9486 in the collection
Time
Ohanian Comment: Mrs. Q. is a teacher in Illinois, and she is eating school lunch with the kids every day in 2010. . . to inform people of what conditions kids face.
You can join her on Twitter, at her website, and you can e-mail her: fedupwithlunch@gmail.com
She includes pictures, and encourages you to contribute your own pix of school lunches at flickr.
This brings to mind the union disputes in my middle school: >i>Does the 27-minute lunch break include the 5 minute passing time between periods? We fought bitterly over those five minutes.
I admit: I avoided the cafeteria. I did welcome a Writing Club into the media center. Kids brought their trays from the cafeteria and strategized about writing projects. The biggest project was a mystery set in our school---with lots of teachers getting murdered. Read more about it in Caught in the Middle: Nonstandard Kids and a Killing Curriculum
by Mrs. Q.
At my school the kids get 20 minutes for lunch, which is bell-to-bell time. So lunch time includes waiting in line, getting your items, finding a seat, opening your food packages, EATING, throwing out your trash, and lining up to go back to class. If they don't finish it all, they have to throw it away. Taking food back to the classroom is not allowed. I think kids get about 12-13 minutes to eat maximum if everything goes as planned. If their class is the last to get into line, well, they might have as little as 5 minutes sitting at the table.
Well, it just doesn't seem like enough time to eat.
It's hard enough for the teachers to grab a bite in 20 minutes. After taking the kids to the cafeteria, getting my meal together (using the microwave), chatting with a teacher, and using the bathroom, I might have about five minutes to eat. One of the "bonuses" of this project is that I eat the food without heating it up. I don't have to retrieve my lunch bag from the fridge and heat everything up. And by not entering the teachers' lounge I'm not chatting with anyone.
Also the food prepared in the school cafeteria is very often meant to be eaten by hand. So that's pretty easy to do in 5-10 minutes. It can't be utensil-friendly fare if you only get a spork.
I personally can wolf down food when necessary, but I am an adult. Imagine a little person who maybe eats a little more slowly than an adult. Do they actually eat very much in 5 minutes?
Mealtimes for my toddler at home last about 30 minutes from first serving the food and to cleaning up sticky little fingers. For my family mealtimes are about socializing, having fun, and also exploring new foods with our hands and mouths. I want my kid to not be afraid of texture and flavor. Maybe we'll have a chef in the family one day!
I guess my wish is that all kids get 30 full minutes to eat. Lunch is about learning too; it's not just filling an empty stomach (and sometimes they don't even have a chance to do that). Lunch is a break for students to chat with their friends in an informal setting. Learn about foods and enjoy eating.
— Mrs. Q.
Fed Up: School Lunch Project
2010-02-15
http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/2010/02/time.html
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
[1] 2 3 4 5 6 Next >> Last >>
