New measure to push kids to study better at school. - Every Kid and Teenager are now Allowed to Skip School on Friday if their overall grades are Higher than 85%
Posted by SpaceBrachiosaurus@reddit | CrazyIdeas | View on Reddit | 103 comments
The idea is simple : why kids and teenagers don't like studying ? Simply because they don't see the incentive ! They don't care how important it is to be educated, They never felt the harshness of the job market. All they care about is videogames, fitting in groups, and attracting the other sex.
But what if you tell them "If your grades are higher than 85%, you're allowed to not go to school on Friday, thus having a 3day weekend (you still need to go the 4 other days) But everyone below 85% still needs to go and will be penalized if they miss attendance like usual"
it's a motivation they can immediately understand, not a abstract "education is important to prepare you for adult life and find a decent job" (which is true but most kids can't understand that)
TheJollyPlatypusMan@reddit
85% is not as high as you think it is.
jckipps@reddit
That would completely befuddle the lesson planning of every teacher out there. Imagine if half your class was missing one day a week. You'd have to teach everything in four days, and could only treat Friday as 'extra practice'.
MajesticBluebird68@reddit
Yeah, that makes sense. On Fridays, you can give each kid more specialised and personal teaching since there aren't nearly as many kids to teach.
SpaceBrachiosaurus@reddit (OP)
I didn't think about it but that's a pretty good point
Tak_Galaman@reddit
I thought that was the whole point!
raznov1@reddit
Maybe, but you still have to cover the same total content, just now in 4 days instead of 5. That rushing is gonna screw over the middle and lower end kids severly.
MajesticBluebird68@reddit
A lot of the time, it seems kids scoring 85%+ don't need the 5th day of the week, and the 5th day is what helps the middle and lower end kids.
Exotic_Bill44@reddit
But it's only going to help them in the sense that you can revisit the stuff you rushed through in the first four days.
dlpfc123@reddit
My school did this one year. Four days of classes and Friday was a study hall day where you could go get extra individual help or catch up on homework, or form a study group with your peers. I thought it was great!
octopus4488@reddit
Friday extra practice for the dumbos. I would love this.
alwayz@reddit
Its called summer school.
Nate_Christ@reddit
Oh summer school, so much better than normal school. I got a's or b's on every test and they still gave me a D in biology, too much homework. I wasted enough of my day by 3pm already why the hell was I gonna do 2 hours of homework? But hey got done with the work 2 weeks in and got to read books for the rest of it. Why couldn't I have done all my classes like that, I could have been through highschool by 18. Just study and tests, 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, 6 weeks a class. Amp it up to 2 classes at a time, cut out the boring ones and I coulda been through college by 16
SwimmingAir8274@reddit
And this is a con why...???
Those kids need extra help and now they have more individual time with their teachers
BearablePunz@reddit
that’s literally the point of the post, it’s not that hard to create a 4 day learning plan with a 5th day for review, that’s literally how school works already.
dinution@reddit
Sounds like a crazy idea
Minimum_Virus_3837@reddit
Yeah that idea for Fridays sounds more like a feature, not a bug. A smaller class to give more one-on-one help time and let them do any makeup quizzes, tests, etc to improve their scores. Frankly I know some teachers who already have days like this in their schedules just without the benefits of a smaller class or wasting the time of students who don't need the extra help.
The school could have a staffed open gym or outside area (weather depending of course) for younger students or students who still need a place to go on the days off (or they could still just go to school anyway, I doubt they'd be forced to skip). That could even be a thing to deter teachers from manipulating grades for a "day off"- if you're whole class is missing on Fridays you get to help supervise the open gym.
GreenFinShark420@reddit
Even fucking better
bourj@reddit
The real problem is that it puts the onus on the teacher to decide which kids can and can't have Friday off.
For one, a teacher can just ensure every kid has an 85% so they can just have a day off to grade any time they like. Or just have a permanent four day week with kids and an extra day off.
Also, a lot of teenagers who don't have a 85% would just skip school so they can be with their friends.
Finally, the negotiation over every 84% would be maddening for teachers.
SpaceBrachiosaurus@reddit (OP)
Yeah, those at every good points 😮💨
Turbulent_Ad_4225@reddit
How about each week there would be a standardized test, and each kid that gets above an 85 gets to skip next Friday, but will have to come back the Friday after that, or they can stack their skips. Do a bunch of tests at the beginning of the year, so they skip a bunch of Fridays at the end of the year.
ChewBoiDinho@reddit
Spending a Thursday not learning class material so that students can spend a Friday not learning class material is not the smart idea you think it is.
bourj@reddit
Standardized testing takes time, is expensive, and only measures achievement on a test that isn't created by the teacher. How would you do that weekly, and why would people want that?
shponglespore@reddit
New crazy idea: spend all day every Friday on standardized testing.
e3thomps@reddit
To add to this, I taught for a few years in a district where kids could opt out of finals with a higher than a B grade and good attendance, and it was increasingly a nightmare as exam time got closer and kids tried to patch up their shitty grades.
SpaceBrachiosaurus@reddit (OP)
Why was it a nightmare ?
Exotic_Bill44@reddit
I would assume everyone starts begging for extra credit or the chance to redo work or they start to question every grade they get.
Rough-Instruction-29@reddit
Plus all the parents saying it’s the teacher’s fault that their precious baby didn’t get 85%
Sptsjunkie@reddit
Or almost the opposite. Most parents are going to have work and actually want their kids to be at school.
bp3dots@reddit
Sorry, gotta give my kid an 84%, can't afford daycare.
Sharp_Ad_6336@reddit
Isn't that basically what's happening with passing kids who don't meet requirements anyways?
kerstn@reddit
Evaluation should be anonymous. Otherwise this will get even more fucked. 100% merit. Also kids in the good group should be entitled to attend fridays
BlackPlague1235@reddit
Then there is the kids who are neurodivergent and are likely going to struggle since schools often provide lackluster support for those with disabilities l.
FredOfMBOX@reddit
Add to that the bullying that would happen to the kids that have to go to school on Fridays.
gnomeannisanisland@reddit
And to the kids that don't
Unusual-Marzipan5465@reddit
...?
DemiGod9@reddit
Your teenager needs daycare?
DemiGod9@reddit
Would they be bullied by the other kids who are also there? How would the kids who didn't show up know?
shponglespore@reddit
Kids suck at keeping secrets. They have friends and siblings. They talk about thieves weekend. Everyone who cared would know.
AvacadoMoney@reddit
Could be helped by using GPA rather than a percent grade in any single class
droans@reddit
Or teachers giving every kid an 85 so they can take the day off
FrostyVariation9798@reddit
In lower socioeconomic schools most of the students don't know HOW to study. It's a confusing concept to them as they were never taught how, nor did any parent spend any time helping them understand what the style or styles of studying works best for each of them.
I write this having taught in a lower socio-economic school after teaching one year at an extremely high socioeconomic school that was in the same school district. I mean, the kids drove bmw's and mercedes to school at that high school. And the majority of middle schoolers there knew how to study, whereas the high schoolers at the lower socioeconomic school.couldn't hold a candle to the middle schoolers of the first.
Parental or family guidance is everything when it comes to studying.
thewickedbarnacle@reddit
Except that teaches a bad lesson, your boss isn't going to let you go home because you did some of your work. School isn't just about book learning.
Nate_Christ@reddit
It's about crushing your soul for 13 years straight, but not getting paid or actually having a meaningful effect. It was proposed by the steel industry to keep them out of trouble, but really to groom kids into becoming factory workers, like genuinely
nolettuceplease@reddit
We did that with final exams in my high school. It was correlated to absences as well as grades, so if you had an A/two or fewer absences or a B/one or fewer, you could be excused from the exam (at the discretion of the teacher; some didn’t choose to exempt anyone).
Nate_Christ@reddit
Same. I felt so bad for the kids that had a life
NoodleyP@reddit
Ours is A/6-, B/5-, C/3-, D/2-, F/You’re fuckin takin that shit
West-Engine7612@reddit
My kids district has been a 4 day week for several years now, M-Th. It's great and gives them a little more time to recoup for the next week.
chronos_kdjfragment@reddit
what if the syllabus is so content heavy that students must attend school on Friday in order to even complete the syllabus on time for exams? they can't just learn the stuff in advance, because they also have extra lessons outside of school, clubs to join, etc.
octopus4488@reddit
Our school had a similar system. The better your grades, the less they cared about your attendance.
In 3rd grade high school (so 17) I racked up 297 missed classes in 1 school year. I was a straight A student and skipped classes with the lamest excuses like "I need to rest before my tabletennis championship at 4 pm"...
Being "free" motivated me to wake up even at 5 am when needed to study sometimes.
Minimum_Virus_3837@reddit
My high school didn't have anything like this, but they did have a thing where if you made the honor roll you were allowed to go to any room you wanted during your study halls as long as you checked in with the study hall teacher and had a pass from the staff member you were going to, or if you had study hall during the split lunch period you just had to check in and could take a double length lunch. If you got in trouble though the privilege was revoked.
I thought it was great, I was fairly jock-ish then so I'd try to get study halls either during the lunch period or the last period of the day so I could have more time in the gym for pickup basketball with friends or things like that usually. Others used it to go to art or woodshop to work on their projects or the library to read, the computer lab, etc.
kegegeam@reddit
You guys had mandated rooms for study periods??? We were just free to do whatever. Lots of people went to the library but just as many people would go to maccas, or the gym, or wherever they liked. Of it was at the start or end of the day that's just more time at home
These_Storm_6417@reddit
I wish I had this. I missed 70+ days due to chronic illness, and I had perfect grades in all of my classes, including college and AP classes, and no missing work, and the school tried to tell my parents I had to go to summer school.
goodsam2@reddit
My school had it so that you could skip the last week of school if you had perfect attendance. I remember going in after my house caught fire the night before so I could skip that week.
Exotic_Bill44@reddit
That sounds like a great way to ensure kids have even more illnesses than they already do. Why stay home when you have the flu or covid when there's a reward for perfect attendance on the line?
Exotic_Bill44@reddit
It sounds like a really bad idea. You basically turn Friday into simply a remedial day since you aren't going to want to teach new topics when a significant portion of the class isn't there. You can't just say, "well they'll learn it by reading the book/using the online sources" because if that's the case, there's no reason for the teacher to be there at all. I will also point out that some kids (ie childhood me) barely have to read the book and can get most of the information from listening to the teacher, so giving them the day off truly just means they learn less.
What message are you giving kids if you tell them that school attendance in and of itself is punishment? We're not talking about detention. We are saying that literally going to class is meant to be punishment. How does that instill a joy for learning?
Finally, this does nothing to prepare you for real life. In the real world, you don't get a 4 day week because you did good work.
Primary-Elderberry34@reddit
Idk when i wanted to skip i just faked IBS. Impossible to disprove flare ups of your preexisting condition like that or migraines.
AntJo4@reddit
Student absenteeism is at an all time high. You think giving them permission to not be in class is going to make that better?
morganml@reddit
just go back to 80s style parenting, where you make homelife so shitty the kids would go to school on weekends if they could.
EldritchElizabeth@reddit
Doubling down on our already deeply flawed letter grading system in a way that works to further punish disabled and neurodivergent students isn’t exactly what I’d call a fantastic idea.
ddollarsign@reddit
If my grades were above 85% in school, I should be allowed to skip work every Friday.
Abject-Job7825@reddit
It's a good incentive but a bad measure, there are plenty of kids who get those grades effortless and those that have to work hard for it are now going to get the fear of missing out on a free day with their friends as well as the already insane pressure from parents on their shoulders leading to even worse grades or mental health issues.
alterego200@reddit
You shouldn't link not going to school with punishment, and it probably isn't to the smart kid. Keeping him from attending school to learn cool stuff might seem like more of a punishment.
In Japan, the kids actually like being in school and participating. They're obviously doing something right that we're doing wrong.
Kurwabled666LOL@reddit
"The idea is simple : why kids and teenagers don't like studying ? Simply because they don't see the incentive !"
"But what if you tell them "If your grades are higher than 85%, you're allowed to not go to school on Friday, thus having a 3day weekend (you still need to go the 4 other days) But everyone below 85% still needs to go and will be penalized if they miss attendance like usual"
"it's a motivation they can immediately understand"
No,its not,actually:You'd spend MORE time studying,to get to that 85% overall grade mark,and be able to maintain it,than the time you'd save by not going to school for ONE fucking day,so why bother?There's no point.
Its not like school's like work anyways:All you do is sit on your ass all day,and listen to someone talking. That's it.
So its not as stressful,especially since you don't need to pay the bills or anything,so it doesn't even MATTER what your grades are,as long as they're passing grades.
If I was a student I wouldn't even fucking bother with this shit lol:What a stupid-ass idea...
"Do your homework caus education is important to prepare you for adult life and find a decent job" (which is true but most kids can't understand that)"
Right,because learning that the Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell,or what roman emperor was killed in 250 BC,or whatever,is SO gonna help me in everyday life...
What's important is the piece of paper you get after graduating,that you can wipe your ass with,that you can use to find better jobs:The education ITSELF doesn't matter,because you're just learning stupid shit you're never gonna use anyways. You're basically just LEARNING TO LEARN,not learning to USE said stuff...
"But where should the kids stay when the parents have to go to work Friday ?" - Let them play outside like good ol days"
Right,because that's such a good idea nowadays,with all the shit that's happening in the world...LOL...
Difficult-Bicycle681@reddit
I think there's too much risk of skipping and stuff, but a different (yet similar) way to do it would be to have kids under 85% get extra practice on Fridays and spend most their day in the classroom whilst over 85% kids have the choice to be outside on the playground, in the library, or in the gym.
Small-Temporary-8898@reddit
We had a programm, in which children with good grades could do an extra weeklong trip. Guess which children always participated. Not the ones from families with lower socioeconomic status.
As long as there is an inequality between parents who can and will support their children with everything school related and parents how can‘t or won‘t help their children, rewarding „good“ children will always be unfair.
DrMoistPhappen@reddit
Just fail them. You know how motivated a kids gets when they realize all their friends are moving on without them and they’re the dummies that get stuck with the younger kids?
The_Octonion@reddit
How about we give them a personal pizza every time they read a book?
Vortieum@reddit
I had something similar in Social Studies in JR High late 90's.
If you scored above 90 on a weekly exam, no homework was due that week. This to me always made complete sense since obviously you were picking up the material by reading (vs all the stupid write what you just read questions that I guess most students need to prove that they read). All the writing part did was discourage me...I already knew what I just fucking read.
realityinflux@reddit
I agree with your three objections, but not your response to them. The feeling of inequality among students is a real thing, and is a very negative force. Better to try to work around that somehow--find other types of rewards that don't make the "average" kids resentful. The class planning interruption is more problematic and not as simple as you characterize it. On Fridays, say, with the better students gone, the tendency is going to be for the teacher to "coast." Or it will become (very likely) a "fun" day, and now the 15%ers will be resentful.
Hawk13424@reddit
Change it to 95% then maybe. 85% means a lot of knowledge and skills to still be learned.
raznov1@reddit
absolutely, 100% false.
Miss_AD@reddit
Mot a bad idea, on paper.
But if you have a disability, and there are limited accommodations for you at school (which is pretty common in schools), then this is just another way you’d be denied access to something your peers can access due to reasons beyond your control.
spookysaph@reddit
you don't get to skip work just because you know how to do your job
DemiGod9@reddit
You kinda do with the right job. If you work a job that has weekly benchmarks and you complete that on Monday, you're for the rest of the week
spookysaph@reddit
some jobs yeah, but not a lot of jobs. certainly not the jobs that most teens are going to have right out of school
Phobos_Asaph@reddit
Your counterpoints are bad. The first one is just unsupervised kids still which age depending is bad. The second one is the root cause of a lot of societal issues right now, and the third one is a real concern you just brush off.
42turnips@reddit
Op doesn't understand pedagogy.
It truly is a crazy idea cause there are so many ways to improve grades or better incentives and their idea is only going to incentivize cheating and poor behavior.
Ash_Starling@reddit
To fix the childcare problem, this could be something for middle school and up only where they can stay home alone
CobaltIsobar@reddit
It's not a new idea. We have schools doing this here already.
Shaggy1316@reddit
Take it even further. Every student can skip as much school as they want to if they maintain a specified grade threshold. Education is important. The method of education is not; unless one has reason to mold the minds of many people at once 🤔 but I can't imagine why anyone would have that motive.
tedlassoloverz@reddit
If you havent taught your children the importance of studying and doing well, you've failed as a parent
xEthrHopeless@reddit
It's not that simple
tedlassoloverz@reddit
simpler than expecting teachers, school, and parents to plan and juggle lesson plans and childcare for random, unexpected days off
xEthrHopeless@reddit
I never said this Crazy Idea was a good idea, I just felt compelled to point out that a student not studying isn't as simple as just saying the parent didn't try hard enough to make them care
JustPlayDaGame@reddit
this could honestly work really well. friday becomes a study hall type day, and since there’s less kids in the class, they can offer more 1-on-1 help for students who maybe don’t understand something, need help on a makeup assignment, do retake tests to improve their score, etc.
nivh_de@reddit
And then? Do the smart children then just miss the stuff the other learn on Friday? That would bring down their grades quickly or no? Do the other then repeat the stuff from Wednesday to Thursday?
So you go to school on Friday because you are either to stupid or maybe you grow up in surroundings which are contra productive or maybe something else.Doesn't that make going to school on Friday to some kind of punishment for something a child can't control?
I'm sure that'll help no one.
DemiGod9@reddit
Friday becomes a make up/relearning day
nivh_de@reddit
Yeah motivation by announcing punishment has never helped on a broader scale.
chili_cold_blood@reddit
The incentive used to be that if you failed a course, you had to do summer school. Now they don't fail kids anymore.
ComplaintMaster69420@reddit
This would reinforce the kids can have a give and take, they give something and they take something. Although it may not be good for them when they get out of school. They are going from a 4 day school week to working 5-7 days a week. I don’t think they will like that
DSer69420@reddit
Nahhhh fam. Me and the wife have Friday morning brunch together after droping the kids off at school. Those ratchet kids arnt ruining brunch date
DemiGod9@reddit
Do Thursday
VinegarMyBeloved@reddit
I mean the reward for doing well in school is not having to do summer school or redoing grades
NotYourMommyEither@reddit
They should get a free pack of cigarettes too
Koizito@reddit
Bold of you to assume the problems with school are inside the classroom and not outside of it.
Corona21@reddit
Dumb kids bunk off, and smart kids do to. For different reasons. Everyone else is caught in the middle.
Cassim_Cassius@reddit
No end to the madness of pandering. This country has become a joke.
IHateMondays0@reddit
The issue is that school grades don't translate to intelligence they just mean who studies the hardest and is the best at studying or is interested in school. What about kids with ADHD or other learning differences/disabilities. A lot of them will never be "good students" and so they should be punished for their natural differences? imo instead of reinforcing the system we currently have we should try to expand it to work for all children not just the children with natural gifts or a good home life.
Fishtoart@reddit
The idea that you can make people like something by rewarding them with not doing it is pretty strange.
I think that the big problem with education is the irrelevance to daily life. The explosion of AI and attention spans decreasing has made that even worse.
I suspect a good path might be to creating an educational system more like a video game, lots of interactivity and learning skills becoming incidental but vital to moving forward in the game.
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit
The second objection is one I thought of too but then I remembered that getting good grades is like 90% work ethic. Plus the dumb kids are usually in remedial classes, evening out the playing field.
I think this is a great idea.
Aggressive-Proof-960@reddit
Yo opino es bueno
Funny-Presence4228@reddit
We had something similar at school, but the opposite way around. If your grades were poor, you had to come in on a Saturday.
SpaceBrachiosaurus@reddit (OP)
Did it work ? Does it motivate you to study better ?