Imagine if students worked instead of going to school. With the minimum U.S. wage, they would make $43,137.50 in a year. When all 12 grades are included, the amount goes up to $517,650.

In the U.S., students spend around half of their year at school. Is this a good balance?

People who argue that school days should be longer, often argue that students forget during summer break. However, this leads to students to experience burn out more frequently. Creating poor health, a worse mood and the worst of all: death.

Shorter periods of time would lead to more breaks and students forgetting material they learned. To avoid this issue, students would need to stay even longer in school. So, how did schools decide this equal balance? 

In the 19th century, most kids were working on farms. Very few people were going to school, and the average amount of days kids went was significantly smaller. However, people such as Horace Mann wanted change, and he ended up influencing the increase of school days. For example, he was a part of movements such as the “Common School Movement” for equal access to education. 

Follow WSS reporter Taewhan Seol as he investigates how many school days there should be.