One thing after another

Stella Johnson

Active Member
difficult child started the new school on Monday. She was so excited and really likes her new teachers.

Yesterday she came home in tears. The new school requires the kids to be silent for 15 min of their 30 min lunch. I have heard it is "quiet time for the teachers".

difficult child and some other kids were accused of talking. difficult child swears she wasn't talking. They made her sit out during recess. She didn't bring her coat to lunch and was wearing short sleeves. She had to sit on the concrete. When she asked a teacher if she could get her coat, she was told she was already outside and couldn't go back in.

I'm not wild about the no talking so the teachers have quiet time rule but I can deal with it. I'm NOT happy she was sitting on concrete when it is pretty chilly here with no coat and not allowed to go and get it.

I sent an email to her teachers last night. Haven't heard back from them yet.

Steph
 

crazymama30

Active Member
They should have let her get her coat, especially since she asked. I think it is crazy that 15min of a 30 min lunch is quiet time. Kids need to decompress, they need time to play and laugh and talk. I am sorry that happened
 

SnowAngel

New Member
I agree with crazymama. I see your difficult child has ADHD, which does cause them to talk and move a bit more, not saying this happened. The school should have some understanding of your difficult child's diagnosis and give her some time during the day to run off stored up energy.

I believe your difficult child should have been given the opportunity to get a coat. What if there ignorance caused your difficult child to get sick from being to cold? I hope this gets resolved shortly. What a way to start a day. :rolleyes:
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
Our schools also had that 15 minute quiet rule. The most ridiculous part of it was that the teachers were not even eating. They were standing guard to make sure no one was talking...how stupid is that?? None of the teachers even eat in the lunchroom with the kids; they eat in their rooms or the teacher's lounge, so why can't the kids keep it down to a low roar? When are the kids allowed to let off steam and chill??

As a kid, we always had a full 45 minutes of lunch/recess. We'd rush through lunch so we could go outside and either play or hang or play ball, or just sit and chat.

I think that the state education departments put so much pressure on schools to reach goal on their state standardized exams that our children are suffering...it's no wonder to me that more and more of our kids have developed anxiety disorders at such young ages.

I know that I am painting a picture of the extreme, but you have to admit...lunchtime/recess should be for socializing and decompressing. The schools are so out of whack and this is their way of creating conformity and order and it bugs me.

Steph, if I were you I would most definitely bring to the principal's attention difficult child's ADHD as well as the cruelty of the teacher who would not allow difficult child to get her coat! And I'd also question the 15 minute quiet rule at the next school board meeting and PTA meeting. Urgh.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
I ditto Janet.

Then I'd round up other parents. I'm certain there are plenty of others smart enough to see this Quiet Time rule is just plain wrong and a very bad idea.

The kids have to be quiet all during class time. Lunch and recess is supposed to be their break time, the time they can let off steam and let their hair down. A release valve so the rest of the day during class can go on quietly.

If teachers need a quiet break why don't they use the teacher lounge and hire lunchtime monitors?

Bad bad rule. :nonono:
 

PollyParent

New Member
If the teachers are watching students, then they are on duty. Employment law dictates that they need to have a break for every X hours that they have worked. By contract the teachers in my District have a "duty-free" lunch. I think it's about 15 minutes or so.

Making the kids be silent does not mean that the teachers are getting their mandated break time. Therefore, I think that if you brought up this practice at a School Board meeting and asked whether or not the District was following employment law, you might very well get a lot of teachers to come forward and support the rule change.

Give the teachers their break, hire on some "lunch duty" aides, and let the kids run around.

PollyParent
 

rejectedmom

New Member
I used to substitute at the grade school level and I just want to share with you a different take on the no talking thing. I do not believe that it is for the teacher's sake. First off the decibel level gets very high and there are other classes that are trying to learn close by. Second, if they are talking they are not eating. You would be shocked at how much good food is being tossed out in out school cafeterias because kids have opend it but did not get around to eating it. With a not talking rule most kids have enough time to eat their lunch and then they go out side where they can yell and screan as loudly as they want. IF there was no opportunity for the children to talk at all I would be opposed to the rule but as long as they get time to interact and socialize I see nothing wrong with it and alot right. by the way are your kids allowed to yell while at your dinner table? normal conversational tones do not hold up when ther are 100 people talking so most kids are yelling to get the attention of friends seated at the other end of the table or at an adjacent table. -RM
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Our school has the quiet lunch thing going on. Not silent for all, but if they get loud they have to be silent.

We have been in a few different schools/districts adn I hae seen how lunch is done at most of them. The schools with the enforced silence or quiet time have kids who eat. The others have kids who don't. Kids need fuel in the middle of the day. The quiet lunch with the explanation that it is for the teachers is to avoid tleling kids they have to be quiet so they can eat. Kids will argue that they can eat and talk, but they can't, not really. If only 15 mins is silent it does not seem excessive, esp if they have recess after. I do think that not all kids will be able to do it completely. As long as it is superquiet whispering I think the teachers should ignore it.

Sitting outside on the concrete with no coat is a different story. THAT needs to stop.

Hugs,

Susie
 

Stella Johnson

Active Member
The teacher replied and said no one told difficult child she couldn't get her coat. I really don't believe this. Yes, difficult child has told some whoppers, but there is no way she would have sat there cold and uncomfortable for any reason without asking or nagging for her coat. There was another teacher outside as well and it may have been that one that said, "You are already outside so no you can't go get it."

All the other schools in the district have a traffic signal thing that measures the noise level. It's big enough for all to see. The kids can keep it to a dull roar. If it goes to yellow, it's a warning to start getting quieter,if red everyone sits in silence.

I can understand them wanting the kids to eat but at the same time, I always ate when I was a kid. My difficult child has no problem eating and talking at the same time. She talks with her mouth full every day. :rofl:

Steph
 

Marguerite

Active Member
In Australia most schoolkids eat their lunch outside. These days most schools have a shelter of sorts - a roof over some bench seats - where the kids sit to eat lunch. The kids are made to sit on these seats for the first part of lunch, to make sure all food gets eaten.

If it's raining or really unpleasant, the kids can stay in the classrooms to eat lunch but the teachers stay too, to supervise.

I teach a lunchtime class and got special dispensation from the principal for the kids to bring their lunch into the classroom and eat it while we are 'working'. The class is totally optional so the kids can leave at any time (when they once more fall under the playground jurisdiction). Most of the kids like to stay with me to eat their lunch because they're not so bored. I do find though, that I often need to remind SOME kids to eat.

Outside, even under the shelter, the noise is much less. I do agree, an indoor lunchroom is going to be a noisy place. But the no talking rule - not sure if that's the way to handle it. And what if a kid finishes eating well before the time is up? They have to sit there and be silent? It's a bit hard on some kids, especially.

Marg
 
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