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Optimizing One

There is a lot of sense in a 4-day school week for overworked teachers. But there are downsides for parents who cannot be home on that off day and need daycare coverage. The value for the kids having to spend a whole day at daycare instead of at school is questionable - they really don't get a day of rest and relaxation, just a new kind of friction in their schedule with no benefit. It would start to make sense if the kids could use that extra day in a way that was both useful and comfortable for them. For those who do have a caregiver at home, it could work out very well. As with every change way from established "norm", those that are already thriving will likely do even better but those that are struggling will suffer disproportionately.

.. In Chico, Texas, where the public school district also announced a shift to four-day academic schedules this year, officials said positions that used to receive five applications were suddenly receiving more than 20..

It is great that this schedule is effectively a higher salary for the teachers and hopefully it will attract more diverse talent to teaching. Reading this got me thinking about how as a society we are not able to optimize more holistically. In this case the goal is to help the teachers and hope the benefits will flow down to all others in the system. The potential for unintended consequences is rife unfortunately given that the parents and caregivers of the kids will have a new set of complications introduced in their lives from this move. 

This is particularly interesting in the backdrop of rising absenteeism rates in schools and parents preferring to homeschool given what they have seen schools providing in the name of education during the pandemic. I can see the level of chaos and disenchantment with public schools only growing from such moves. The whole point of the system was to bring order and stability to the lives of kids, building a place where steady habits can grow. 

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