Mini-OPED: Saturday Classes

By  WILLIAM INOUE ‘27

I remember vividly when my parents advertised Phillips Exeter Academy to me as a “rigors school that offers students Saturday classes just so that they can cram more academics in.” The way both they and the internet made it so that I believed Saturday classes were a common occurrence. Coming into Exeter, I mentally and physically prepared to take weekly Saturday classes. Still, There were a few Saturday classes in my first prep year; they often occurred during weeks when we had a day off in the week due to a holiday. However, I recently discovered that schools such as the Middlesex School have classes every Saturday after conversing with my friend from there. Now, it begs the question: What are Saturday classes for? Do they work? Most importantly, why are there so few classes this term? 

To answer the first question, we must investigate why these academic rigors exist in boarding schools. Historically, many of the boarding schools that exist even today were built upon the virtues and beliefs that the founders had. Even our school was founded upon The Deed of Gift, written by John and Elizabeth Phillips. Every individual school had unique beliefs and virtues that the founders believed in when drafting the school. Still, at its essence, all schools agreed that academic excellence was at the core of any educational institute. Saturday classes stepped into this as a way for schools to maintain academic rigor through more class time and course momentum. At its core, Saturday classes were founded upon the notion that they would improve schools academically by providing more physical class time. 

So, how about now? Saturday classes worked back then when most of the classwork and lectures had to be taken in person due to the lack of the internet. Yet, in modern times, classes and lectures can be done almost anywhere, creating less need for Saturday classes. This ties back in with the final question: why are there so few Saturday classes? Largely, I assume, is the school’s recognition that these Saturday classes yield little results for the time they are devoted to. Many students fatigue the classes, and a good number of teachers choose to cancel classes. With fall term coming to a close, I hope everyone reading this their best of luck on finals, and I sincerely pray for no Saturday classes this winter term.