I Need My Saturdays, OK.

By NATALY DELCID ’24

It’s Friday, and you just got out of your last club meeting. You take a 30-minute hot shower, throw on the Christmas jammies, and snuggle under your weighted blanket, bracing yourself for an SNL marathon. Oh wait– no you’re not. You have math at 8 a.m and Alex the Geologist needs your help ASAP!

Listen, I’m one of those freaks who truly enjoys school, but I still understand the balance needed between school and rest. We already live on campus and have no physical separation from our classes, so setting boundaries between the time for class work and rest is essential to mental health at the Academy. In fact, I’m quite tired all the time and I feel like that’s the overarching culture of the student body here, or at least that’s what I’ve observed as a new upper; here, it’s cool and understood to be tired. As someone who went to public high school with “real” kids, this culture that Exonians bear proudly is not how the average high school kids experience their teen years. Therefore, I believe starting the school year earlier is critical to combating the exhaustion students face at the Academy and ensuring that we receive structured breaks.

Many schools across the country start school in early/mid-August, so starting school early wouldn’t put us in an awkward spot amongst other schools in the nation. In fact, when I stopped by the St. Mark’s School of Texas in mid-August, they were fully up and running. According to my very rough math, we would need to start school about two weeks earlier to make up the class time lost if Saturday classes were canceled. Therefore, school could start on August 26 (in reference to when school started this year). This date does not clash with any major summer programs and gives students their usual nearly 3-month-long summer break.

I feel that students need Saturday as a buffer before they can truly catch a break on Sunday. On Saturday, athletes still have games and most students spend their time catching up on homework or tasks for clubs. It is only on Sunday when the campus truly feels quiet and at peace— when I feel I can truly breathe. That feeling disappears entirely when there are Saturday classes.

Also, for kids who like to go out of town on weekends, they no longer have the option to cram all their work in one day and then visit home or go into the city another day. Having Saturday classes disincentivizes students to get out of Exeter. This is unhealthy since this school is already so isolated from the rest of the States and the world. I literally haven’t seen a highway in over a month.

I understand this is a tough ask, so if we must make up the class time an alternative would be that teachers are not permitted to assign homework for Saturday classes. This means Saturday classes would become a time where students can ask questions if they’re behind or just review what they’ve currently learned. If we can’t have Saturdays off, at least make them more relaxing.

Lastly, having Saturday classes completely shifts away from the direction work culture is going. Many massive companies with world renowned workers are shifting to a four-day work week, yet we’re still having a bunch of teenagers work six? The school prides itself in how it’s changed with the times, and to uphold that moral, Saturday classes have got to go.

In short, Saturday classes drain students and are a pain in the rear end for faculty who have to spend their weekends with a bunch of tired children instead of with their families. The mental drain that comes with having them every three weeks can be erased by simply having everyone come back to school two weeks earlier. Alex the Geologist should either do the math himself or wait until I’m well-rested on Monday.