Log In
Today's high school students have to face some serious obstacles when applying to college. With ballooning numbers of applications and fierce competition, educators and college counselors have long sung the praises of AP courses to stand out but for those students looking for an even bigger leg up on the competition, some high schools are allowing students to skip lunch in order to take additional classes.
According to several news reports, there are currently a handful of districts across the country are allowing students (with parental consent, of course) to forgo lunch to take another class. Translation: Participating students would typically have nine 42-minute periods without a break. Students in favor of skipping lunch say that the extra time allows them to pursue subjects they are passionate about – think: art or music – that they may not otherwise be able to fit in their schedules. But not everyone agrees with the option: School Nutrition Association spokeswoman Diane Pratt-Heavner insisted that students who don’t sit down to eat a healthy midday meal will not have the attention span and level of detail they need to succeed in school. "Wolfing down a meal between classes is not promoting a healthy lifestyle," she added. (For more on this story, click here.)
If this was an option at your school, would you opt out of lunch to fit in an extra class? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.