Penny For Your Thoughts.. 8th graders protest lunch policy

[SoCalDem]

Penny For Your Thoughts
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/02/students_get_detentions_for_pa.html
March 5, 2008


When officials at New Jersey's Readington Middle School cut the lunch period to 30 minutes, students got upset.
....................................
Some of them showed their displeasure by paying the $2 cost of their lunches in pennies. Twenty-nine eighth graders received detention for their payments. The 8th graders at Readington Middle School were protesting having only 30 minutes for lunch each day. They received detentions for slowing the cafeteria line and disrespecting lunch aides, who had to count the 5,800 copper-plated coins, said Superintendent Jorden Schiff.

There were approximately 200 students in the cafeteria during Thursday's lunch period, Schiff said. The detentions called for spending an hour of silence in a classroom after school. "Most reasonable people understand that the school needed to respond to this," he said.

snip

GO Kids ! :)

[Elspeth]

1. Pennies are legal tender. They should not get detention for that.

I would fight that.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

71. Detention is not a legal proceeding

Why fight it, the kids were very *very* smart and pissed off some people. This detention is a badge of honor. Were I one of the parents I would arrange for some adults to pick the kids up after school and take them out for a celebratory dinner making sure to give them a full hour to eat ;)

If the kids were suspended I would tear the school apart but detention is nothing..

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

77. Agree. Moreover, I'd let the school authorities know that I was rewarding the child. -nt

[Elspeth]

108. It's the principle of the thing. Being punished for using legal money

is ridiculous.

[pacalo]

114. I totally agree.

[Ellen Forradalom]

2. Last I checked, pennies were legal tender

Suck it up, school.

And go kids!

[bluestateguy]

3. I believe the law requires that they accept any cash denominations under a $20 bill

Unless they have a blanket policy of no cash.

[TCJ70]

37. Where does it say they refused to take it? n/t

[havocmom]

64. They DID punish kids who used legal tender

One of those kids probably know a lawyer :evilgrin:

[TCJ70]

86. They didn't punish the kids for using the coins...

...the punished them for using those coins to hold up lunch lines.

[havocmom]

90. Which certainly teaches the lesson that taking action against policy one doesn't like

is not tolerated. That's a FINE lesson in an alleged democracy! x(

So, when war protesters are rounded up into 'free speech zones', or worse, for holding up policies people disagree with...

That is the logical lesson here.

[theboss]

93. Remember when most Democrats were taught by Nuns?

Ah...those were good times. We all had good penmanship then.

[havocmom]

95. Public school rabble rouser myself

and my penmanship sucks, but I can sure work up a crowd!

[TCJ70]

110. But how many other kids were held up...

...even longer because of their actions? Is it OK to disagree with the policy change? Absolutely! Does that mean you get to use up someone elses time to prove your point? No.

[Ian David]

4. Isn't it against federal law for them to refuse U.S. currency? n/t

[theboss]

8. Students in school don't have the same rights as adults aside of school

Only a million Supreme Court cases have established that.

You can suspend a kid for being a smart ass.

[wtmusic]

17. The issue isn't whether kids have the same rights

it's whether kids have the right to use pennies as legal tender.

Adults don't get to make up the rules as they go along.

[theboss]

22. Sure they do

My dad has been a principal for 35 years. And his school has no real "rulebook" because his theory is that as soon as you write down rules, kids find ways to get around them.

So, his rules are essentially "don't be a disruption" and "don't be an idiot." And he gets to interpret what the violations are.

He is probably the most popular principal in his district as a result.

(For the record, I am certain he would have let the kids get a pass this time. No punishments. And he would have applauded their creativity. If they did it a second time, he would punish them).

[wtmusic]

28. If Mr. Popularity were to spank them

he'd get his ass booted out. No, he can't just make up the rules. Try again.

[theboss]

32. I don't think he's spanked anyone since the 80s

You can spank in PA, but there is a ridiculously beuracratic process you have to go through to do it. I don't think he believes spanking works anyway. He only spanked me once in my entire childhood.

He doesn't make up the rules. He interprets them as he see fits.

The school dress code is that "shorts of an appropriate length may be worn during warm weather."

He decides what is an appropriate length and what is warm weather. If you said, "May" and it snowed on May 1st, kids would still wear shorts on May 1st.

[wtmusic]

33. That's fine

but in that case he's following the rules -- "warm" is open to interpretation.

I don't know what the rule is for paying for lunch but my guess is it would have the word "cash" in there somewhere. And that's what the kids used -- cash.

By arbitrarily deciding what variety of cash they could/couldn't use the principal broke the rules. He should get detention.

:evilgrin:

[theboss]

36. There probably is no rule

But I've seen this movie with my pops.

The first parent who protested the punishment by saying "it's cash" would get his favorite response "Cuff me!" In other words, sue me or go away.

[wtmusic]

38. Assuming there were a "cash" rule

the message is that those in power get to ignore it, those not, don't.

What a wonderful lesson. :eyes:

[theboss]

40. Well...life's not fair

Like I said, I would not punish the kids this time. I would praise them for being clever and exercising their right to protest.

And I would tell them that if they did it again, they would be scrubbing garbage cans.

[wtmusic]

43. Yep, Rosa Parks should have been told the same thing.

And these are "just" kids.

[theboss]

46. Oh, for fuck's sake

A little perspective.

I swear that 80 percent of the people on DU saw a production of Hair when the were 12-years-old and have been unhappy that their lives did not include improptu dance numbers.

[wtmusic]

51. My life has been a joyous one filled with impromptu dance numbers

but that's besides the point. ;-)

What would have been an instructive, democratic way to resolve this issue is thus: principal meets with students and negotiates that they pay with dollar bills, if the subject is tabled at the next school board meeting. Students attend meeting and their motion is either shot down or accepted, BUT...
they gain a valuable lesson in civics, and not a lesson in strongarming.

[mitchum]

92. That is probably the most damning and accurate comment....

I have ever seen on this site.
That's just beautiful.
I'm still laughing
Well done:)

[mondo joe]

115. Best assessment of DU ever. NT

[kenfrequed]

103. feh

corporal punishment is not all that damned effective anyhow.

[proud2BlibKansan]

41. Thanks for reminding us

We tend to forget that little factoid here.

[Ian David]

140. It's not the rights of the students that were violated. Itr's the right of the Federal Government...

to see to it that all organizations and corporations honor its currency.

[TCJ70]

23. I didn't see where they denied it...

...it said they had to count it.

[skooooo]

5. They probably don't get any kind of recess either.

30 minutes is not enough of a break for young kids.

[proud2BlibKansan]

42. It's plenty of time

That's all our kids get and they have more than enough time to eat.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

74. Look school is bad enough..

Lunch is a good time for them to sit down, eat and socialize with their friends, they are not on a damn assembly line. 30 minutes to go to their locker, put away books, stand in a line get a lunch, sit down and eat is going to be tight.. Give them 45-50 minutes let them shoot the (well you know) with their friends..

[proud2BlibKansan]

80. Well I am an elementary teacher

so I can't speak as an expert as to what is best for middle or high schools. But at the elementary level, the more time you give them, the more problems you might have. We allow our kids to talk quietly at lunch but we also have them bring a book so they can read once they finish eating.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

82. Well youwould know better than me

Ill give you that.. But I would assume in Middle and High Schools there is allot less kid to kid interaction during class time..

[proud2BlibKansan]

88. I think there would be more interaction

not only during class but in between classes.

[kenfrequed]

109. uhm what???

And what about recess?

When I was in elementary school (granted it was quite some time ago) there was this mystical time called Recess that you had for recreational activity after lunch. Granted I didn't always use it for playing outdoors and I did spend quite a bit of time reading, but the time was made available all the same.

Is strapping children that are starved for activity to their desks after lunch the best way to improve their focus for classes later in the day? If this is the case I have little doubt as to the cause of so many idiotic cases of ADD/ADHD being put forward.

Or is this some way to foolishly increase participation in organized athletics of some kind rather than letting them engage in regular free play?

[proud2BlibKansan]

126. None of the schools in my district have recess after lunch anymore

And as sad as that is, what's even sadder is that many elementary schools have no recess at all anymore, thanks to NCLB.

[kenfrequed]

128. insanity.

Absolute insanity. As if doing away with recess for children is going to improve test scores. I say again, look at the medications kids are on if you want to know the results of preventing them from free physical activity.

[verges]

120. Not if

you spend the first 15 minutes in line.

[proud2BlibKansan]

127. That's true

I was thinking of time spent at the table actually eating.

[proud2BlibKansan]

61. Just noticed this is middle school

They don't have recess at any middle school I know of.

[ScreamingMeemie]

70. My 9 year old gets 20 minutes.

He's never really complained about it.

[alarimer]

135. Not when you spend half of it in the lunch line, as I did in school

20 minutes in line, 10 minutes to choke down whatever passes for food in cafeterias.

[islandmkl]

6. you know guys like him hated school because they could not adapt to social interaction...

they should have just broken out the Tasers and got things rolling...

"f*** detention, these little bastards need some discipline & punishment"...

[Ordr]

7. Suck it up, wimps.

:)

[LostinVA]

9. A 30 minute break is too short for kids that age

I'm pretty sure they can't give the kids detention for paying with pennies, since it is legal tender.

[theboss]

12. Sure they can

A school can give detention for pretty much any reason they want.

This idea that students have civil rights is kind of quaint.

[LostinVA]

16. I know students have no civil rights

I'm just saying pennies are legal tender, and legally, there is no difference than handing them two singles.

[theboss]

18. You suspend a kid for being a wise ass

It would be like handing in a book report with one word on 150 separate pages.

[SoCalDem]

19. It's probably related to overcrowding and a need for multiple lunch periods

and as a way to cut down the hours of the lunch staff.. (keep 'em part time, & no need to give them any benefits)

The last year I was in High school we had to split the lunch period into 2 sessions, and they did shorten our lunch..but it was cut down to 40 minutes.. that extra 10 minutes made all the difference.. we could have never made it to the after-lunch class on time, if it were only 30 minutes.

[Maine-ah]

31. we had 3 lunch periods at 20 mins each.

That was high school. Jr. High was not much different than that. I think a half hour is plenty of time.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

57. we did the same thing here in GA

good luck getting your lunch, finding a seat and then scarfing it down in that 20 minutes...let alone returning your tray...

sP

[PVnRT]

119. How large was your high school?

People seem to be forgetting that more kids means longer lines and less time to eat.

[havocmom]

65. Went to a high school with over 3000 enrollment and ONE 35 minute lunch break

Lots of very unproductive students in the afternoon due to low blood sugar from non getting lunch. It sucked.

[SoCalDem]

68. We had a REAL cafeteria with homemade food.. The food was SO good, that

there was a long table where people from local businesses could eat.. They bought lunch cards that the Pep Club sold to make money..I think they paid double..but it was a bargain for the wonderful food those Lunch Ladies cooked.. Their shift was 5 AM to 2 PM and the bread ladies came in at midnight and worked until 7 AM

Kids would KILL for the food we had..

[havocmom]

75. We did too. But only 1/3 of the students could actually get to the food and tables in time

to sit and eat. There were generally STILL kids in line when the warning bell sounded that there was 5 minutes left to the lunch 'hour'.

[SoCalDem]

79. We even had a students' smoking lounge for after lunch

:rofl:

what can I say.... It was the '60s

Kids would wolf down lunch and then go have a smoke :)

[theboss]

94. I went to high school in WV...most of the kids were fully armed in the parking lots

It was just understand that from November to March, half the kids would have a shotgun on school property.

It's a different world.

[RebelOne]

143. Yes, when I went to high school in Miami,

you were allowed to smoke in the lunch room. It was a vocational high school. But, of course, that was in the '50s.

[Lorien]

96. It's too short for anyone, imho.

I had some friends who got transferred from an LA film studio to one in Paris about ten years ago. They were amazed by the two hour lunch breaks over there-but they found that they were more productive because of it. I think the reverse would be true, too. The kids need time to recharge to make it through the rest of the day.

[theboss]

10. My dad's a prinicpal and here is how he would have handled it

He would have brought the kids into the auditorium and applauded them for their efforts. He probably would have even shown them a video on a history of civil rights protests. And he would have told them that he will forward their complaints to the proper school administrators.

And he would have finished by saying, "And if you do again, I will have your asses in detention until you graduate high school."

[Pale Blue Dot]

147. Perfect. I'm a middle school teacher and that's easily the most appropriate response I've seen. nt

[Frustratedlady]

11. There is a more serious side to this...

My grandkids are now adults and they still eat like someone is going to take it away from them if they don't "inhale" it. Not only is this poor manners, but imagine that poor stomach which is basically receiving their food unchewed. No wonder there's so much heartburn and stomach/intestinal problems with young adults.

I finally asked one of they why they ate so fast and he said it was a habit because, by the time they got thru the lunch line, they only had 10 minutes or so to eat, get their trays back to the kitchen and make it to their next class.

Tell me again, what are we teaching them? Give the stomachs a break.

[wtmusic]

27. Not to mention

by learning to eat fast they tend to gravitate towards crappy fast food, when later in life they are able to choose.

[PVnRT]

121. Or just eating more of everything

When you wolf down food, you tend not to notice you're getting full until after you've already eaten more than you should.

[Lorien]

98. So true! I only had half an hour in college to wolf down my food

and I have to really work to consciously slow myself down when I eat now. I think that scarfing down food will become a life long habit if it's started at such a young age; bad for the health, the waistline, and bad for the mind, too. People need to slow down and take a break in the middle of the day to recharge their batteries for the rest of it.

[MadinMo]

13. Lunch periods have been short

the entire time my kids have been in school. In kindergarten the teachers had to ride herd on them to get them to finish on time. Now they are 9th graders and my daughter claims there is never enough time to eat once she gets through the line. I accused her of visiting too much but she claims it is just not enough time. Now she takes a sandwich and can get right to the business of eating. Not sure why my son is able to do lunch line and sometimes have seconds --- he inhales his food I guess.

30 minutes is not long enough --- I agree with the kids. And making them take detention for spending pennies is a crock. I bet there are some irate parents visiting the officials now.

[theboss]

14. For the record, I have 1/2 hour for lunch

So, suck it up, junior.

[wtmusic]

20. Heh...everyone should have it so easy.

I have fifteen minutes. And I have to make it, and clean up afterwards. And pay for it. If I have time I eat it.

:evilgrin:

[mondo joe]

21. If my 10 year old had a 2 hour lunch she's need 2 and half hours.

Lunch, like work, can expand to fill (and exceed) the time available for its completion.

[theboss]

24. I don't think I ever had more than 40 minutes for lunch

My issue with school lunches is not the time period. It's the time of day.

My mom is a teacher and her school starts at something like 7:50. Lunch begins is at 10:55, I think.

It's madness how early the school day starts now.

[mondo joe]

25. Yup. It's the overcrowding, and trying to rotate to accomodate everyone.

[theboss]

29. The funny thing is, her school is not overcrowded

It's a rust belt school that was built to accomodate 2000 students and now holds 1100.

[Chovexani]

116. "My life sucks so everyone else has to suffer"

Spoken like a conservative.

I could never go back to a 30 minute lunch. The last place I worked at where lunch was only 30 minutes just happened to be in the middle of an office park wasteland, so I literally had no time to get any food. If I forgot to bring something, I went without, and with my low blood pressure issues that's bad juju. At my current job, I've got an hour, and I live close enough that I can go home for lunch, cook myself a decent meal and relax a little. I am always way more productive in the evenings as a result.

I think the French have the right idea, with 2 hour breaks. In Spain they also have siesta, which is a good thing. I hate how backwards our culture is WRT many things, including how workers are treated like cattle.

[Selatius]

133. Find a new job then with an employer who is more gracious than that. n/t

[mondo joe]

15. They could make it an hour lunch and extend the school day by another half hour.

I'd rather have a short lunch and get out sooner.

[Cairycat]

26. For one thing, they were protesting to the wrong people

The school administration, not lunch ladies, decides how long lunch is. What they did was disrespectful to the lunch ladies and probably created problems for all students and staff, not just those who agreed with their protest. So I think the detention was entirely appropriate.

No students in my district get more than 30 minutes for lunch. With all the NCLB bullshit that the teachers have to teach, it's a miracle they even get as long as they do.

[renate]

76. absolutely!

I'm sure the lunch aides have a crummy enough job as it is without having to deal with kids who think it's oh so clever to make them count out 200 pennies per kid. Protesting the policy is great, but this method was disrespectful and I'm glad that the disrespect towards the aides was one of the reasons for the detentions. I don't think the kids were intentionally mean to them--it was a clever idea and the lunch aides were the only ones it would work on, so instead of petitions, speaking before the school board, etc, the kids just went with a plan that sounded funny. I hope they learn that civil disobedience has its place when applied to the people responsible for a policy, and to not make things more difficult for people who are completely blameless. (I sound like such a goody twoshoes... I don't mean to, I just think that people who work in schools deserve all the support and appreciation they can get, and I know that lunchroom aides don't always get the respect they deserve from the kids even under non-penny-counting conditions.)

[halobeam]

30. Every other day, my kid's lunch period is 20 mins.

They had to squeeze in supportive math somewhere!

These kids should not have gotten detention, imo. I think the rest of the kids should protest the detention these kids have and pay their next lunch in pennies too!

30 minutes is NOT enough time. Not for anyone.

[wtmusic]

34. Agree.

Out of control. :crazy:

[Echo In Light]

35. Good. "Stick-it-ti-da-Man-neosis!" Hope for the future when children don't buckle like belts...

...like most of the authority figures within their immediate sphere of influence want them to.

[proud2BlibKansan]

39. What's wrong with a 30 minute lunch?

That's all our kids get. Why do these kids need more time?

[Sabriel]

49. The middle schools here get 25 minutes, and it's nowhere near enough.

When I watch, the tables who are last to be called up to the lunch line have fewer than 10 minutes to eat by the time they sit down again. From what I can see, it leads to a lot of inhaling of food, but more importantly, it seems to lead to selective eating...students eating the "good stuff" and leaving everything else.

I agree with the poster upthread who bemoaned the fact that eating in school has become a perfunctory intake of nutrients, rather than the enjoyable, relaxed experience it ought to be. There are some bad, lifelong habits being taught in this not-so-hidden curriculum.

[proud2BlibKansan]

60. I guess it depends on how many servers are available and

how many kids they are serving. Our kids get a 30 minute lunch and are generally finished after about 20 minutes.

[Gormy Cuss]

113. It depends on the size of the school campus and the size of the cafeteria and lunch room.

In my junior high the gym doubled as the lunch room and time was limited (I think 30 minutes) but ample because we went to the lunch room with the teacher from the previous period, the line was orderly and we were seated with our classmates. There were also few choices (the hot meal, milk, a few snacks, and nothing more.) It worked only because it was as choreographed as a fire drill.

In my high school we had 20 minute lunch breaks. The tiny cafeteria had limited seating so it was more like a fast food station -- get there, pick up, pay and leave.

[timtom]

44. Dissent should be a part of every student's curriculum.

It's part of the vision of what should have been America.

[Echo In Light]

45. Agreed, but that's not what our "education" system is about

[timtom]

124. Oh, believe me, I know.

I rebelled against formal "education" many years ago. I am now, as I always have been, virtually self-taught.

[uppityperson]

131. Exactly. Good move by the students. Nothing illegal, just a wonderful non-violent protest.

Teach them they can speak up and be heard. Bah to sheep.

[Romulox]

47. Get used to it. In fact, be thankful that you don't have to eat at your desk.

So sick of the precious babies of boomers being considered so "special" that the rules don't apply to them. What makes these precious babies any more important than the rest of us?

[Echo In Light]

48. "Be thankful?" "Precious babies?" "Get used to it?" Guess they don't want to, and will take a stand

Good for them. Always good to see anti-authoritarianism in the young.

[Romulox]

50. LOL. Then they'll get a McJob, and be thankful for scraps. What are we training them for?

:shrug:

[wtmusic]

52. Exactly. Gotta train them to suck up to get ahead.

No McJob for my kids! :patriot:

[Echo In Light]

53. Precisely!...what are they being "trained" for? Exactly what everyone should examine...

Outside of the established framework/propaganda. I would like to think our daughter is being taught and nurtured to have a clear understanding of prevailing belief structures/human systems in society, so that she can exist as a free individual with free will.

What I wouldn't want to have happen is for her to merely be "trained" as yet another cog in the machinery of corporate culture...one with a better "education" so that she'll be considered a more valuable cog from corporate interests' perspective. That reasonable approach is exactly what has led our populace to where it's at: deep shit.

[Romulox]

54. That's wonderful, but unless society is changed drastically, you are misleading her

The fact is, you go to school, scrimp, save, and go hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt for an advanced degree--and then you eat you lunch, at your desk, and are given 30 minutes to do it while telling yourself how lucky you are to have a job in the first place.

[wtmusic]

55. That's the kind of job I want to teach my kids to avoid

and IMO teaching them to "shut up and take it" grooms them for a position like this.

[Echo In Light]

137. Yes, it does...and is to be avoided like the plague

[Echo In Light]

138. I'm not misleading her. Besides, I dropped out of high school, never attended college, and...

Have had a very fulfilling existence thus far: loving family, the same group of trusted friends since the mid 80s, and plenty of good times. Frankly, I think your approach sucks.

Just sayin'.

[SoCalDem]

59. 8th graders would probably be GRANDchildren of boomers

:rofl:

[Romulox]

63. Ummm, no. 8th grade = 13 years old. The youngest boomers were only 31 in 1995...nt

[SoCalDem]

66. I guess I'm an OLD boomer

my boomer friends' kids are in their 30's & 40's these days :)

[mondo joe]

139. Actually the boom ended in 1964 (some say 65).

[PVnRT]

122. Jealous?

They're fucking kids. Let them be kids until they turn 18 and enter the real world, for Christ's sake.

Or maybe we can just carry your logic to the extreme and extend the school day to ten hours?

[LibertyLover]

56. I would have killed for a 30 minute lunch period in 8th grade

We had 22 minutes and that included having to go to my locker, get my books for my afternoon classes and bring them to the classroom where I had my first class after lunch. 7th and 8th graders shared the same school with high school in my town in New Jersey, although we did have a separate wing. My first class after lunch was in the high school wing however and after lunch period was over, getting to the junior high wing, going to lockers to get books and then get back to the high school wing took longer than the 3 minutes we were allowed, so my Spanish teacher insisted that we bring our books to class before going to lunch. This of course meant that we had even less than 22 minutes to eat. I applaud the kids' creativity and I hope that the school system gives them back some lunch time, but I have to say that had anybody tried that in my 8th grade lunch line the school administration would have needed to put everybody after them in line in detention because there would have been a donnybrook of epic proportions.

[wtmusic]

58. How long ago was that? nt

[LibertyLover]

125. It was in 1968

n/t

[lonestarnot]

62. I would protest too if I had to stand in line for 25 minutes in line and get 1 minute to eat downer

cow patties.

[Echo In Light]

141. ...and "Tue Surprise." Again, the kids did a good thing here, even if misdirected

[SmokingJacket]

67. Dang, my kids claim only ten minutes to eat, then they're shoved out to recess.

They eat lunch with their coats on!

Totally uncivilized, in my opinion. But no one's getting fat, anyway.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

69. Excellent!

Smart move by the kiddies, a wonderful non violent protest...

[ScreamingMeemie]

72. This is the reason I make my son's lunch (except for Pizza Wednesdays) He gets 20

minutes. If he were to stand in line, it would take a good chunk of that time. This way he can use the whole short time period to eat. With that said, I think it is ridiculous for them to get a suspension for this. A warning? Perhaps. But outright suspension? No.

[kevinbgoode]

146. Many years ago, when I was in grade school. . .

we had no cafeteria. Every day the morning session would get out at 11:30 a.m. and the afternoon session would start at 1 p.m. The school had 600 students at the time, and, since it was the 1960's, most mothers were home (or other relatives were waiting). I had a short partial block walk home for lunch, which my mom usually had ready for us when we walked in the door. Back then, neighbors cooperated, so if one mother in the neighborhood couldn't be home on a given day, another would make sure the child was welcome for lunch.

We had time to finish lunch, wash up again, and head back to school by about 12:40, providing another few minutes to play with friends on the playground before the afternoon session.

When I entered seventh grade, the junior high school had several staggered lunch periods of 20 minutes each - at a school of about 1200 students. We freaked at the long lines and I often took my own lunch, just to save time and get to eat. It was awful.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

149. Today's kids would think my grade school experience in the 1950s was like heaven

We had 90 minutes (11:15 to 12:45) in the middle of the day to walk home (5 blocks for me), eat a leisurely homemade lunch, watch the noontime children's program on TV, and walk the five blocks back to school. We lived in an industrial town, and we knew that we had to be passing by the cemetery when the 12:30 whistle blew, or else we'd be late for the afternoon session.

On top of that, we had two 15-minute recess periods.

When I look at my old class pictures, there is only one fat kid, and he lived right across the street from the school. I also remember only one hyperactive kid, and he burned off a lot of his energy running to school and back (he lived even farther away than I did) and racing around like a madman during recess.

There was no reading or writing, except for learning to write your name, in kindergarten. There was no homework till fifth grade.

Somehow we all learned to read and write, and judging from what I've seen of current textbooks, we actually worked at a higher level than kids today.

If you can get hold of an old (early 1960s) copy of Junior Scholastic, you'll find that it's written at a higher level than today's Senior Scholastic.

[NashVegas]

73. Their Biggest Mistake Was Not Calling the Press Ahead of Time

Best way to avoid detention for a high school protest is to get the press on your side at the start.

Anyway, detention's not that big a deal.

30 minutes is bull. Can't expect a teen to eat and think in such a short period of time.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

78. The kourophobia of some here is disgusting.

No, I'm not going to enlighten you. Ask a linguist if you feel inclined to.

[SoCalDem]

85. Merriam-Webster suggests:

Suggestions for kourophobia:

1. chlorophyll b 2. colorfully
3. corroboree 4. chlorophyll
5. colorful 6. chlorophylls
7. chloroform 8. chlorophyllous
9. crowfoots 10. colorific
11. crowfoot 12. chiropody
13. crowberry 14. corfiotes
15. coureur de bois 16. crawfishes
17. corroborate 18. color-field
19. corrodible 20. corroborees

Google suggests:

Did you mean: Suggestions for coulrophobia:

video:

http://www.random-good-stuff.com/2008/01/18/coulrophobia/

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

91. Look for "kouros" -nt

[Greyskye]

89. Dread fear of incense cups?

http://traditionsofjapan.com/product_info.php?products_id=139

Wouldn't coulrophobia be more accurate? :shrug:

[uppityperson]

132. Yup. Question authority and encourage your kids to also. Can be difficult but it pays off in the end

A kouros is a statue of a standing nude youth that did not represent any one individual youth but the idea of youth.

[Echo In Light]

142. Yes! Question authority, question everything. We teach our daughter this by example

[Shine]

81. 30 min is all my 8th grader gets for lunch. That's plenty of time, imo

the more interesting question is:

Did the school make this change after the school year had started?

If so, WHY??

:shrug:

[Renew Deal]

83. On the little bit of information, it sounds like the kids are doing the right thing.

30 minutes is too short for lunch. It forces kids to eat in a hurry, if at all. Good for the kids. Maybe they can expand their protest.

[LanternWaste]

84. Let them eat tater tots...

I'm lucky if I get half an hour for lunch any work day... and the vending machine here doesn't take pennies either.

Let them eat tater tots... :evilgrin:


On Edit: I brought my lunch to school-- avoided lunch lines and it cost my parents a lot less. It seemed like a good idea then... :shrug:

[ClayZ]

87. My granddaughter protested

at her school because they refused to serve her nachos without the meat. She is a vegetarian and has been for 2 years.

They finally agreed to serve the meat on a separate plate. She has to take it an throw it away.

It makes me furious!

[knitter4democracy]

97. If a teacher helped them with this, I hope s/he's okay.

I was the newspaper moderator when a student's editorial about the new lunch system hit the fan, and it wasn't fun for me at all. It was hard on her, but it almost got me fired. I hope that any teacher who might have talked with them about non-violent protest or whatever doesn't get fired over this.

Frankly, I think the kids did an awesome thing. It's a great protest. :)

[WinkyDink]

99. We've all been students, but we haven't all worked in public schools.

As a rebel myself, I can say, "Go, kids!" But as a retired public school teacher who sometimes had cafeteria duty, I say, "So there, smart-arses!"

I'd make the decision that all penny-payers must go to the end of the line. And detentions for being late to their next class. :)

[selador]

102. easy solution

if the kids want to pay in pennies, then supply them with the paper penny rolls, and tell them they have to roll them first.

banks have to take currency too.

what do you think would happen if you walked up to the teller window and placed 20,000 pennies on the counter?

lol

regardless, i love the spirit of the protest, but i also think the punishment was justified.

that's how civil disobedience works

[pleah]

100. And people keep saying how stupid the kids are today.

LMAO:rofl: AND NO they should not have received detention for this.

[youthere]

101. First, I would go to the school and rip on the principal and the ...

superintendents ass for awhile and make it be known in no uncertain terms that my child would NOT be serving detention...then I would take my kid out for the biggest ice cream sundae money could buy...and I may or may not pay for it all in pennies.

[theboss]

107. You do that, chief....

A good principal would kindly ask you to leave after 30 seconds.

[youthere]

111. No, a good principal would have handled the matter differently.

[WinkyDink]

104. Just to add: It was the low-paid cafeteria workers who got the real crap from these kids.

TPTB didn't have to count the coins.

[LanternWaste]

105. Priorities...

When I was in school, we had a mass walk out to protest the human right abuses in Nicaragua in '83. My oldest brother engaged in a sit-in to protest the war in '74. My grandfather was shot in the arm while trying to unionize loggers when he was of school age in '27.

These kids are protesting because their lunch period was reduced to thirty minutes? I imagine there are a lot of children worldwide who would simply like to have a lunch-- regardless of how long it may or may not last (or a breakfast... or a dinner).




There are actions worthy or protest, and there are actions not worthy of protest. It's nice that these kids have learned Civil Disobedience. It'll be nicer when they learn a little more...

[Zoigal]

106. Why not just brown bag it for a week to protest?

At least everyone could sit down immediately and eat...thirty minutes is pretty standard for
a lunch period in all the schools i've worked in for teachers, as well as students. We had to
work like crazy to get the duty free thirty minute lunch period for teachers in most districts, as
well. Even in high school in the forties, all we got was thirty two minutes. IMO kids have the
right to protest as long as it is organized, peaceful and not disruptive. Think the school administration over reacted in this case. z

[KamaAina]

112. Two words: Canadian Pennies

mix a few of those in with each batch of 200, then sit back and watch the fur fly!

Of course, they're actually worth a U.S. penny, if not more, these days...

[IronLionZion]

117. I wish I had 30 minutes when I was in 8th grade

we had 20 minutes.

[mdmc]

118. GO KIDS!

:toast:

[DefenseLawyer]

123. Attica! Attica!

I like it.

[depakid]

129. That's great!

The country needs a lot more kids like this.

[asdjrocky]

130. I love it!

There's some future activists there!

[Firespirit]

134. Excellent stand, kids

I hope their parents were proud of them for taking a stand.

Schools are becoming enclaves of authoritarianism and it's good to know that kids still have respect for themselves and aren't beaten down by it.

FTR, I had "lunch whenever I could grab it." This often meant eating the contents of my lunch bag in the 5 minutes between classes, because my idiotic school didn't have a designated lunch period for anyone over 6th grade level, and we often had classes scheduled straight through the time when the cafeteria was open.

[ulysses]

136. I'll be prouder of them when they protest what NCLB is doing to their education.

;-)

[LWolf]

144. They've been getting more than 30 minutes?

:grr:

My students and I would like a longer lunch time.

My kids wouldn't want to hold up the line; they wouldn't have time to eat.

[galledgoblin]

145. if I were one of the parents

I'd pick my kid up from that detention and take them for a big treat

wish I'd been as smart as these kids, I was stuck with 20 minute lunches in junior high. if you were the one of the last in line, you wouldn't get your lunch until it was time to go!

[kevinbgoode]

148. 5,800 pennies equals...what...$58 ? ??

Puhleeze - I would have just scooped the pennies up and thrown them in a big bag at the cash register and nodded the kid along. So what if a kid miscounted one or two cents? If lunch was 200 pennies each, and they collected 5800 pennies, that means 29 students paid with pennies. If there was a counting error, it would likely be much less than a dollar - hell, I would have pulled that out of my pocket and tossed it in the register to make sure it was balanced.

THEN I'd tell the school administration, who could instruct the math teachers to pull every one of those 29 students aside and instruct them to bring EXACTLY 200 pennies until we could determine who can't count.