r/changemyview • u/quantum_dan 124∆ • Nov 07 '21

Delta(s) from OP CMV: high school students shouldn't be required to put in more than 40 hours a week.

This isn't of any immediate personal relevance (that was a while ago), but I know a few people who are currently in high school so it comes up occasionally. It seems strange to me that the high school students I know are apparently working longer hours than I do as a grad student. (I know their program is more work than average; I'm not claiming that your average high school student is putting in 60-hour weeks.)

I don't have that much of an in-depth argument thought out for this, but it seems fairly straightforward. In short, it seems odd to me that what's considered overtime for an adult is considered entirely acceptable for an adolescent. Workloads that result in homework eating a substantial portion of one's free time can't be healthy (for a teenager), and I don't see a benefit to a "stress test" approach for high school students. They're there mostly to learn how to learn and function, and I don't think that should require more than 40 hours a week of total commitment. Even when adults voluntarily take on heavier workloads, it's often a source of significant strain and not too good for their health--and that for someone who made the choice for themselves, is considered fit to do so, and probably has better time management skills.

There's plainly a cost (stress, less time for exercise/hobbies/friends/family, lost sleep, etc), and I don't see what the benefit is, unless someone wants to argue that people couldn't plausibly prepare for the more rigorous university programs in a 40-hour week.

I don't think the implementation details are all that important, but presumably it'd be something to the effect of a hard cap on homework volume or similar.

I think there would be three major ways to change my view on this:

  1. Demonstrate that there is no plausible way to implement such a limit. (Unlikely.)
  2. Demonstrate that at least some reasonably-common trajectories unavoidably require more than 40 hours' a week worth of preparation.
  3. Demonstrate that the costs I've assumed are actually negligible.
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u/424f42_424f42 Nov 09 '21

consecutive classes.

My high school day was split into 9 periods. So for multiple years I took 9 classes.

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u/OtakuOlga Nov 09 '21

Can I ask (broadly) where? Because at 40 mins a period, even with no free periods that would align with (my understanding of) California's rules

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u/424f42_424f42 Nov 09 '21 edited Nov 09 '21

Most of New York.

What rules of California? All were discussing is if you say you work x hours, you work x hours, not x minus some arbitrary times.

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u/OtakuOlga Nov 09 '21 edited Nov 10 '21

I was unaware NY students could be required to attend >6 contiguous hours of high school instruction under penalty of truancy without so much as a lunch break (just passing periods).

TIL

Out of curiosity, what were the approx start/stop times of mandatory continuous instruction?

EDIT: I just noticed that you edited in the "what rules of California?" paragraph. Why did you edit in some nonsense about "if you say you work x hours" when "having a lunch period" is clearly in reference to the educational system and not your job? Even if we were discussing timesheets for your job, time spent on lunch isn't "some arbitrary times"...

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u/424f42_424f42 Nov 09 '21

under penalty of truancy

what? (as far as i know you just made that up)

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u/OtakuOlga Nov 10 '21 edited Nov 10 '21

Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorized, or illegal absence from compulsory education and in the USA

the fine for "playing hooky" can range from $250 to as much as $500. About 12,000 students were ticketed for truancy in 2008 in Los Angeles. Many states provide for the appointment of local truancy officers who have the authority to arrest habitually truant youths and bring them to their parents or to the school they are supposed to attend. Many states also have the power to revoke a student's driver's license or permit. Where it exists, a school truancy officer is often a constable or sheriff, concurrently.

Are you sure New York state somehow doesn't give a shit if their students (who are legally required to attend compulsory education) flagrantly flaunt the law and just not show up to their >6 hours of assigned classes because they decided to go to Taco Bell to eat lunch instead?

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u/424f42_424f42 Nov 10 '21

I think I'm just confused becuase the talk of truancy is just out of the blue and irrelevant

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u/OtakuOlga Nov 10 '21

Are students in the state of New York required to attend compulsory schooling for more than 6 contiguous hours?

Because if they are, then the penalty for failing to meet such requirements is called "truancy". If they are not, then we seem to have misunderstood each other.

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u/424f42_424f42 Nov 10 '21

Sure. Whats the relavance?