As students snack in their classes, teachers are concerned about distractions and pest attractions. Different teachers have varying rules on whether or not their students are allowed to eat during class time. Students and teachers at SCHS shared their opinions on eating in class.
Some teachers argue that their students learn better when they have already eaten. Math teacher Marlene Spector allows her students to snack in class if the food is not anything that could impact how efficiently students work.
“If they’re hungry, they’re not going to be able to focus, so the only chance they have of being able to absorb concepts and engage with their other brain is if they have food,” Spector said.
Spector explained that students have different schedules, so eating in class could be a crucial time for those who do not have the same opportunities as others.
“Some students are dropped off very early. Some students have different home situations. Some can’t get here in time to eat, so they go to the cafeteria,” Spector said.
According to sophomore Audrey Bartolome, several of her classes provide an accepting environment for food when she cannot eat on her own time. Bartolome described an experience with her English teacher, Angelo Reyes, when she and her table mates brought out snacks.
“One time… everyone at my table in English brought a few snacks to eat. He brought us napkins and he was like, ‘Oh, you guys got a potluck today,’” Bartolome said. “He (Reyes) doesn’t care.”
Similar to Spector, math and science teacher Jyothi Sunkara agrees that students should be allowed to eat during class as she feels for students who get hungry.
“If I’m old and I get hungry, then I can’t focus,” Sunkara said. “I can’t imagine not being able to eat. It makes me really sad. You can’t learn on an empty stomach.”
Social studies teacher David Ledesma had an unsettling experience when he first arrived in his classroom. He found cockroaches all over the room and was left with no resource to get rid of them since pesticides are against campus policies.
“There was a roach infestation. There were probably about 30 roaches. I actually had to put on gloves and pick up the stuff that was on the floor. It was an old banana, orange peels and crumbs from food that had been rotting,” Ledesma said.
SCHS’s main school building is carpeted, making it harder to clean messes or stains. School administration prohibits eating in the hallways, but rules vary from teacher to teacher. Ledesma is worried about the cleanliness of a carpeted room.
“Can you imagine how nasty the carpets are underneath?” Ledesma said. “Where kids eat and drop food and drink on the floor, and we can’t get under to get the water or liquid or anything out.”
Many believe allowing students to eat during class time can be beneficial, but there should be some guidelines.
“I don’t seem to see an issue with eating in class as long as you clean up,” Bartolome said.