Lunch detention has been a very hot topic of discussion this school year. This year, if students are not in advisory or third block at the appropriate time, they will receive a tardy and two days of lunch detention. Lunch detention serves the purpose of holding everyone accountable to being on time, and learning the importance of time management needed for everyday life.
The Salida High School’s Dean of Students, Abigail Cooksey stated, “There’s no point in having rules that don’t have consequences.”
Therefore the rule being changed about which student grades could leave off campus for lunch required a consequence for not abiding by the time of implemented arrival. Cooksey also explains that lunch off campus is not a right by any means, it is merely a privilege. With that being said, if students show up late, they lose their privilege for two days and are instructed to have a regular lunch in the school building as opposed to leaving off campus. This year, many students are affected everyday by lunch detention
Cooksey explained that, “late is late. I have to mark a line somewhere, and I mark the line at exactly 12:35 because that is when the bell rings. Seconds late is an incredibly short amount of time, and the rational side of me gets that. And if I say that thirty seconds is the gray area, then the next kid is going to get mad at me because they came in 45 seconds late, and if I say 45 seconds is the gray area, then it’s a minute. Late is late; we gotta get here before the bell.”
The way this is implemented means students from any grade will be held accountable for managing their time poorly. Time management is a crucial life skill and having consequences for being on time now can significantly alter poor habits of being late for many students in the future.
Lunch detention is something that every student wants to majorly avoid as the consequence grows each time you slip up and come back to school late. Cooksey explains, “the actual framework is; the first time it’s two days, the next time would be a week. After that we’re starting to look at having some parent conversation, and doing an actual lunch detention where you’re eating isolated in the office.”
The severity of consequence, although seemingly unideal, can also improve student’s habits of time management for later in life. Lunch detention can be a daily struggle for many, but hopefully can be used as an overall tool of improvement for life skills.