Aux États-Unis, de plus en plus d'écoles publiques cherchent à faire des économies en passant à la semaine de quatre jours : "Pressed for dollars, a growing number of public schools are doing what many educators once considered unimaginable: eliminating an entire school day each week. At least 292 school districts nationwide have a four-day week, according to a Washington Post survey, more than double the 120 estimated two years ago."
Certaines écoles ne voient pas d'autre choix : "In this community [North Branch] just north of the Twin Cities, they already cut the drama club. And cheerleading, ski club and marching band. So many teachers have been laid off that some classrooms have 40 students and one high school guidance counselor juggles 550 students. When school officials couldn’t figure out what else to squeeze, they lopped off a day."
Les journées sont plus longues : "Because most states require a minimum of instructional hours, districts that drop a day lengthen the remaining four days so students don’t lose “seat time.”" Et les enseignants doivent s'adapter : "Under the four-day schedule, class periods are stretched from 45 minutes to 58 minutes. Teachers have to recalibrate their lessons and employ various tricks to try to keep students focused as the day wears on."
En France, on tente de revenir sur cette mesure controversée : "Les journées de cours, moins nombreuses qu'ailleurs en Europe, sont surchargées. Un rapport a été remis au ministre en juillet, qui proposait un raccourcissement des vacances d'été et un retour à la semaine de quatre jours et demi pour assouplir ce rythme infernal." (Le Figaro, 12/10/11)
Source : The Washington Post, 29/10/11