Instigator / Pro
TheGreatSunGod's avatar
0
TheGreatSunGod
1500
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Topic
#6031

For children, time spent in school in most cases should be limited to 2 hours a day

Status
Voting

The participant that receives the most points from the voters is declared a winner.

Voting will end in:

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Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
3
Time for argument
One week
Max argument characters
5,000
Voting period
One month
Point system
Winner selection
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
Shane.Roy's avatar
1
Shane.Roy
1500
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Description

Con defends that current system is better.

Round 1
TheGreatSunGod's avatar
TheGreatSunGod
Pro
#1
Children should have the autonomy to pursue their interests without long arbitrary imposed schedules. We should recognize children's capacity for self-directed learning and free them up to explore, create, and grow at their own pace and comfort.


I. Improves health and desire for knowledge

Children need to sleep for at least 10 hours for proper brain development. With 2 hours of school and about 1 hour of travel time, they are left with 11 hours of free time per day. If school time is 7 hours a day, they are left with only 6 hours of free time a day unless they deduct from their sleep which would harm their brain development significantly.

Children need to develop relationships and friendships, and too much school harms their social skills and ability to form relationships, harming their communication skills.

Too much school time and pressure in schools causes high suicide rates and obesity.

Children do most of their learning at home. School serves to direct them. With use of AI, children can more effectively learn at home. Children during school time are given way more information than they can remember, and most children after finishing school forget 98% of things they learned in school. 

Students can focus better in shorter time. Less time is wasted on unnecessary activities. Teachers can deliver key content more efficiently. It encourages independent learning. Reduces burnout and mental fatigue. Increases retention of information. Less repetitive, unproductive reviews. It promotes high-impact teaching strategies. Encourages more hands-on, engaging lessons. More time for family bonding. Strengthens parent-child relationships. Allows for more quality time with siblings. Encourages more personalized education at home. Helps students develop real-world social skills. Encourages family discussions about learning and family help with learning, making a better combination of learning at home and learning at school.

It forces schools to prioritize essential subjects over quantity of meaningless. Reduces stress and anxiety among students. Gives more time for relaxation and personal growth. Less pressure from overwhelming school work. Reduces depression caused by stress. Improves overall happiness and life satisfaction. More time for outdoor play and physical activity. Reduces problems caused by sedentary school life. Less back and neck problems from sitting for long hours. Helps students focus on their passions. Avoids long, draining school days. Fewer disciplinary issues due to exhaustion. It encourages students to be interested in learning, as reducing school hours means reducing time spent on meaningless learning, and more time to learn things children are interested in, preventing boredom from learning.

It makes children more willing to go to school, and makes school easier to deal with for children, reducing running from classes.

Promotes hands-on learning through personal projects. Encourages critical thinking and problem-solving, encourages learning on their own. Supports personal expression. More time for self-discovery. Encourages practical application of knowledge. Allows for better learning outside the classroom. Helps students learn from real-life experiences instead of theory.

Schools can focus on quality over quantity. Teachers can provide more one-on-one attention. Reduces overcrowded classrooms. Allows teachers to focus on student understanding rather than speed. Reduces unnecessary testing. Less bureaucracy and administrative work for teachers. Encourages a more flexible education system. Reduces the need for excessive homework. Fosters a love for learning instead of being burdened by learning. Encourages alternative education models.

In terms of economy, reducing school time is beneficial because it saves resources and enables more resources to be directed to more effective things which improve society, while school focuses on more effective learning methods. Reduces school operational costs. Saves money on school supplies. Less need for large school buildings. Reduces energy consumption in schools.

The length of school hours has a significant impact on students' physical and mental health. Long school hours often lead to issues like health problems, mental issues, and poor nutrition. Conversely, countries with shorter school days, such as Finland, show better health outcomes.


II. It is what children want

Children want to have more free time. Childhood should be happier, learning things children are interested in at their own comfort. Children arent adult workers and they dont need to work 7 hours in school for free as well as studying for hours at home.

Research has shown that if person is interested in what he is trying to learn, he will learn it easier and memorize longer.

What children want matters. It is their life. They are not property. They should have time for own interests instead of being pushed into so much work at a young age.


III. Reduces violence in schools significantly

Studies have shown that reducing school week by just 1 day reduces bullying by over 35%. This helps children to grow into better adults. Many criminals and many school shooters are a result of severe bullying which happens in schools. Effective effort must be made to reduce bullying. Reducing school time was shown to be a very effective way. Schools shouldnt be a prison of pain and humiliation for some children where they come just to suffer.




Shane.Roy's avatar
Shane.Roy
Con
#2


Thank you for accepting my request to debate and for your stance. My position is that children should remain in school for 6-8 hours per day for their education and personal development, rather than reducing school time to only 2 hours daily.

Firstly, your claim that children require at least 10 hours of sleep for proper brain development is scientifically inaccurate. According to KidsHealth.org, adolescents need around 8 hours of sleep for optimal functioning. Sleep needs vary, but most teenagers can recover with this amount. This leaves additional hours for personal activities. The argument that a student’s day is too occupied due to school and travel is subjective. Time management and structured routines maximize available hours.

You argue that school damages social and communication skills, but this is misleading. Adolescence is challenging due to hormonal changes and increased independence, but reducing school time would not eliminate these difficulties. If students were limited to only 2 hours in a structured social environment, they would have fewer opportunities to develop relationships and would likely seek friendships elsewhere with less structured social interaction.

Another major issue with your stance is the inadequacy of 14 hours of school per week to cover 7-9 subjects thoroughly. Even with personal study, school provides experienced teachers who enhance learning in ways self-study cannot replicate.

AI can assist students but cannot replace human educators who provide detailed explanations, personalized feedback, and interactive learning.

Your claim that students do not retain 98% of information given in school lacks evidence. According to Indegene, about 50% of learned information is forgotten within 24 hours, which varies depending on study habits and revision techniques. Effective note-taking and revision improve long-term retention.

From an economic perspective, reducing school hours would not significantly boost the economy. While shorter operational hours may cut costs, the long-term economic impact of an undereducated workforce could be detrimental. The need for large school facilities would remain, as schools still require adequate space for sports and other activities, countering your claim that school sizes would decrease.

Your assertion that school increases suicide and obesity rates lacks credible sources. Proper debating requires well-supported claims rather than broad conclusions without evidence. Likewise, the argument that reduced school hours would lead to "less running from class" is flawed. This logic applies to any work environment, where shorter shifts may improve attendance, but does not mean reducing hours is the best approach to engagement and productivity.

Your claim that a “sedentary” school life causes back and neck problems is incorrect. The ISPP Centre states that poor posture is a leading cause of such issues, not school itself. Encouraging proper posture and physical activity is a more practical solution than reducing school time.

While shorter classes can improve focus, school curriculums require extensive learning periods to cover necessary material. For example, in Ireland, students must complete large courses within three years to prepare for Junior Certificate exams. A mere 2-hour school day is insufficient for this purpose.

The idea that shorter school days would lead to smaller class sizes is inaccurate. In fact, reduced school hours could increase student intake due to parental concerns over inadequate education.

Lastly, as an adult, you cannot universally determine what children want. While free time is desirable, many students also benefit from structured learning and engagement. Education shapes responsible adults, and excessive free time at the expense of schooling may hinder development. School already provides necessary breaks, including mid-term holidays, summer vacations, and weekends, ensuring a balance between education and personal time. Reducing school hours to prioritize leisure could compromise educational depth and future opportunities.

In addition, two of the three sources you gave to support your argument are not reliable nor credible:




Round 2
TheGreatSunGod's avatar
TheGreatSunGod
Pro
#3
I. Improves health and desire for knowledge

Homeschooled children are less likely to experience harm and bullying, and more likely to achieve better education results, proving that school environment isnt the best system at teaching, or safest. Thus, reducing such system in favor of increased use of better ones like studying at home using AI is beneficial. Many people use AI to study and research. Thats the point of AI. Most knowledge and activities learned in school are unnecessary and forgotten by most children.

20 minutes per class is enough to give directions, facts and topics which can be studied at home. It also enables the option that size of class becomes smaller to enable much better and dedicated teaching. Children do most of their studying and homework at home anyway. Its up to children and parents. It is always up to these two. If neither are willing, more time in school wont change much in terms of education of child who doesnt want to study. But reducing school hours was shown to increase will to study in children.

What is a guarantee now is that 6 classes means sitting for almost 5 hours. So with reduced school time, the chances of that time instead being spent in free activity greatly increases. Being bored of learning is bad, as it reduces will to learn. I am not arguing for making education weaker. As studies show, learning improves with reduced school hours. Reducing school hours enables either smaller classes either time for teacher to make individual programs for children to study at home, or it enables more of private teaching.

By focusing on important things and quality, there is room for learning things which matter, things which will be remembered, learning how to do your own research at home and how to learn on your own instead of just repeating what teacher tells you. Hence, more improved reasoning ability and generally, better students who dont merely repeat what they are told, but learn and explore by themselves.


II. It is what children want

Not challenged. What people want is most important to them. We cant just impose what we want on others, because they have wants and choices too and their wants and choices matter like ours. Giving children choices and respecting their wants was proved to improve their decision-making abilities and improve their reasoning abilities, and this should be applied in case of education too, as education of a child anyway depends a lot on child's choice, and improving child's ability to choose results in better choices in their own education.


III. Reduces violence in schools significantly

Not challenged. Children who are bullies in school have much less time to bully other children when school hours are much shorter, and shorter school time also allows better supervision. In school, children have no choice but to spend time with their bullies as they cant go anywhere else. This time should be reduced. With improved mental health of children and less stress, there will also be less bullies, and children will be able to better deal with bullying problems.


Answers

Sleep time
I already linked scientific sources regarding sleep time. For children under 14 age, 9-12 hours is the best for brain development, not 8 hours. For 14 to 18 age is 8 to 10 hours. In case of my opponent, should children spend 8 hours in school and 10 hours sleeping, they would only have 6 hours of free time per day, further reduced by time spent on meals and similar activities. This is assuming they dont do any studying at home. Studies show that long school hours cause children to significantly deduct from their sleep and it harms their brain development.

school damages social and communication skills
This was already shown in linked studies to be true. Children have less time for friendships if they have more time of following instructions at school, thus their social skills become less developed.

AI can assist students but cannot replace human educators
AI is used exactly because it is easier and faster to learn from AI than from humans. AI is personal, one on one, while human teacher has attention divided on dozens of students.

Your claim that students do not retain 98% of information given in school lacks evidence
It is common sense that you cant memorize 1 million sentences.

assertion that school increases suicide and obesity rates lacks credible sources
Sources on effects on health were already linked.

Your claim that a “sedentary” school life causes back and neck problems is incorrect
The study was already done to show that sitting for over 5 hours is bad, and reduced school hours were linked to better outcomes. You could make children do more physical activity, but that then further deducts either from their free time or  from school time.

school curriculums require extensive learning periods to cover necessary material
Schools should focus on quality over quantity. Covering huge material, of which most will be forgotten, just for the sake of it is pointless.

reduced school hours could increase student intake
With less school hours, children need to be in school less, which enables making class size in schools smaller.

excessive free time at the expense of schooling may hinder development
Not arguing for excessive free time, but moving more of studying to home and doing their own research with AI.

credentials are unclear.
The source I linked has the studies shown in it, and uses many additional sources as well to support it.

Shane.Roy's avatar
Shane.Roy
Con
#4
Firstly, it seems as if you are constructing a red herring.
This debate is not based upon homeschooling, but based upon your claim that schools should operate on only 2 hours of teaching.
I urge you to strictly stay on the topic which you have chosen to debate.

Hence your source- https://nheri.org/research-facts-on-homeschooling/ - to be irrelevant to this topic.


"20 minutes per class is enough to give directions, facts and topics which can be studied at home."

There is no point of a child going to each class to obtain "facts" and "topics".
The core objective of school is to provide a student with a teacher who specializes within a subject that the student needs to learn.

"But reducing school hours was shown to increase will to study in children."

As said before. Reducing work hours in any work place would increase attendance and the will to work. However, it doesn't mean it's for the better.

"What people want is most important to them. We cant just impose what we want on others, because they have wants and choices too and their wants and choices matter like ours. Giving children choices and respecting their wants was proved to improve their decision-making abilities and improve their reasoning abilities, and this should be applied in case of education too, as education of a child anyway depends a lot on child's choice, and improving child's ability to choose results in better choices in their own education."

"It is what children want".

As said before. You as an adult cannot universally speak for what children desire.
The key roles that a parent holds is - Guidance and Discipline.
Majority of adolescents are far too immature to take full responsibilities or their actions and decisions. Which is why parents serve to direct the child by making decisions for the child, in the child's best interests.
Allowing children to develop decision making and critical thinking skills with smaller choices does not equate to allowing them to take full charge of their life choices. Especially with something as significantly crucial to their education and personal development such as school.

"The study was already done to show that sitting for over 5 hours is bad, and reduced school hours were linked to better outcomes. You could make children do more physical activity, but that then further deducts either from their free time or  from school time."

While it is true that sitting for longer hours is not healthy for teenagers. It is also true that school provides children with necessary breaks from 1.30hrs to 2hrs.
School also makes Physical Education a mandatory class, and the majority of schools make at least 1 after-school sport compulsory for the student.

"Schools should focus on quality over quantity. Covering huge material, of which most will be forgotten, just for the sake of it is pointless."

This heavily depends on the student.
As said before, it is the students personal duty to take notes in class and review them at home.
Many verified studies such as (https://summer.harvard.edu/blog/5-tips-to-retain-what-you-learn/#5-Active-Learning-Techniques-You-Can-Use-Today) have shown that students retain significantly more information when making use of effective study techniques.

"With less school hours, children need to be in school less, which enables making class size in schools smaller."

As said before. Parents would be more concerned for their in regard to inadequate education, striking a positive trend in school admissions.

"The source I linked has the studies shown in it, and uses many additional sources as well to support it."

This statement is only to your source from edweek.org. The rest were not reliable nor credible. Hence, not enough evidence given to support your claims.
You also made claims which did which did not correlate to the source. The source never states or gives any mention of setting school to 2hrs per day.
The source only states the benefits of decreasing school days from 5 days to 4 days.
Your source from TennySchool.com also never suggests 2hr school days. Their research was solely based on 5 hr school days.

Your claim in regard to a reduction in bulling when decreasing school to 2hrs is only due to less time spent in school.
If there is less time spent in school, bullies will have less chances to harass students.

"Reduces violence in schools significantly."

Verified sources such as, (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2751860/), prove that there is much more verbal bullying than physical.
As said before in the above, less time in school significantly lessens bullying.

In regard to sleep time, 10hrs is the maximum while 8 hrs is sufficient.
Children do not essentially need 10hrs of sleep. I have proven this with sources in my last argument.

Judges:
(I cannot fit my sources and other points into this argument)
( look to the comments to view my sources and last point)











                                           




Round 3
TheGreatSunGod's avatar
TheGreatSunGod
Pro
#5
2 hour school for 5 days is much more preferable to standard 7 hours a day of school for 5 days in a row, and studies point to huge benefits of many alternative ways to study. The only possible harm of a system I am arguing for is a small chance of slightly worse grades, but that was disproved. Many studies proved that studying at home is superior and the main way children study.


I. Improves health and desire for knowledge

Long school hours dont correlate with improved performance. The complex, individualized factors influence outcomes. What long hours perpetuate is an unhealthy emphasis on productivity and compliance over genuine understanding, rest time and personal growth. Studies showed they harm health. It's a recipe for burnout, resentment, and the stifling of curiosity. Shorter school would allow for more flexible schedules that cater to children's natural learning patterns and interests, pushing advancement in alternative ways to study, like AI. A shorter school day would enable children to engage in extracurricular activities, sports, and hobbies, which are essential for developing essential life skills, creativity, and socialization.

My position in this debate isnt "reduce learning time to 2 hours", but do more learning in home environment and reduce school time to 2 hours. Japan and South Korea have long school hours of 8 hours per day, but plenty of suicides, mental health issues and relationship forming issues due to severe pressure on children. We cant expect 9 year olds to work as long as adults. We cant sacrifice their health, experiences and social skills to achieve slightly better grades. Finland has lowest number of school hours per day, yet one of countries which have best grades in the world. Reducing school hours greatly benefits health while also benefiting grades as well, while giving children more choices and freedom to improve their decision making abilities.

Homeschooling was merely an example of studying at home giving better results, being more effective and less harmful than studying at school, as confirmed by studies. So increasing home studying time by reducing school time is beneficial as well, and with help of AI, it can be no much burden on parents while improving effectiveness. The advantages of increased time for holistic development, insights from countries with alternative school day structures, the opportunities for personalized learning support reduced school time. A shorter school day aligns more closely with the natural limits of student attention and can lead to enhanced focus during class. Studies indicate that students, particularly in younger grades, have limited attention spans. Psychologists believe that first graders can concentrate on a single task without distraction for only a brief period. Children pay more attention in shorter classes.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes insufficient sleep in adolescents as an important public health issue that significantly affects the health and safety, as well as the academic success. The connection between sufficient sleep and cognitive functions is well-established.
Adequate sleep is crucial for memory consolidation, focus maintenance, and overall attention, all of which are essential for academic success. The traditional school day often necessitates early wake-up times, which can disrupt adolescents' natural sleep patterns and lead to sleep deprivation. The implementation of a two-hour school day would necessitate a fundamental reimagining of curriculum design, teaching methodologies, and assessment strategies to ensure effective learning within the significantly reduced timeframe.


II. It is what children want

Not challenged. Children arent property. Their childhood experiences, choices, wishes, decisions and free time matter. It was proved by studies that giving more choices to children makes them smarter and better at decision making, which significantly improves their life.


III. Reduces violence in schools significantly

Not challenged for 2 rounds. It will never be worthy to cause child pain, violence and humiliation just for the sake of grades, and such society in long term will only pile up mental health issues and problems.


Answers

it is the students personal duty to take notes in class and review them at home
Entire Bible has 31,102 verses and 700,000 words, which when converted in sentences is about 100,000 sentences. Students cannot remember 1 million sentences after finishing school. That would be like memorizing book 10 times larger than Bible. Most is forgotten.

there is much more verbal bullying than physical
Reducing school time reduces bullying greatly, as study shows.

look to the comments to view my sources and last point
Comments arent part of debate. It is not allowed to break character limit in formal debates which have structure.

sleep time, 10hrs is the maximum while 8 hrs is sufficient
This was disproved by studies and by American Academy of Pediatrics. Long school time causes students to deduct  sleep.











Shane.Roy's avatar
Shane.Roy
Con
#6
Firstly, you have shown redundancy in all 3 arguments.

Your claim that, "children should learn by AI", has been disproved several times.
Verified sources such as (https://lib.guides.umd.edu/c.php?g=1340355&p=9880574) states that AI should be used with caution due to it frequently developing answers mixed with truth and fiction. The sources also states that you, "can’t check the information by evaluating the credibility of the source or the author", when using AI.

"Reduces violence in schools significantly."

"It will never be worthy to cause child pain, violence and humiliation just for the sake of grades, and such society in long term will only pile up mental health issues and problems."

Hyperboles and emotion based writing will not make you win this debate. School is a learning environment, not grounds of war. Tho bullying is wrong, it is an inevitable part of life in any environment.
Less time in any environment would reduce the opportunities for bullying to occur.
Taking a leap from 6-8hrs of school would obviously reduce bullying due to less time. 
This does not mean that reducing school would fully cut off bullying.
Children can be bullied in many environments outside of school. The reason that bullying occurs most in school is due to the very social environment.
Bullying can be solved in much better ways than reducing school time. Teachers can be notified, and if teachers do not act then legal authorities can be involved.

Finland's average school day consists of 5 hrs, which is analyzed and stated by reputable source - https://www.teachstarter.com/gb/blog/school-schedule-hours-around-the-world/
Finnish schools use very good use of effective study techniques such as pomodoro.
You have contradicted your own statement,  "For children, time spent in school in most cases should be limited to 2 hours a day".

You also use homeschooling very much for your arguments, yet seem to be uninformed in regard to home schooling lasting for 4-6 hrs on average for adolescents.
As opposed to the 2hrs of school limitation which you are debating.

"It is what children want."

look at my, "it is what children want", reply on my last argument. 
Your argument continues to be redundant.

Entire Bible has 31,102 verses and 700,000 words, which when converted in sentences is about 100,000 sentences. Students cannot remember 1 million sentences after finishing school. That would be like memorizing book 10 times larger than Bible. Most is forgotten.

You have provided no source of evidence that school teaches "1 million words" in a school day, as you have said in your arguments.
Resorting to hyperbole will not win u debates.

"Reducing school time reduces bullying greatly, as study shows."

Less time in any environment would reduce the opportunities for bullying to occur. This does not inherently apply to school. Hence, being invalid.

"Comments arent part of debate. It is not allowed to break character limit in formal debates which have structure."

You crammed a large quantity of points on a document without supporting them, leading me to have to write more to disprove them.
This seems like a cunning strategy that you use to win debates. 
You did the same with TheRizzler in this same debate topic. Making him struggle to write points, as he himself has stated in his arguments with you.

"This was disproved by studies and by American Academy of Pediatrics. Long school time causes students to deduct  sleep."

Earlier school time causes less sleep, not longer school time. I have provided many sources of evidence in my previous arguments to disprove this. 8hrs is sufficient for the majority of adolescents.

 We cant expect 9 year olds to work as long as adults.

They don't. 
Grade 3 students attend school for less than 5 hrs on average, according to many school schedules.

"shorter school would allow for more flexible schedules that cater to children's natural learning patterns and interests."

Catering to every single student's natural learning patterns is nearly impossible in a full class, whether with 2hrs of school or not.
Every child is unique and learns differently.

In a full school day, there's already a variety of after-school extra-curricular activities for a child to participate in. Shorter school days would not inherently promote extracurricular activities.

The Bottom Line:

AI has been proven by many credible sources to be proceeded with caution, due to its reliability. Making it unsuitable for children to use as a learning tool.

8hrs is sufficient for the majority of adolescents, as proven by many credible sources. 

Flaws in Your Argumentation:

  • Use of hyperbole (exaggeration without evidence)
  • Red herring (diverting the argument away from the main point)
  • Reliance on opinion-based statements rather than facts
  • Use of multiple unreliable sources (found by scanning source's origin, mission, credibility and author)