Blarg

How School Lunchrooms Are Failing Students

How it begins…

The elementary school I attended contained grades K-5. After graduating 5th grade, I was promoted to the middle school that contained grades 6-8. I went from having 17 students in my class to 150. It was a new and scary time, but it was also very exciting. I was meeting students who actually shared my same interests, same style, same name. It was a completely new world and I was liking what I was seeing.

Then the lunch bell rang…

All 150 students stood in line to receive a fresh burger with a well-frosted middle. It complemented the salt shrouded fries beautifully, which caused me to demolish my little milk carton after the first few bites. I remember the craving sensation of wanting to return back to the lunch-line to receive a second milk carton, but I didn’t have an extra $1.50 with me.

Now, you readers might be thinking, “Super. He’s going to talk about nutrition and Michelle Obama.” Not quite. The issue I want to focus on is the lunchroom dynamics. Put in different terms, I want to discuss the problems of a social divide that the lunchroom environment creates. To help explain this further, here’s a short YouTube clip to help get you in the right state of mind.

Recruitment Day

I will never forget my first lunch period as a middle school student. I sat down at an empty table, eager for my new friends to join me, when the remaining 8 seats were taken by my elementary school classmates. This continued for the rest of the week until I mustered the courage to venture to a new table that was filled with my basketball teammates. I didn't mean for this action to be offensive; I simply wanted to talk to some new friends I was only able to see during lunch. Shortly after this occurred, I fell out of touch with all of my old classmates from elementary school, thus completing my plunge into this new world of socialization. We had all officially been recruited into our cliques.

Social Pressure

This "almighty" decision for what social group to join should not be a choice that students have to make. Cliques can be destructive, but they're an element that exists within schools across the country. Lunchrooms act as the catalyst for this process, and from what I have witnessed through my own years of education, the success rate of dividing students into these various groups is unbelievably high. What I find so disappointing is that school cafeterias allow this sort of social stigma to flourish and don't attempt to confront it.

Cindy Long, author of the article "Conquering Cliques in School," writes:

"Cliques in schools do provide a sense of belonging and security for their members, but the “rules” for belonging can be stifling—especially among the so-called popular groups. Usually there’s a leader or group of leaders who exert control over the group, and the number one rule is universally understood: Conformity is mandatory. Nonconformity, or simply hanging out with kids from another clique, can result in social isolation, harassment, and bullying."

I experienced a form of this isolation firsthand during the first few weeks of middle school. It hurt and made me feel guilty; it felt as if I had failed the group of friends I had grown up with. This is the feeling that schools need to help students avoid, and the lunchroom problem would be a great place to start.

Pursuing the Solution

Bullying has been one of the bigger problems within the school system for as long as I can remember. As a future educator, this is one of the issues I want to focus on to provide the students with a healthier learning environment; I believe that the place to start fixing this problem is the lunchroom. If a student does not belong to any sport or extracurricular activity, their socialization is then limited and may cause them to be "unfit" for other students' expectations. If a student has nowhere to sit at lunchtime where they can feel safe from judgment, then they can begin to dread the entire process. Where is a student supposed to sit if they do not have very many friends? Or if their friends have a different lunchtime? Or if there is a bully that has the same lunchtime? Furthermore, what if there are multiple places that you would feel welcomed, but choosing one ostracizes you from the other?

There are so many factors that are in play in regards to this situation. School cafeterias need to be modified so that it becomes a place where all students feel that they belong.

How can this be done without costing thousands of dollars, you ask?

I'm still working on that...

However, I do know that there are actions that can taken involving teachers cooperation; even if it means that teachers shift tables from day-to-day and sit with a variety of students to try and shorten the social divide. It is a teacher's duty to provide a safe environment for students, both physically and psychologically. The lunchroom is failing students in this sense, and needs to be addressed.