In the words of Principal Dr. Michael Johnson, the point of office time for freshmen “is to hopefully build some good habits.” And while office time can promote good time management skills, dragging it out until January will not benefit freshman students whatsoever. According to the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes two months to form a habit. The point of office time during Lunch & Learn is to form good habits. The window from September to Thanksgiving is more than enough time to form these skills. Moreover, this benefit of office time is outweighed by the negative effects. Extending office time not only deepens the rift between freshmen and the rest of the student body, it also stunts students’ extracurricular opportunities and independence.
First of all, extending office hours will further the divide between freshmen and the rest of the school. Once office hours end, freshmen have the opportunity to go eat lunch and socialize with people both in and outside of their grade. Prolonging office time makes these important bonds harder to create, as most students have settled into groups. Intergrade friendships can be very beneficial, as older students can provide advice and mentorship. Clearly, lunchtime is crucial to building relationships and decompressing from the school day. Trapping freshmen in a study hall for half of lunch can prevent these important relationships from flourishing.
Second of all, extending office time can result in less students participating in extracurricular activities. LM offers an amazing amount of fun and interesting clubs, and the best time to join them is freshman year. However, office time can disrupt students from going to meetings. Some students will even skip office time to attend meetings, adding to absences in Powerschool. Freshmen should know the value of clubs and activities, and after they get settled into school there should be as much of a push as possible to join them. Extending office time just prevents freshmen from being fully involved in a club.
Finally, office time can stunt the independence of students. Office time provides a nice framework for students to structure their lunches. However, it is important later in the year that students are intrinsically motivated to manage their time on their own. Students should not rely on office time as the one and only right way to do Lunch & Learn. Students should be motivated to find what makes them most productive and happy. Some students may find that working and eating for the entirety of Lunch & Learn is productive. Others may discover that taking the majority of lunch to relax actually leaves them feeling more ready for the day. According to the Harvard Graduate School of Education, “When students have a sense of control over their learning, their intrinsic motivation improves.” Office time limits the capacity for students to have this sense of control and make their own decisions. After all, high school is a time to learn study skills and what works best for you. Office time hinders these important discoveries on how each of us can use our time.