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Middle school teacher reveals what he really thinks of his district's 4-day school week

Mr. Lindsay breaks down what his schedule as a 4-day teacher actually looks like.

@mr_lindsay_sped/TikTok

Teacher Mr. Lindsay breaks down what his schedule in a four-day school week looks like.

In recent years, a rapidly growing number of school districts across the country have adopted a four-day work week, nearly doubling over the past decade. Though parents have arguably gotten the short end of the stick in this new dynamic—especially having to find childcare if both parents work—the intention was to improve teacher retention and prevent student burnout (not to mention save money).

So what exactly do teachers think of this new era? According to teacher, comedian, and self-described “OG student translator,” Mr. Lindsay, it’s been pretty game changing.

Over on TikTok, Mr. Lindsay explains what a four-day school week actually looks like.

@mr_lindsay_sped Replying to @Rebecca Schultz Yes July. #4dayworkweek #4dayschoolweek #4dayschool #teach #teachersoftiktok #teacherfyp ♬ original sound - Mr. Lindsay

The school year in general begins at the end of July, which might at first seem like a betrayal to summer vacation. But in addition to three-day weekends, they also are off for the first week of October for fall break, a week off for Thanksgiving, “at least” two weeks off for Christmas, two weeks off for spring break—plus all three-day weekends become four-day weekends.

“So, eww July? Or hmmm, July,” he quipped at the end of the clip.

In another video, Mr. Lindsay breaks down what his daily schedule looks like Monday through Thursday.

“My contract hours are 7:30 to 4:15,” he said. “Kids are in school from 8:24 to 4 o’clock.” During that school day, each teacher has 5 one-hour long teaching blocks, one prep hour, a thirty minute lunch, a thirty minute advisory class, and a 45 minute “re-teach/enrichment block” with a class roster that rotates every eight days.

@mr_lindsay_sped Replying to @Motherofwildings Working for a 4 day school district: contract Hours #4dayworkweek #4dayschoolweek #4dayschool #teach #teachersoftiktok #teacherfyp ♬ original sound - Mr. Lindsay


This might seem like a long day, but Mr. Lindsay said that he’s never not worked long hours, and so the transition was quite easy to adjust to.

Down in the comments, other teachers shared Mr. Lindsay's fervent love for this new method.

“My goodness, I would love it if my school district did this!”

“I think I could do a longer day with an hour prep period every day!”

“This seems like an all around better schedule for everyone.”

Despite the enthusiasm, however, research paints a different picture.

Missouri conducted a study specifically to examine the four-day school week’s effect on teacher recruitment and retention in the state. The result? "We find no evidence that the four-day school week improves teacher recruitment or retention," the study concludes. Another study in Oregon even found that teacher turnover increased in districts with a four-day schedule.

As for how it has affected students, the research is rather mixed. Very little evidence has emerged to support the argument that a four-day school week improves attendance rates. And in regards to performance, most studies show that students in four-day school weeks have less progress in math and reading—and generally land two-to-seven weeks behind where they would have been if they had stayed on a five-day week schedule. However, those negative effects seem largely concentrated in schools that have shorter school days, and operate on fewer than 30 hours per week.

The overwhelming teacher, student (and even parent) satisfaction reported with the four-day school week still feels like an indicator of something positive, even if it’s less quantifiable. Perhaps more than anything, this is a sign that there isn't a simple fix to a complex, systemic issue.

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Mom calls out teacher for giving her son a 'zero' for not providing class with school supplies

Her viral video sparked a debate as to whether or not providing school supplies should be mandatory for parents.

@shanittanicole/TikTok

A zero grade for not providing school supplies?

The debate as to whether or not parents should supply classroom supplies is not new. But as prices continue to rise, parents are growing more baffled as to how they can be expected by teachers to provide all the various glue sticks, colored pencils, rulers, and other various items the incoming students might need.

What’s even more perplexing, however, is penalizing the children of parents who won’t (or can’t) provide them. This was the case for Shanitta Nicole, who discovered her son received a zero grade in his new school for not bringing school supplies for the entire classroom.

school supplies, school, pencils, paper, markers, paperSchool supplies is important and expensive.Image via Canva.


Nicole was especially surprised by this reaction since she had already gone through the effort of making sure her son had every item he needed from the school’s supplies list, which was slightly different than the one they previously had.

To Nicole's surprise, her son's seventh grade teacher informed him he was expected to provide for the whole classroom, not just himself. And, thus, her received a zero grade for failing the assignment, so to speak.

Even though Nicole thought the rule was “weird,” she went out and bought the bulk items, which included tissues, Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, pencils, Expo markers, and red pens. And yet, the next week, her son still had a zero. Concerned, Nicole emailed her son’s teacher.

“I’m like, ‘hey…my student has a 83 in the class and everything else in the class is 100s and 98s and he still has a zero for something called ‘classroom supplies.’” she said in a video.

“‘We bought the supplies anyways, but I don't feel like it's the parents' responsibility to supply your classroom. And I definitely don't think it's appropriate to assign a grade to students based off of whether or not they've supplied your class with supplies. That doesn't make any sense.’”

@shanittanicole

Am I doing too much? #fyp #school

While Nicole’s email did get the teacher to reconcile the grade, there was no acknowledgement about her other concerns regarding the responsibility of parents to provide the entire class with supplies.

“So, I emailed the principal because I just, I might be extra, but I just want to see what's going on. Why do I have to buy supplies for the classroom?” the frustrated mom asked. Nicole’s video quickly went viral on TikTok, and several weighed in to agree that the teacher’s actions were misguided.

“That is so unfair!! Especially for the kids whose parents CANT afford groceries let alone classroom supplies,” one user wrote.

Another added, “You are not wrong. It is 100% ok for [the teacher] to ask for supplies, but mandate it for a grade? Absolutely not.”

This point is truly what Nicole took umbrage with, as she noted several times in the comments. It has less to do with being asked to help and more to do with her son’s grade depending on it.

grades, progress report, report card, grading, schoolAsking for supplies is ok, mandating it is not. Image via Canva

In a follow-up video, Nicole shared that the school principal did end up reaching out, notifying her that while, yes, teachers are allowed to ask for donations, it should never be mandated. What's more, as Nicole notes in the below video, her son was being penalized for not providing supplies for an honors class he only attends for one period (50 minutes) a day. This wasn't even his homeroom. Though that wouldn't justify the teacher's ask and attached grade, it might have made a little more sense.

@shanittanicole

Replying to @yafavv._.dancer😍😘💞😍😍💞 Graded Supplies Update #fyp #school

“What the teacher was trying to accomplish, but it definitely wasn't appropriate,” the principal told Nicole.

While the teacher might have not handled this situation in the best way, it goes without saying that this is a larger systemic issue—one that isn’t exactly fair to parents, teachers, and students alike.

Most public school teachers spend a significant amount of their own money on classroom supplies, to an average of $673 per year, according to a recent survey of more than 1,100 educators by the Association of American Educators (AAE). That number only goes up for teachers in high poverty schools.

At the same time, according to a 2022 survey with Savings.com (that was updated in 2024), the typical parent also spends nearly $600 on school supplies, not to mention other necessities like clothes, backpacks, haircuts, etc.

In the grand scheme of things, there’s no use placing full responsibility or blame onto teachers or parents because either way, students get caught in the crossfire. This is clearly a universal burden that needs attention.

This article originally appeared two years ago.

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'What happened to kindergarten?' Long time teacher laments how hard the grade has become

“The curriculum is insane for elementary school kiddos. They have absolutely lost their childhood.”

@the_wondermint/TikTok

"They have absolutely lost their childhood.”

It’s nothing new for parents to lament their kid’s ever-growing list of school requirements. From piles of homework to getting graded for school supplies, the pressures seem to be not only racking up over time, but spreading to younger and younger grades. And it’s not just parents who have noticed the shift. Recently, longtime kindergarten teacher Ms. Kelli, of the TikTok account @the_wondermint, reflected on how different it is for students at even an introductory level.

In the clip, Kelli begins, “So I just gotta ask, as a 20-year kindergarten teacher myself, remember when we went to kindergarten that we just had to be potty trained and not eat the glue?” Comparing that to the long list of requirements nowadays, the educator says she feels sorry for families going through it.

“My heart breaks when I see all these videos of what do you need to do to prepare your child for kindergarten, and things your child must know before going to kindergarten, and these lists of things that parents need to be working on.”

Keli argues that, “Human development hasn't changed. What a five or six-year-old child is physically, mentally and developmentally able to do hasn't changed, in all these years.” Still, the standards have changed. And kids are paying the price.

So she encourages fellow teachers and parents to not force the educational aspect.

“The learning will come. The development will come, the ABCs, the one, two, threes, writing, all of it, it will come ... Curriculum, it will happen. The learning, it will happen,” she says.


@the_wondermint

Little bit of a plea and PSA for the day… let them be kids! #teachersontiktok #teachertok #teachersoftiktok #iteachk #kindergarten #ilovekindergarten #iloveteaching #foryoupage #teacherforyoupage #fypage #teacherfyp #playbasedlearning #seethewonderkeepitfresh #handsonlearning #reggioemilia #letthemexplore #parentsontiktok #parentsoftiktok #kindergartenparents #kinderprep #backtoschool

Instead of placing more pressure, Kelli suggests a gentler, simpler approach.

“Let them play, let them socialize with each other. Let them learn to be away from their mommy and daddy and be sad for a little bit and be comforted. Let them find friendships that are gonna make them laugh so hard that their bellies ache and tell stories that go home. Let them create something that they never thought they could. Let them do an art project where they turn a box into a robot and they’re so excited to show their parents!”

In short: “let kids be kids.”

Kelli’s video seemed to really resonate with parents and teachers alike, who have definitely felt like certain aspects of childhood have been sacrificed in the name of “productivity.” Especially when it comes to homework.

“Yes! My son struggled in Kindergarten last year and even had homework! I could not believe what all he had to know. Teacher said he had a hard time paying attention… yeah he is 5!” one mom shared.

“Finally someone said it,” added another. “The curriculum is insane for elementary school kiddos. They have absolutely lost their childhood.”

One person noted that “the kindergarten report card used to be things like skipping, walking on a balance beam, the hardest thing was counting to 100.”

As for whether or not a more academic-focused approach to kindergarten is, in fact, less beneficial to kids— a 2019 study in the American Educational Research Journal did find that it led to improvements, both academic and interpersonal, in the long run.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean we need to load them up with a ton of work for after school. Another study reported that elementary school students, on average, are assigned three times the recommended amount of homework.

This is why Kelli created a follow up video sharing why she doesn’t assign homework to her own students.

@the_wondermint

Replying to @Drea_keevs Controversial but yet it shouldn’t be… 5 year olds should not be doing homework! Talk as a family, snuggle and read, enjoy their favorite sport activity, have a dance party! Their days are filled inside school, make the time outside of school good for their hearts and souls! #t#teachersontiktokt#teachertokt#teachersoftiktoki#iteachkk#kindergarteni#ilovekindergarteni#iloveteachingf#foryoupaget#teacherforyoupagef#fypaget#teacherfypp#playbasedlearnings#seethewonderkeepitfreshh#handsonlearningr#reggioemilial#letthemexploreparentsontiktok #parentsoftiktok #parentingtips #homework #homeworkhelp

“We are covering what we’re covering in the five or six hours with these little babies, and if we can’t cover that in that time, we’re definitely not gonna get the best out of them at 5, 6 o’clock at night when they’re tired and they should be enjoying time with their family,” she said.

She does, however, advocate trying to instill a “love of reading,” if you can count that as homework. But even then, that assignment looks more like snuggling in bed, cozying up with a book, and having their parents read it to them.

Point being: of course school is meant to help set up students for success. But if it robs them of their precious, formative, and oh-so-temporary childhood, then is it really worth it?


This article originally appeared last year.

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Mom calls out teacher who gave her son a 'zero' grade for not providing class with supplies

Her viral video sparked a debate as to whether or not providing school supplies should be mandatory for parents.

@shanittanicole/TikTok

A zero grade for not providing school supplies?

The debate as to whether or not parents should supply classroom supplies is not new. But as prices continue to rise, parents are growing more baffled as to how they can be expected by teachers to provide all the various glue sticks, colored pencils, rulers and other various items the incoming students might need.

What’s even more perplexing, however, is penalizing the children of parents who won’t (or can’t) provide them. This was the case for Shanitta Nicole, who discovered her son received a zero grade in his new school for not bringing school supplies for the entire classroom.

Nicole was especially surprised by this reaction since she had already gone through the effort of making sure her son had every supply he needed from the school’s list, which was slightly different than the one they previously had.

And yet, the 7th grade teacher informed her son that he was still expected to provide for the classroom, not just himself. And, thus, a zero grade, for failing the assignment, so to speak.


Even though Nicole thought the rule was “weird,” she went out and bought the bulk items, which included tissues, Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, pencils, Expo markers, and red pens.

And yet, the next week—her son still has a zero. Concerned, Nicole emailed her son’s teacher.

“I’m like, ‘hey…my student has a 83 in the class and everything else in the class is 100s and 98s and he still has a zero for something called ‘classroom supplies.’” she said in a video.

“‘We bought the supplies anyways, but I don't feel like it's the parents' responsibility to supply your classroom. And I definitely don't think it's appropriate to assign a grade to students based off of whether or not they've supplied your class with supplies. That doesn't make any sense.’”

@shanittanicole Am I doing too much? #fyp #school ♬ original sound - Shanitta Nicolee 💖

And while Nicole’s email did get the teacher to reconcile the grade, there was no mention to her other concern regarding the responsibility for parents to provide the entire class with supplies.

“So, I emailed the principal because I just, I might be extra, but I just want to see what's going on. Why do I have to buy supplies for the classroom?” the frustrated mom concluded.

Nicole’s video quickly went viral on TikTok, and several weighed in to agree that the teacher’s actions were misguided.

“That is so unfair!! Especially for the kids whose parents CANT afford groceries let alone classroom supplies,” one user wrote.

Another added, “You are not wrong. It is 100% ok for [the teacher] to ask for supplies, but mandate it for a grade? Absolutely not.”

And this point is truly what Nicole took umbrage with, as she noted several times in the comments. It has less to do with being asked to help and more to do with her son’s grade depending on it.

In a follow-up video, Nicole shared that the school principal did end up reaching out, notifying her that while, yes, teachers are allowed to ask for donations, it should never be mandated.

@shanittanicole Replying to @yafavv._.dancer😍😘💞😍😍💞 Graded Supplies Update #fyp #school ♬ original sound - Shanitta Nicolee 💖

“What the teacher was trying to accomplish, but it definitely wasn't appropriate,” the principal told Nicole.

While the teacher might have not handled this situation in the best way, it goes without saying that this is a larger systemic issue—one that isn’t exactly fair to parents, teachers and students alike.

Most public school teachers spend a significant amount of their own money on classroom supplies, to an average of $673 per year, according to a recent survey of more than 1,100 educators by the Association of American Educators (AAE). That number only goes up for teachers in high poverty schools.

At the same time, according to a 2022 survey with Savings.com, the typical parent also spends nearly $600 on school supplies. Plus things like clothes, backpacks, haircuts etc.

In the grand scheme of things, there’s no use placing full responsibility or blame onto teachers or parents. Because either way, students get caught in the crossfire. This is clearly a universal burden that needs attention.


This article originally appeared two years ago.

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