Another School Complaint.

[PirateLover]

Hi all. You may remember I was in the hunt for a job as a social studies teacher. Well, I wasn't able to find full time employment but I got a 6 week job as a long term sub that pays pretty well and I'm happy with it. One thing that shocked me though is this school allows students to not have a lunch! (complete opposite of the other thread that extended lunch periods!)

I understand that there are very driven kids (and parents )out there. But allowing kids to skip lunch just boggles my mind! A healthy life style is important to a good education. I had a freshman girl who is in one of my honors classes (and is already very very thin) ask me if it was ok if she ate a snack in my classroom because she doesn't have lunch. I was bewildered and I guess she could see it in my face because she said "It's ok, I don' t need one." I asked her why (I thought it was a scheduling mix up) and she said she chose it. I told her she could eat as long as she paid attention, and throughout the class she slowly ate corn chips and maybe one or two oreos.. There is no way she is getting the nutrition she needs. It is policies like this that cause so many kids to completely freak out when they go to colleges.... My best friend went to UPenn and she met a number of people who were overachievers in high school that completely burned themselves out the first semester of college. I just can't believe a school would encourage this behavior :twocents:

[Dsnygirl]

That is REALLY surprising to me... granted,my girls are in 1st and 4th grades, but their schools have always made a big deal about sending or buying a healthy lunch, making sure the kids come w/ a healthy snack for mid-morning... I can't imagine a school making lunch optional!! Have you asked anyone why they do this??

[January-2007]

First off, congrats on the job :party: because that's great news. Second, when I was in 6th grade I didn't have lunch breaks a few times a week because I was in a special Chorus that met during lunch so we ate in the classroom and yes, it was bizarre. Kind of like the girl eating in your class. In high school though, our lunch was at around 10:30AM and classes all were over by just after 2PM, so neither one of my brothers ever brought or ate lunches at school, they just had a snack and then a real lunch when they got home. If the school day ended a lot later that might be wierd, but it worked for them. I do think it's not a good idea though. High schoolers are still young enough that they need a social hour, if not the meal they might be eating during it. I would bet that the kids act up more in class because of not getting time to socialize during lunch. :grouphug:

[BronxTigger]

I don't have a lunch either. "Lunch", or as we refer to it, "Breakfast", is at 10:20 am. :confused:

That is the first I have heard of schools not requiring lunch periods for students. Do the parents have to sign off on their schedule card?

[conorsmom2000]

I don't have a lunch either. "Lunch", or as we refer to it, "Breakfast", is at 10:20 am. :confused:


I just found out that our middle school does this "breakfast" for some too - very odd! The school day for them goes from 8:00 am to 2:55 pm - some kids have lunch at 10:15 am, some have it at 2:00 pm! How can you expect a child who has breakfast at 7 am to pay attention in class when he/she has to go 7 hours without eating? And, if they get caught with a snack, they get detention! :confused: I was somewhat horrified by this...

But, Maryanne, I have never heard of a HS allowing that either - and I definitely don't think it's something that is okay - not only for nutrition reasons, but exactly as you said, they are setting these kids up to burn out at some point.

[IloveDisney71]

I teach kindergarten and we have lunch at 10:30. Do you know how weird it is to eat hamburgers or spaghetti at 10:30!?! It's crazy but because our cafeteria is SO small and the county is DRAGGING it's feet about building one that can acommodate our large number of students there's nothing we can do. I guess it's better than having the last lunch wave at 1:30! :( We do have a snack time in the afternoon but I wish something could be done about the lunch. My family knows that the year I have the 10:30 lunch wave means we will have dinner ON the table at 5:00 because I'm starving.

[princessimagineer]

now im a HS senior, and in my school, if your an overacheiver, you take early morning gym, as in: school starts at 8, you show up at 7:20 for gym to get that over with. then you have an extra class you can have, same principal as this, only your not skipping a meal (or at least there not intending to take away from a meal time)

i actually have heard about this in high schools. its realy sad. ive been looking at colleges lately and the things they expect from you realy drive yourself to want to push even harder, causing these student to give up lunch and then what good is that?

i could NEVER give up my lunch for a class. im just too hungry by the time i get to 12:30..... and way to social to pass up an opportunity with all my friends

[Jared]

I've never heard of a high school allowing students to skip lunch. Are you sure there truly is no lunch break in her schedule?

When I was in high school, I opted to forgo lunch virtually every day. That 30-minute block was too valuable to waste eating. But at least I had the option every day. If I was hungry, I could go down to the cafeteria and grab something.

In competitive high schools, driven students are generally too preoccupied for lunch. I would always rather take care of various errands that needed to be done by the end of the day, anyway.

[PirateLover]

That is the first I have heard of schools not requiring lunch periods for students. Do the parents have to sign off on their schedule card?
I don't know for sure, but I think they would have to. I do know that for the most part, parents are VERY involved in this district....


I've never heard of a high school allowing students to skip lunch. Are you sure there truly is no lunch break in her schedule?
Yes, I'm sure because I asked other teachers about it. Apparently, it's not an uncommon thing. They tried to force everyone to have a lunch a few years back but there was such a backlash that they had to give in. The students/parents are so concerned about getting credits and gpa points that they'd rather overwork themselves than take a break. Our school day goes from 8:00 to 2:30. Some kids do have lunch 3rd period which occurs in the 10:00 hour. I also think that is way too early for lunch. I have kids 7th period that have 3rd lunch and they are starving. I can't imagine what it's like for the kids who have no lunch.


when I was in 6th grade I didn't have lunch breaks a few times a week because I was in a special Chorus that met during lunch so we ate in the classroom and yes, it was bizarre. Kind of like the girl eating in your class.
Some kids have this at the school. They have choir or band and eat lunch during the first 15 minutes. But there are also many kids who have no period with a designated lunch break.

[Tink&Goofy]

No lunch period? I've never heard of such a thing. I would much rather they have too long of a lunch, than no lunch at all. They not only need to eat - but they need a break to regroup during the day! My kids HAVE to have lunch!!
My DD is adjusting well to her extra 1/2 hour of lunch. She is at school an hour early in the morning for a vocal ensemble, and misses out on the morning time with her friends, so she uses this to :blah::blah::blah:!! She is taking a heavy schedule, so I can't blame her wanting the extra break. We will have to see how it goes. I guess I shouldn't complain about too LONG of a lunch if there are some that are getting none.

[Ruprect]

I did the no lunch period thing my Junior year of HS. I'm sure I needed some sort of permission from my parents but I don't recall. Fortunately since I was in Marching Band our director let those of us with no lunch out 5-10 minutes early to grab a bite in the cafeteria before our next classes.

Our lunch periods were a full period length (45 minutes) so it always seemed like to long to eat anyway. The 10-15 minutes I got everyday was enough.

[Jasper]

Several years ago the computer scheduling system at our local high school was not fully integrated with all of the other computer systems in the school. Plus at that time you only had to see a guidance counselor for creating your class schedule before the semester started, during the first week of the semester you could walk into the main office and add or drop any class you wanted without anyone reviewing your change. Needless to say, students who wanted to get away with something (good or bad) figured out this loophole very quickly and started taking advantage of it. One year when my daughter was a junior this problem seemed to hit a peak and there were a lot of students not taking lunch. About four or five weeks into the semester a girl passed out in one of her late afternoon classes because of a lack of nourishment. Needless to say the school immediately changed the policy to say that ALL class changes had to be approved by a guidance counselor AND a parent.

Despite having something as serious as a student pass out, there were still both students and parents that were upset that the school closed this loophole. As a result of these complaints they added an optional period that took place early in the morning before the regular start of the day. Naturally not every class is offered during the early bird class but enough are offered that it makes it worthwhile to have the building open and all that sort of thing. Believe me, this has been a far better solution than allowing students to go without lunch.

Oh, by the way, congratulations on allowing the student you mentioned to eat something in your class. I realize this can create disruptions for you but that is still better than having the student go all day with nothing to eat.

[PirateLover]

Oh, by the way, congratulations on allowing the student you mentioned to eat something in your class. I realize this can create disruptions for you but that is still better than having the student go all day with nothing to eat.

I totally agree. And she was very discreet about it as well which I appreciated. I just don't know how people do it. I remember when I would have a late lunch, my stomach would be growling by 11:00, or if I had an early lunch, I would be hungry again by 2:00. To go 8 hours without a substantial meal day after day just seems a bit out there to me.

I like the idea of the school offering extra classes in the mornings. I've noticed throughout my limited experiences at high schools thus far that many teachers are present well before the start of the school day anyway. I would gladly teach an earlier class if I knew that the school would enforce students to take a lunch period.

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

I was a lunch monitor the past two years at my son's school.
I had a 3rd, 2nd and 8th grade class. 3rd started at 11:25, 2nd at 12:10 and 8th at 12:55. We had to keep an eye on the kids to make sure they ate. If they do not eat they do not go to recess and have to go to the Nurses office. That is including the 8th grade. It was pretty uncomfortable telling a child that age that he/she had to eat or they had to go to the Nurse. A few would get very annoyed but, they soon got the point that eating something would let them go to recess.
All of the kids get a morning snack until 5th grade. Usually 10 minutes or so. In their 5th grade year they start having a quick dry snack (pretzels, crackers, etc) while working at their desk. The younger kids even get an afternoon snack. Our school day is 8:25-3:05pm so they actually eat a lot.
We do not have a school cafeteria. We send in snacks, drinks (they get one container of milk for lunch) and lunch for the kids. I actually prefer that since one of my kids is very picky but I know there are parents that do not like it.
I know my middle son would have a real problem when he got older if he did not have lunch. I have to hold him off at 11:30 in the morning because he is "starving" and needs lunch. I get very shaky if I do not each lunch. Even just a small one. I can't imagine those kids going all day without a lunch.

[DisneyOtaku]

In my high school, every student had a lunch break, but the student wasn't forced to go into the cafeteria and eat--there was a "commons area."

So you could choose not to eat--but you couldn't get away with saying "I didn't have lunch" to a teacher to snack in class. Federal funding made it possible for the students who couldn't afford to buy/bring lunch everyday get a free meal (these students also qualified for free breakfast at the school as well).

So, basically, it came down to choice--there was no reason to skip lunch unless you didn't want it.

[DizNee143]

it wasnt very common in my highschool..but a know a few kids who had to give up there lunch period...for classes they had to take...or if they failed something the year before...(our school stopped doing summer school) so ya..i know my fiance had to give up his lunch his junior year..but most of the teachers were cool about..he was allowed to be like 5 minutes late every day to be able to grab something in the lunchroom before going to class..
the only way i would give up my lunch period was if i knew i could get out a bit earlier than!!