Since students don’t have enough time to heat up their food and the cafeteria line is too long, the lunch period needs to be extended. Thirty minutes is just not enough time for lunch.
With so many students bringing their lunch because the price of the school lunch has changed from being free to $3, the amount of time we actually have to eat is very little.
It takes at least 15 minutes to get to the microwaves since there are not enough machines for the number of students up heating their food. When four minutes is added to actually cook the food, in total it takes 19 minutes leaving 10 minutes to eat.
Also, eating food in only 10 minutes is unhealthy for the digestive system. When one eats food quickly, the body doesn’t signal the brain that it is getting full.
The amount of time students have after they eat lunch for a mental break depends on what lunch they bring. Lunch is the only time in the day where one can have a mental break and not have to focus on school work. Taking a mental break is important.
From all the work the students do during the school day, a mental break is a necessity. Even if it’s just an extra five minutes for the students to just sit, eat their lunch and take a break from worrying about their school work, it’s better than nothing.
While we do have PrimeTime two to three times a week, the students who have to make up work every day don’t have that time to take a break like some students do.
The extra time for lunch could be taken from last period when high school athletics and elective are offered. It could be just a simple five or 10 minutes.
On a regular day the classes are about 50 minutes. You could take ten minutes would be taken out of the last class and add it to the lunch period. 45 minutes is more than enough time for most elective classes, which would allow for the mental break students need during lunch