When the bell rings for lunch in the middle of my AP Calculus fourth/sixth period class, all I can think about is the sandwich and chips that wait for me, not the calculus that I have just learned and will continue to learn after I return from lunch.
Personally, I’m not a fan of split lunch periods. I do not like starting class, going to lunch, and then coming after eating. It’s disruptive to the learning environment, since lunch in the middle of class interrupts the class period. Additionally, lesson plans are split in half, which makes them hard to understand and follow.
I’m not the only one frustrated by split periods. Nathalie Phillips, junior, views split lunches as disruptive as well. “It’s annoying because you lose focus and lose the continuity of the lesson,” Phillips said.
When I arrive in a class, I prepare myself for that particular class. I start thinking about the subject and get into the proper mindset. When I break for lunch, I lose that mindset, and I have to come back to class and attempt to re-gather my thoughts. Senior Margot Wagner agrees.
“I don’t like split periods because it makes it hard to follow along,” Wagner said.
Another issue with split periods is the question of which period lunch to go to while testing. Whenever there is a test in the class, students must go to a previous or later lunch period to ensure that they have a full period to complete their assessment. This means that the students have to go to a different lunch period than their own and find somewhere to sit, which is a tiresome process to many individuals.
“It is annoying to have to switch lunches whenever there is a test,” Wagner said.
Though I’m not a big fan of split periods, I found that other students were. Junior Saena Syed, for instance, is in favor of split lunches. “Split periods beak up the class so it seems shorter and more enjoyable,” Syed said.
Either way you think about it, split periods split up class periods. And in my opinion, it certainly doesn’t make my learning of Calculus, or any subject for that matter, any easier.
