Ever since the time of JFK, the debate over what should be done to amp up the United State’s ranking in educational standards has been slowly dragging along. The only difference between schooling in the ‘60s and schooling today is the increase in technology and the decrease in people walking around determined to ‘change the world.’

At least for the few hippies left out there, the pressure to change the world is still alive and  often shoved down the throats of students starting in kindergarten. America wants to tackle other leading countries with a new and improved educational system that outsmarts the rest of the world. The only problem? That educational system doesn’t exist.

In order to catch up, some education experts advocate year-round schools. Others say we need longer school days. Some schools have even added Saturday classes. But recently, a growing number of schools in the country are going in a completely different direction.

They are taking Monday’s off.

“Although I like the idea of a four day school week, I think that students wouldn’t be as focused and would forget more because of the longer weekends,” senior Brianna Betsch said. “Therefore, the teachers would probably spend more time re-teaching us things and the extra day off would do more harm than good.”

However, despite the question of whether or not students knowledge would increase, 20 schools in Missouri reported in 2012 that ever since they switched to a four day week, their students ACT scores actually improved by roughly two points.

“The change might be effective for kids to learn more in class itself, instead of rushing to get things finished before the end of the hour,” freshman Ian Fines said.

According to the Times Free Press, which reports disciplinary write-ups for high school students, it dropped from 1,344 in 2008 to just 375 in 2011.

Even though the week would be shortened, students would have to attend classes an hour longer than normal, in order to meet the required school hours.

“I think the four day school week would be much more beneficial,” senior Mati Moes said. “It allows students to take the extra day to catch up on sleep and study. Five day school weeks can cause too much stress and allow students to fall behind. It ultimately widens the gap from the top standard to the low.”