While it has been talked about and dreamt of for years, the four-day instructional week has been a figment of the imagination and a hope so far off it would never come true, but fortunately, it is becoming increasingly prevalent. There is a point on the Thursday or Friday before a long weekend in which there is a moment of pure joy and ecstasy in knowing that students will have one long blissfully work-free day more than the average weekend.

Apparently, this one moment isn’t just the sensation of happiness we all know it to be. All around the globe, a four day work week has been proven to increase efficiency and productivity. In one study conducted by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with Boston College and Cambridge University, thirty-three companies based mostly in the United States and Ireland, were tested with a four-day work week, and most said that they wouldn’t return to a five-day work week at the end of the study. Additionally, 97% of employees stated that they want a four-day work week. Even in Texas, at least forty-three independent school districts have already decided to have four-day instructional weeks next school year.

Unfortunately, in modern society, five days instructional weeks have been already normalized, so the transition to shorter weeks will take time. But, judging from the data, four-day weeks increase students’ retention of learning, so that can only mean that it’s a matter of time before we just face the facts and give in to the rise of three-day weekends.