Challenge & Selection

An issue that is prevalent in American education systems is the questions surrounding

how much time should be allotted for students to enjoy lunch.  In most schools, students are  given twenty minutes to eat lunch.  However, unless students bring their own lunches, that time  can be drastically cut by long lines leaving them at best fifteen minutes to eat.  Due to this and  due to unappealing options, some students opt out of eating lunch at all.  The challenge would be  to redesign the way lunches are handled in the public school system to make a positive and  beneficial impact on attending students.

In order to tackle this problem, the method that seems best is the storytelling tool.  First

and foremost, this solution is going to benefit the students.  It’s their story and it’s important to  have parents and professionals empathize with what students struggle with and need.  However,  it’s the parents and school board that need convincing, and it’s important to recognize their  concerns and what they want for their students and children.

Application

The first part of using the storytelling tool is detailing what the students want, which is,

simply stated, longer lunch periods.  Increasing the time to an hour for lunch would be desirable  for students for several reasons, and, would also offer many benefits that parents would find  appealing.  The main question that parents ask is: Why should we increase the time given for  lunch?  By increasing lunch period to an hour, students can achieve higher marks and eat  healthier meals.

First, let’s look at grades.  Grades are important to parents and teachers, so having an

opportunity to help improve a student’s grade is fantastic.  The immediate benefit can be an  increase in attention span in students.  By having this time to relax, students are less anxious  about their academics, which is critical to their ability to focus.  In addition, if they finish their  food and still have extra time during lunch period, students can easily work on homework or get  help from their teachers.

Next, an indirect benefit is the ability to have healthier lunches.  Since healthy lunches

take longer to create, longer lunch hours will allow for these preparations.  Also, when there is  more time to eat, students will likely eat more.  This can actually be beneficial because even if a  student starts out with something on the sweeter side, they have time to eat all food groups.   When school lunches take up the majority of a student’s caloric intake, it can greatly improve  their well-being.  In addition, shoveling food can be detrimental as students cannot recognize  signs of fullness which can lead to overeating.

The proposal for this challenge is to introduce a lunch period that is a minimum of an

hour in length.  The story explains that, with longer lunch periods, cafeteria cooks can work on a  new menu.  Most notably, there are many resources and recipes that are easy to make and put  together by cafeteria cooks for cafeteria cooks.  There is so much variety that is not only  delicious, but incredibly healthy for students.  Finally, this lunch period will not have any classes

scheduled during that time frame.  Instead, students can schedule tutoring or extra help with  teachers ahead of time.  Not only will students be eating healthier which will make them focus,  but they’ll have time to study, get extra help, and relax and free themselves from academic  pressures that are caused by shorter lunch periods.

Insight

By using this tool, it made the problem something personable.  The storytelling tool is

used to create empathy and make the issue real and important.  Even though it’s the story of the  students, the real people who need convincing are the parents and educational professionals.  By  using this tool, there were certain questions that had to be asked that helped define the solution  and make a solid proposal to help create a better environment for students.  These questions are  who you’re solving for, what their needs are, how you’ll solve them, and why your work matters.   Empathy is the strong point and by using this tool you sympathize with the students and become  passionate about the issue.  When you’re passionate, it shows and makes your audience believe  that this issue is important to them as well.

Approach

One way I think I might do it differently is to tell the story of the parents.  Although the

change will directly benefit the students and it’s an issue prevalent to them, the parents are the  force that will make it a reality.  What is really interesting about this issue is that both  perspectives are fairly similar.  Both want to achieve good grades and both want healthier meals.   However, changing the perspective could make it a bit easier to convince the audience.

This can be due to a few different reasons.  Firstly, there is a disconnect in views between

parents and their children.  Many people will agree that, even if they get along with their  children, there will always be conflict on certain points.  By turning a “student” problem into a  “parent” problem it would become easier to get the attention of the audience and make them  more willing to listen.  Parents are used to back-to-school speeches about making sure they’re  involved with the students and listening to the student’s problem.  What they don’t hear is that  they have a problem.

When presenting this story, the importance is making the parents believe it is actually

their problem.  The presentation would now be that current school system procedures are hurting  their relationship with their children and their dreams for their children’s future.  Every parent  wants to have a positive relationship with their child and wants them to be successful.  This  presentation is going to starkly explain that shorter lunch periods leave tension in students due to  academic stress which could cause them to lash out, poorer marks which can cause strains  between parents and students, and unhealthy lifestyles which will affect grades, mood, and  success.  This presentation would present a solution that parents can help initiate and be proud  of, because it allows them to be involved with their student by still allowing them space and

independence.  It makes the relationship a partnership and improves the communication and trust  between students and parents.

