Is Silent Lunch Effective?

Mackenzie Ault

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Is silent lunch effective? During a survey held for another article, we threw in a question about silent lunch. We asked the students of Powell high school if they felt that silent lunch was effective. Every student we asked this question to all had the same response that it was nowhere near effective. The students said, “No, I don't think silent lunch does anything.”, and, “No, silent lunch isn’t effective at all.”. One student even went as far as saying, “Silent lunch is not appropriate at this age.”. They claimed, “Even if we get a silent lunch slip, no one ever goes– and if they do, then it won't prevent them from being tardy again.”. It’s like putting a sixteen-year-old in a time-out fit for a seven-year-old. The seven-year-old will feel more punished, because at that age you are eager to sit and talk with your friends during lunch. The sixteen-year-old, on the other hand, will most likely not care, and it will not affect their day. I have witnessed some of the same people be tardy and get silent lunch slips every other day, and silent lunch never changes anything about the time they arrive at school. I genuinely feel that silent lunch is not effective at this age. It does not accomplish anything, other than students knowing which teachers care and which do not care about turning slips in. Silent lunch has never improved tardiness, and as one can see, it never will.