Our current school year is beginning to go back to the pre-COVID-19 ways: full classrooms, a regular schedule, sports back to normal, etc. When the school year first began, we used a schedule in which a two-hour lunch break was divided into four thirty-minute lunches. Each grade was assigned their own designated lunch to eat and converse with their friends. During the remaining one-and-a-half hours, students could do homework and meet teachers. This lunch schedule was an effective way for students to get work done and have enough time to eat.
In our current Lunch and Learn schedule, there is one hour to eat, work on homework, and meet with teachers. This hour is divided into lunches one and two. I normally eat during lunch one and meet with teachers during lunch two. Although this has been beneficial for me, I know that the recent change in schedule has caused a few problems such as long lunch lines, less available seating, and much more.
One major problem with the new schedule is the long lunch line. As a result of all four grades eating at once, students are crammed in the line and sometimes have to wait for an extended period of time before they can begin eating. Some students spend almost half their lunch in line, giving them limited time to eat. Others even refuse to wait and decide to not eat at all. This can be detrimental to a student’s health as they need proper food and shouldn’t go through the whole day hungry. Back when there were four lunches and Advisory schedule, the lines were much shorter, and students could quickly get their lunch. Some students even had time to go back in line and get some more food without having to wait. Having more time made lunch better for students, giving them time to eat without feeling rushed. It also reduced the crowds we were accustomed to seeing.
Today, there are approximately 1,500 kids who are all eating lunch at the same time. This is a stark contrast from the previous schedule where only about 400 kids were eating per thirty minute lunch. Thus, the amount of students filling the hallways, auditorium, and outside areas has greatly increased. This has caused some students problems with finding a spot to eat. For example, students might be forced to eat in a crowded area and their friend groups may have to split up because there is not a lot of space. Last year’s Advisory schedule avoided all these problems and had many more benefits than our current Lunch and Learn schedule.