Recently there has been some discussion about having a longer lunch. To many, a 30-minute long lunch does not seem excessive, but extending the already lengthy period would unnecessarily take away instruction time.
While a lot of students want a break from school, a longer lunch is not the solution. During lunch, students spend 15 to 20 minutes eating, if that. After eating they spend time walking around or socializing. Giving so much free time leaves students trying to entertain themselves and increases the likelihood of them getting into trouble. If students want a break, a longer PrimeTime would be a better time to relax or catch up on work in their assigned class.
Something asked is how are students supposed to have adequate time to eat when there are not enough microwaves? This is a valid point due to the fact that school lunches have become more expensive and influenced many parents’ decisions to send their kids with a packed lunch, but if the number of microwaves is a problem, the way to solve that problem is purchasing more microwaves or packing lunches that don’t require heating, not adding to the length of the lunch period.
Another thing to consider is how it might add to the time spent doing school work outside of class. The length of the lunch period and homework seem unrelated, but by adding time to lunch, this takes away time from every other period. This leads to teachers having less time to teach the lesson and giving out homework as students are leaving the class.
With the current PrimeTime, students wanting a break may find that a longer lunch is not the best way to get that. Teenagers just don’t require much time to eat, and adding more lunch time will only be taking away instruction time and leaving them searching for ways to entertain themselves. If microwaves or length of PrimeTime is the problem, the way to solve that problem is requesting a longer PrimeTime period and more microwaves, not increased lunch time.