How long should lunch be?

[5Lindsey]

Lunch at our school is 30 minutes. During this time students need to get to the cafeteria, stand in the lunch line, eat their food, and put their trays back. So should lunch be shorter or longer? There are pros and cons to both sides. 

 

The CDC recommends that students should get at least 20 minutes of time to eat their lunches. This does not include the amount of time it takes for students to stand in the lunch line and get their food. However, many times once students are seated they only have 15 minutes or less to finish their lunch. Nutrition experts say that 15 minutes or less is not enough time for kids  to properly eat and digest their food. It is also better for students mental health if they have time to socialize during lunch. 

 

However, if lunch was longer, the school day might also be longer. This would leave students with less time for after school activities, and can also make students more tired from a longer day of school. If lunch was longer and the school decided to keep the school day the same, then lunch would take away class time. Then the teachers would have to fit their lesson plans into shorter classes, and students would have less time to learn the material and ask questions about it. 

 

In my opinion, I think they should just keep lunch period at 30 minutes. I feel like I have enough time to eat lunch, and I don’t think it's worth making the school day longer or taking away from class time. 

 

Do you think lunch should be longer or shorter?

 

If so, how long do you think lunch should be? 

 

Sources: 

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/longer-lunches-smarter-students-the-controversy-of-10-minute-or-1-hour-lunch-periods 

https://www.livestrong.com/article/525829-pros-cons-of-longer-school-lunches/

[5Levi]

I think that the high school lunch is enough time for everyone to eat and relax. I think the middle school lunch should be longer because people wait in line so long that they only have 5-10 minutes to eat. Kids need more than 5 minutes to eat because it is bad for kids to learn to eat as fast as they can.

[2Caitlin]

I think that lunch should be longer. In all the other schools I went to beore Harlan lunch was just as long as any other class. Its very common to see students who are at the end of the line not get there food till their is only 15 min left Wich really only leave student with enough time to rush to eat their food before the bell. All student should be able to enjoy their lunch and not have to rush.

 

[8Peter Sotelo]

I think that school lunchtime is fine how it is, but, if you're not early enough to lunch you will have to wait longer, which gives you less time to eat.