Why no school lunch break?<\/p>\n
Indonesian schools have long school hours without a proper
\nlunch break. In this letter I am commenting mainly on junior high
\nschools. The school my daughter attends is a private school in
\nBogor, but I think that school hours are the same in every school
\nbecause the education system here is centralized and controlled
\nby the government.<\/p>\n
Students enter their schools at 7 o'clock in the morning, and
\nfinish their studies at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. This is
\nalready six hours, and there is no lunch hour. The break time is
\nonly 15 minutes between classes.<\/p>\n
I think that many children have breakfast about 6.00 or 6.30.
\nEven though the classes end at 1.00 p.m., very often children do
\nnot leave their schools immediately. The reasons are: to make
\nphotocopies for the next day -- this is the phenomenon here; or
\nto attend 'group study' for the assignments given by teachers.
\nSo, very often they leave around 2.00 p.m. without taking proper
\nmeals. Some may eat noodles and meatballs or fried rice at the
\nschool cafeteria, or buy something from the street vendors.<\/p>\n
I prohibit my daughter from doing so mainly because of
\nsanitary reasons. Since her elementary school days, I often give
\nher a snack from home to eat at school during break time.
\nHowever, she does not eat it often because there is not enough
\ntime.<\/p>\n
One big problem is that students cannot eat inside the
\nclassrooms. Even just a simple sandwich they have to eat while
\nstanding or sitting on the concrete outside the classrooms.<\/p>\n
In Japan, in almost every school from elementary to senior
\nhigh, students can eat at their own desks inside the classroom.
\nMoreover, Japanese schools start around 8.00 a.m., and usually
\nthey have a lunch hour from 12.00 till 1.00 p.m., then they start
\nthe afternoon curriculum.<\/p>\n
In most elementary and public junior high schools they have a
\nlunch, in the classrooms, provided by the school. If this is not
\nprovided, many students bring their lunch boxes from home, or
\nthey buy bread and milk, etc. and eat at their desk during the
\nlunch hour.<\/p>\n
I want to question why, at Indonesian schools, students cannot
\neat in the classrooms, and also why school hours are so long
\nwithout proper lunch breaks.<\/p>\n
Another problem is that teachers often give group study
\nassignments within a short time. As in the case of my daughter's
\nschool, it is very difficult to work together because the group
\nmembers live far away from each other. This has forced them to
\nstay at school long enough to finish the assignment, often
\nwithout having a proper meal.<\/p>\n
Also group singing assignments prevent the students from
\nleaving the school earlier, because they have to arrange
\neverything, including the costumes. Yet the group's achievements
\nare not satisfactory because of lack of proper preparation. In my
\nopinion the students should be given more time to arrange the
\ngroup study so as to achieve better results. They can use the
\nschool hours when the teaching staff have a meeting.<\/p>\n
I believe educators and the Ministry of Education and Culture
\nmust show due concern over the health of school children.<\/p>\n
Name and address<\/p>\n
withheld<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/why-no-school-lunch-break-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }