Is The Time For Lunch Too Short?
35 Minutes is all the time that students in public schools have to consume their lunches. For the freshmen and sophomores, that may not be a problem, but the upperclassmen that are able to go out to get food, struggle to eat and be back by the allotted time. Students that are able to leave school grounds to go get food, rush to their cars after the bell dismisses them from their class. Students wouldn’t try leaving class earlier than the actual dismissal time if they were given extra time to leave and return.
Students aren’t the only ones who struggle with the short amount of time. Mrs. Pittack is a teacher down in the FCS center, and she explains that she brings her own lunch everyday. She believes that the amount of time that we are given for lunch, should be extended. Lunch time is about the only time that teachers have to sit down during the day. Teachers try to use their free time to use the bathrooms and rest while they can. “During lunch time, students usually come in to get help, and I also get busy with grading papers. That doesn’t allow me to have much time to eat my lunch,” Mrs. Pittack explains.
Health is one of the bigger problems, with having a certain amount of time to eat. Students aren’t able to go home and make a nice nutritional meal. When students go out to get food, they normally stick around close to the school and get something from a fast food place. Eating fast food everyday means that they’re eating way more calories than they should be taking in. Taking in food fast can damage the body and leave a person feeling ill. Mrs. Pittack makes it her goal to bring something healthy everyday for lunch. Also, the amount of time doesn’t allow students to eat a lot, so they don’t get as many nutrients as they should be taking in. “I like to try and bring a nice little healthy lunch every once in awhile even though I don’t like to stay in for lunch,” senior, Natalie Delaney described. Salads at fast food places are an option, but from ABC News, they discovered that the ingredients of a salad have about the same amount of calories as any other menu product. Plus, students aren’t craving a salad with other foods shown in front of them.
There are students who rely on the meals provided by the school, but the amount of time given to eat should be extended, so students don’t have to rush to get to the cafeteria. Seating is very limited in the Commons Area, and there are more than 200 students that have lunch all together. Everyone tries to rush to the front of the line because if they don’t, they end up in the back. The back of the line is full of those who didn’t get there fast enough and those who have a temporary ID. Senior, Emily Zimmerman said, “I never stay in for lunch because I know that it’ll be very hard to find a seat.” Running late to lunch, or just getting into the line later than usual will sometimes leave students with just about 10 minutes to eat. “Most kids will eat their entree and chug down their milk, but they end up throwing away their fruits and vegetables.” Harvard.edu states in an article that they wrote.
Going out for lunch gives students the risk of getting back to school late, having to find a decent parking spot, and making it to class before the final bell rings.Teachers are not supposed to give students a free pass for coming in late, which isn’t fair to those students who arrive just a few minutes after the bell. If the amount of time that students and teachers are provided to eat was extended by just 10 or 20 minutes, there wouldn’t be such a hurry to eat, which would help students stay healthier and not be so stressed out. With just a few extra minutes, we can accomplish a lot more. Adding more time to the lunch schedule would be possible if the length of the school day was extended for a little longer than normal.
