The day of a student is jam packed with classes and the stress of life. The lunchroom is a sanctuary from a teen’s daily challenges. It is a place to relax, take a break, maybe knock out a couple minutes of studying, or do some homework. Most importantly, it is a place and a time to socialize and get caught up with your friends.
Kearns High School has recently changed how their lunch period functions, going from two separate lunches that divided up the student body to one lunch with the entirety of the body having lunch at once. A survey was passed out to Kearns High students and an interview done with Danny Stirland to get both sides of the story.
Lunch lines are too long, and time too short. Changes are wanted, maybe even needed and students are getting tired of waiting. The administration doesn’t have any plans for change. What will be done to help? Students are frustrated with the functionality of this year’s lunch. They want change. Administration argues that it’s working.
A survey was handed out to students of Kearns asking them how they felt about how the lunch period was working. The first question asked, “Do you like how lunch is functioning this year?” Many students responded with a simple answer of “yes.” Though there are students who did not agree with this point of view. Those who did, with a later question, furthered their view and noted that they liked certain aspects such as the idea of having lunch with all their friends. When both sides of the students were asked what they would do to improve lunch they all came to a middle ground to “provide more time.”
The final question of the survey asked the students, “What would you do to improve lunch as it is now?” On every survey, the said student gave feedback on how lunch could be improved. Some students simply suggested that lunch be extended from 40 minutes to an hour. Others asked that more space to eat be provided. The students that suggested more space, feeling that the lunchroom is too crowded. Some even pointed out that with the changing of seasons it is starting to get too cold for the students to spread outside.
Danny Stirland, the principal of Kearns High School, was asked some questions about why the change to one lunch was made and what the benefits were. After Mr. Stirland was asked what the leading decision to change lunch was, he responded, “One of the things is we were struggling with not having enough supervision for two lunches.” Mr. Stirland also noted that, “Unfortunately we had too many students taking both lunches and not coming back for 3rd period.” That said, a high school has a legal obligation to supply supervision and now without classes during lunch they have staff to help watch over the students.
Another question asked Mr. Stirland was if he thinks that one lunch works better than two. He responded with, “Absolutely, it does take a little longer to get through the lunch line, but kids still have plenty of time and usually get through within 15 minutes leaving them about 20 minutes to eat.” There are different views on time among the students. Another factor in play is finding a place to sit, whether it be with friends or alone. The time students said they had to eat ranged from 20 to 5 minutes. It all depends on when you get in line. If you hop in right at the front, you have plenty of time to eat, but if you’re in the back of the line you don’t have as much time to eat.
There are always improvements to be made everywhere. Some are smaller than others, but they are still there. Every want can’t be filled by reality and that is the sad truth. But compromises can be made, and comfort implemented. How do you want your lunch to work?
