Students, myself included, are not fans of the rules and regulations placed for us during lunch. Students are forced to hang out in the cafeteria and eat the cafeteria food for lunch unless they bring their own. If students get caught by administrators for eating outside of school then they are in danger of receiving a long Tuesday (a detention starting from 2:35 p.m. – 5:35 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon). However, this is not the case at other schools in the area.
Schools, such as Clayton and Marquette, allow their students to leave the school campus to get lunch at restaurants. Unfortunately, there is a problem with letting students leave campus for lunch. If a student is hurt while they are off school off school property, the school is liable for the students safety and they will get in trouble.
I believe that this is an easy fix. There are ways that I brainstormed to help overcome the obstacles preventing students from eating lunch off-campus and eventually help them to get the privilege of off-campus lunches. For example, there can be rules and regulations that can be put in for off-campus lunches like having places to sign in and out. If the students have an excessive amount of tardies as a result of them going out for off-campus lunches their privileges can be revoked. Also, to get rid of the liability issues, the school can send out waiver forms to parents that can say that the school is not responsible for anything that can happen to the students when they are off school grounds for lunch. This will ensure that the school is not liable and not in danger of getting sued. Also, it is good to have off-campus lunches because it has been said that it is good for a student with learning life skills.
According to the National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention, off-campus lunches provide students with good time management skills, trust with teachers, a break from school and a healthier variety of food, which are very important for life after high school too.
I think that there are a lot more positives than negatives to allowing students the privilege of off-campus lunches. It will give students a lot more freedom and independence and relieves stress.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Parkway School District.
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