Posted on 01/25/2007 5:45:29 PM PST by paulat
R.I. School Bans Talking at Lunch
Jan 25 6:22 PM US/Eastern
By JUSTIN M. NORTON Associated Press Writer
WARWICK, R.I. (AP) -- 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 the rule 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.
Another mother, Thina Paone, does not mind the silent lunches, noting that the cafeteria "can be very crazy" at the suburban school south of Providence.
Principal Jeannine Fuller did not immediately return a call seeking comment, but a spokesman for the Diocese of Providence described the silence rule as a temporary safety measure.
Spokesman Michael Guilfoyle said the school does not expect complete silence but enough quiet to keep students safe.
Lori Healey, a teacher at the school who also has a son in third grade, said "silent lunch" means students can whisper.
"They know it's not for punishment," she said. "It's for safety, and they'll be the first ones to tell you."
Stacey Wildenhain, a teacher's assistant at St. Rose, said her 7-year- old son does not mind the policy. He told her: "The sooner we eat, the sooner we can get out to play," she said.
Amanda Karhuse, of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, said that students should not run wild during lunch, but that they also should not have to remain silent.
"It seems kind of ridiculous in our opinion," she said. "Kids need that social time, and they just need time to be kids at that age."
The principal's letter also spelled out other new lunch rules, including requiring students to stay in their seats and limiting them to one trip to the trash can. Any child who breaks the rules will serve detention the next day.
Paone's 6-year-old son, Joey, said he accepts the changes, but some of his classmates were having trouble obeying the rules.
Kara Casali, who also has a 6-year-old son at the school, said the rules against talking will be tough to enforce.
"I can't imagine having a silent lunch," she said.
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On the Net:
St. Rose School: http://www.saintroseschool.com/
Or talking with their mouths full.
There's probably not a lot of playground time in Rhode Island this time of year!
I think part of the problem is that lunch periods are too short. The children are trying to gobble their food and also get in all their chatter for the whole day. I've heard parents around here complain about this.
We used to go into the gym and play on rainy days when I was a kid.
Better than nothing. We had to stay in our classrooms and play board games or read when I lived in Rhode Island.
Considering that these "First Amendment violations" are occuring at a private Catholic school where parents have voluntarily placed their children, I'm having trouble figuring out what all the fuss is about.
Gonna spend the rest of the weekend grading papers, working on lessons/labs for next week, and updating progress reports, but I did want to stop in & say "HI" to y'all.
As I have said before, one doesn't sign over their Constitutional rights because they choose to do commerce with another. Freedom of speech applies in a Catholic school just as in a public school. For those that think all would be heaven on earth if we privatized education, that's a concept that doesn't even look good on paper, and in real life would be a disaster.
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