R.I. school bans talking at lunch

[Kadie]

R.I. school bans talking at lunch
By JUSTIN M. NORTON, Associated Press Writer
13 minutes ago


WARWICK, R.I. - Class, from now on there will be no talking at lunch.

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.

Christine Lamoureux, whose 12-year-old is a sixth-grader at the school, said she respects the safety issue but thinks it is a bad idea.

"They are silent all day," she said. "They have to get some type of release." She suggested quiet conversation be allowed during lunch.

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070125/ap_on_re_us/silent_lunch_2

[Rosemary2205]

1. Lawsuits.

and the fear of them........

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. My God, what insanity!

three recent choking incidents either means the cafeteria is making food wrong, or it's just pure random coincidence that won't occur again.

While I think that teaching children how to be silent, especially in this day and age when their shitty negligent parents let them have noise all day with stereos, iPods, TVs, and other shit, is HUGELY important, this isn't the right reason for it, nor is lunch the right time for it.

They should make silence a spiritual discipline - maybe one lunch a week, or other time - but to make kids be silent because someone might choke? What bullshit.

[saltpoint]

3. I'm sorry. Kids need to talk to each other, to listen to each other.

In Peter Shaffer's phrase, to "learn themselves more moderately."

[silverweb]

4. Oh, please....

That's just stupid.

Wouldn't it be far better -- in the short term and the long term -- to teach the children about signs of choking and to alert a teacher or aide if they see them?

[devilgrrl]

5. Oh, for the love of god...

:wtf:

[MrSlayer]

6. Complete and utter idiocy.

But what can you expect?

[piedmont]

7. We weren't allowed to talk during lunch at my elementary school in the 80s

I think their motive was just that they hated kids. I got paddled on several occasions just for being on a list of kids who talked. Damn I wish I had told my parents about it. It's amazing what adults can get kids to go along with.

[libnnc]

18. we weren't allowed to talk either...

Our lunchroom got so loud that the teachers couldn't carry on conversations with each other. They finally had enough and someone came up with the idea to put a traffic light in the cafeteria. When the light was green, we were free to talk. When it started getting too loud, the lead teachers would turn on the yellow light. If we didn't keep the noise down, we went to the red light. If anyone was caught talking during "red light" they'd get paddled. This was back around '80 or '81. We HATED the lunch period.

But we were pretty darn loud...

[piedmont]

21. People who hate kids shouldn't teach them.

Beating a 40-lb child with a paddle for doing something that is healthy and instinctive for them is barbaric.

[libnnc]

22. I know. I saw many, many beatings at my school...

That's they way they treated us back then. And most were celebrated for it. :(

[Botany]

8. Too stupid for words

Kids not talking w/ their friends @ lunch because somebody
thinks this will stop them from choking?

As a father of a healthy 12 year old boy when I see him with
his friends talking and laughing I am the richest man in the
world.

Attn Sister Mary Rose Tight Ass, children need to have fun
and interpersonal time with their peers if they are going to
reach their potential.

[cynatnite]

9. Sounds like they are damned either way...

They'll get sued if a kid chokes and dies. They'll get sued for not wanting noise so they can hear a kid choking.

My gut tells me they'll find a compromise around this.

[WI_DEM]

10. I think this is pretty stupid, perhaps they should have more staff in the lunch room

People talk at lunch. It's there opportunity to do so, they aren't supposed to socialize in class are they?

[no_hypocrisy]

11. First, I don't think the kids signed up for Quaker Schoolhouse.

Next, I've taught in elementary, middle school, and high school. Good effin' luck. The kids are wired from the morning and need lunch for release. If you make them bottle it up during lunch, I so sympathize with the plight of the teachers as they commence with the afternoon activities.

Next, safety??!! If there are enough monitors during lunch, sharp eyes can find trouble within 3 seconds, and that's experience talking.

As much as I expect John Stossel to say "Give Me A Break", I also expect him to really like the idea of children should be seen and not heard.

[LeftishBrit]

12. How idiotic can you get!

(Just to make sure: is this report completely accurate? It occurred to me that maybe the choking incidents occurred because children were fooling around, and that the talking ban might be a very short-term 'punishment to fit the crime'.)

If it is accurate, it sounds like utter paranoia. The school probably won't be able to enforce it (try to turn a bunch of lively kids into Trappist monks!) and if they can, then they can hardly be surprised when the children grow into adults who are described by employers and others as 'lacking verbal communication skills'.

The attitude is all too prevalent nowadays: if a problem comes up, deal with it by a blanket ban on something.

[tanyev]

13. How about teaching the little darlings to eat slower and chew their food thoroughly?

I don't know if it would alleviate choking incidents, but it's a much healthier way to feed oneself. How much lunch time do they give them anyway?

[BuyingThyme]

14. What if somebody sneezes?

[malaise]

15. Utter madness n/t

[Warpy]

16. I remember some of the Catholic schools I went to

(and I changed schools every 6 months, so there were a few!) had that no talking rule. One of the worst punishments I got was for asking a kid in the next stall for some TP because my stall's roll was empty. The nuns took their stupidest rules very seriously and there was no defense.

And people wonder why I rebelled and left at the ripe old age of 10.

[Wanet]

17. This is just like mealtimes in a monastery or convent

There's no talking -- one of the monks or nuns reads a religious text during meals.

[nevergiveup]

19. The safest way to go

would be to have no eating during lunch. This would eliminate any possibility of choking and as a bonus would help tackle the problem of child obesity. When it comes to our children we can never be too safe. :sarcasm:

[tanyev]

20. They could all lie down on cots for a quick shot of IV nutrition.

So much more quiet and orderly. Ah.....

[mondo joe]

23. Hey, it's a catholic school - they're lucky they're not getting smacked during lunch.

Just saying.

[muriel_volestrangler]

24. In the 70s, I went to a private school where we couldn't talk between courses

(when some of the students cleared the plates, and brought in the dessert), if you were in the room with the headmaster (ages 11-13 or so), but younger students could, in the room next door. We could talk during the 2 courses, though. Don't ask for a logical reason for this - it was just his rule.

Since digital watches with alarms had just come in, and his high frequency hearing had gone, so he couldn't hear them, we just set them off instead.

[WinkyDink]

25. There IS a middle ground, fergawdsakes.