead to kids being at school as late as 10pm. I think as long as a school's choice fits the opinions and preferences of the students/families that a staggered system would be beneficial. I also think the ability to choose which "shift" you'd like to attend, for both students and staff is important, as people with factors like long travel times or limited transport options could be put in a tough spot.
Recently our school has shifted fully to a 9:00 to 2:50 timetable. Personally, I'd prefer a later start so I could sleep in and have time to be productive in the morning– maybe something like 10:00 to 4:00? I could understand why a super early start and early finish could be appealing to others, especially those who have to work or engage in care-taking, e.t.c.

[mabajas76]

Oh here is another thing I heard, by making school times earlier, u can miss the rush of traffic which is nice, so when there r typically the least cars on the road people will be going home, more traffic but its during a less busy time!