From Pine View Farm

Lunchtime Conversation 3

When my son was in elementary school, the lunch room monitors would roam the cafeteria.

If they judged that a table was talking too loud, they would start shaving minutes off of recess.

This makes that look tame:

A Roman Catholic elementary school adopted new lunchroom rules this week requiring students to remain silent while eating. The move comes after three recent choking incidents in the cafeteria.

No one was hurt, but the principal of St. Rose of Lima School explained in a letter to parents that if the lunchroom is loud, staff members cannot hear a child choking.

And for all that the reason sounds compelling, I have to think there’s something more going on here. After all, there doesn’t seem to have been a rash of cafeteria choking incidents in elementary schools.

Except perhaps here.

Looks to me like another case of grown-ups blowing it and penalizing the kids.

But what do I know? I’m 400 miles away messing with a computer.

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3 comments

  1. Karen

    January 26, 2007 at 8:37 am

    Sounds like an excuse to me, to enforce quiet. But what do I know? My “baby” is 26 years old.

     
  2. Frank

    January 27, 2007 at 6:45 pm

    Actually, I agree with you. And my “baby” (Second Son) is 18. The oldest is going on 28.

    Damn! We’re getting old along.

     
  3. Karen

    January 28, 2007 at 1:42 pm

    My oldest is 34, & I’m still not quite old.