But if they are bad, it can be awful. Both teachers and students enjoy the longer lunch periods, Ms. Bush-Lange said. On the previous schedule, there were two 30-minute lunch periods. Now there is a common 50-minute period, allowing everyone to eat at a more leisurely pace. Like many students here, Mr. Cone uses the lunch period to participate in extracurricular activities.
Many clubs meet during lunch instead of after school.
On Mr. Cone spent his lunch period in the cafeteria selling tickets for the senior graduation breakfast. Forty tickets later, it was time for English. For the first seven minutes, teacher Rosemary Fryer took attendance and returned a quiz. The class spent about 50 minutes reading Act IV of the Shakespearean drama aloud, stopping every few minutes to discuss some of the more complex passages. And they say some teachers use the time to allow students to do homework in class.