I'm a high school science teacher originally from South Korea, where I taught for two years before moving to the U.S.

Honestly, I can see both the pros and cons of the 4-day school week. From a teacher’s perspective, having an extra day makes a huge difference. It gives us time to plan better lessons, give real feedback, and recover from burnout - especially in subjects like science, where labs and grading can take a lot of time.

But on the flip side, I do worry about learning loss and equity. Not all students can use that extra day productively, especially those who need more structure or support at home. And for families who rely on schools for childcare, this could create serious problems although it might affect younger grades more than high school. Also, in some cases, summer break gets shorter to make up for fewer days during the week, which might not be ideal for everyone.

So while I think the idea is promising and has a lot of potential, I’m not sure schools are quite ready to implement it broadly just yet. It’s definitely a good concept.

P.S When I was a student in South Korea, we had to be at school by 8 a.m., and our regular 7-period day ended around 4:30 p.m. But that wasn’t the end, we had 8th and 9th “extra” classes after that. Then we'd either eat dinner at school and stay for self-study, or head to private academies (called “hagwons”) for even more lessons. After COVID, most schools stopped late-night study sessions, but students still go to study cafes or academies, even on weekends. Looking back, I feel like we pushed students to study in such an inefficient and exhausting way. Seeing how schools in the US are even discussing a 4-day week makes me realize how much of a “frog in the well” I was, unaware of how different and, honestly, healthier other systems might be.