Shortums v. Longsburg (The School Day should be Shorter)

Chief Justice Garcia: We will now hear arguments for the case of Shortums v. Longsburg. Let's begin with arguments for Shortums.

Shortums: Thank you, Mrs. Chief Justice, and may it please the court: My client is sitting in school for prolonged hours after multiple extracurricular club meetings, hours of homework, studying for several subjects, and only seven hours of sleep. This is simply not right.

Shortums: Her school refused to shorten the hours. No one can go to school for this long without a break.

Justice Bragburt: Aren't those specific hours mandatory in any school?

Shortums: Yes, but my client and multiple other innocents are suffering from too many hours of learning. The hours need to be cut short not just for my client, but all schools with these types of hours.

Chief Justice Garcia: Thank you. Now let's hear from Longsburg's team. What do you argue?

Longsburg: Students must get all the education they require. As young students, education is important and will help them get a degree and a job. These long hours provide a lot of learning, which can help students decide their career path and/or prepare for one.

Justice Stallings: Should students require that many hours to get the education they need?

Longsburg: Yes. Many hours of education today will help the students of tomorrow.

Chief Justice Garcia: Very well. You will each have two rounds to present your case. Please support your arguments as best as you can. At the end, we will decide which argument is more persuasive. Let us proceed.

Round One

Shortums: Most students are mentally drained because of the school hours. A majority of kids spend eight to 10 hours in school, two hours completing homework, over an hour of commuting to and from school, two to three hours in extracurricular or sports clubs, and about eight hours sleeping. As a result, they are left with less than 20 minutes to mentally relax. If students can't get enough time to mentally recharge, how can they prepare their brains for learning for long hours every day?

Justice Bragburt: You make a strong point. This proves that because of the long hours at school, students don't have enough time for free time to prepare themselves for the next day.

Longsburg: The long hours of middle and high schools keep students busy. If students have too much free time, they have the time to make ill decisions and weaken their brain by watching stupid videos or playing games for a long time. As it is, everything is already on the computer (including school). Kids will be kids, and they will spend most of their free time on a tablet or computer, which might have an unhealthy impact. This includes bad posture, excessive blue light, and less sleep.

Justice Stallings: This is a clear point. Letting kids have too much time to relax might end up being worse for them than simply keeping them in school longer.

Round Two

Shortums: The average hours of sleep that teens get are between 7 and 7 and a half hours. Yet they need between 9 to 9 and a half hours. Why is this? Many teens grow to have a biological impulse to become a "night owl", and stay up very late. Not only do they biologically shift their sleep schedules, but teens also stay up late doing homework. They can catch up these hours by waking up later, right? Wrong. Many high schools start at 8 AM and middle schools around 9 AM. This means waking an hour or two ahead of time to keep on schedule. This means waking up at 7 or 8 AM, which means students are not getting the amount of sleep that they need.

Justice Stallings: This is a strong point. Shortening the school hours, especially when it starts, may help students get the sleep they need to grow and stay awake for their classes.

Longsburg: These long hours allow students to absorb a lot of information. For example, middle schools have about seven classes. This means that students can learn about seven subjects, expanding their interests. These interests can lead to what they want to major in college, or even what they want to pursue as a career. Learning about these multiple interests requires time, which is why long hours are worth it.

Justice Bragburt: This is true. Learning about many things is important to a student's education and takes time. 

Who do you think won? Do you have any further points about either side? Leave your thoughts in the comments!