This is the WORST school district I've ever experienced.

from JoeUser Forums

We're having yet another battle with the school.

My son and his classmates are supposed to get an hour for their lunch.  However, they only get to spend part of that hour actually eating.  A very small part of that hour.....like 10 or 15 minutes before the lunch ladies start hassling them to get out so the next class can come in.  Quite often my son comes home hungry because he hasn't had the time to finish his boxed lunch that he brings from home.  My friend K's boy is in the same class, and he's come home a couple of times shaking and feeling faint because he's been so hungry.

The past 2 days, both boys have come home with lunches that are untouched.  Their teacher has been holding them back in their classroom for 5 - 10 minutes into their lunch hour.  When they only get 15 mins to sit and eat, that 5 - 10 mins that they're held back is a significant chunk of time.

So, my husband called the school yesterday afternoon and requested to talk to the teacher.  She called back this morning, and after he had voiced his concern she proceeded to talk over him, saying that she has procedures to follow and blah blah blah.  He got somewhat stroppy with her and told her that if it happened again he was going to take it up with the school superintendent and then the school district.

She didn't even seem to care that the kids aren't getting adequate time to eat at lunch.  The only thing she seemed to give a rat's behind about was her 'procedure'.

If us parents consistently denied our kids the opportunity to eat lunch, the school would call CPS on us.  Guaranteed.   So why is it okay for them to not give our kids enough time to eat?  We're constantly told by the school (via flyers and newspaper articles) how important it is for our kids to get adequate nutrition, how they need to eat breakfast before school and a healthy lunch.  Us parents are even asked to provide a healthy snack for the kids to have in their classrooms....yet they don't seem to care that kids are going without lunch because their teachers are holding them back in their classrooms.

This has to be the WORST school district I have ever experienced.  If there was another school within a reasonable distance, I'd seriously consider enrolling my kids there.  Even homeschooling is looking like an attractive prospect...and I NEVER thought I'd ever say that.

Seems to me that the school is more worried about statistics, numbers and schedules than they are about the kids.  That's disgraceful.

 

 

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22,297 views 47 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
So why is it okay for them to not give our kids enough time to eat? 


Don't you know they are highly educated, trained professionals and all us others are just ignorant punters? Clearly they are right -- infallible -- in every situation. We should respect these near-gods who deign to impart wisdom to our feeble offspring.

*BLECH*

Someone's gonna borrow daddy's rifle and go postal. Then they'll use the no-Twinkee defence. "I just blacked out -- I didn't know what was happening. I was so hungry. When the blackness faded and the room stopped spinning, Miss Knows-All was laying there."


(Can you imagine the parent\teacher conference if the Pope had kids? "I'm infallible!" "No, I am infallible!")
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
Don't you know they are highly educated, trained professionals and all us others are just ignorant punters?


Apparently not. I do now though.

That's pretty much the attitude expreses by every one of my son's teachers. I know nothing about my child, I'm just his mom. Come to think of it, I see that attitude displayed by other teachers too.....they all seem to think that they know my child better than I do.

Whatever.
Star Control: Origins
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
It's George Bush's fault, he's pissed off the NEA, so now they're starving our kids in order to let the liberal message saok in....sorta like fasting....
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top

All I can suggest if you can't get this settled to your satisfaction, dharma, is to pack him something extra portable, like a nutrition bar, to eat after he's been kicked out of the cafeteria. When they're done,(or at least forced to leave the area) where are they sent? Outside to play or to study hall? If he gets to go outside, you can get around this problem fairly easily.

He gets sent outside to play.  I think that I'm going to start sending him with a granola bar or one of those breakfast bars in his pocket so that if he doesn't get to eat lunch he can at least have some kind of nutrition to see him through until he comes home.

You're right about some of the teachers here thinking that 15 mins is enough time to eat.  I too am a slow eater; I have to take breaks during a meal or else I'll throw up....my stomach simply can't handle too much all at once, and I can't imagine having to down a sandwich, small bag of chips, a piece of fruit, granola bar AND an 11oz juice pouch in 10 mins or less - and my stomch is probably twice the size of their little tummies.

I think that one day next week I'm going to go eat lunch with him, and see for myself just how they're treated and how long they have to eat.  I swear, Sabrina.....if those lunch beeatches start hassling them to hurry up and get out after 10 - 15 mins I won't be able to hold my tongue. 

My friend's kid tends to be a bit anaemic and has problems with low blood sugar if he doesn't eat regularly and properly.  She's threatening to get their pediatrician involved - her boy has come home numerous times with the shakes and feeling faint because he didn't get the opportunity to eat and his blood sugar dropped.

Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top

It's George Bush's fault, he's pissed off the NEA, so now they're starving our kids in order to let the liberal message saok in....sorta like fasting

HAHAHA!  I KNEW it was Bush's fault somehow!

Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
I think that one day next week I'm going to go eat lunch with him, and see for myself just how they're treated and how long they have to eat.


Great idea! I was thinking that if I were in this situation, I'd be picking up my daughter during the scheduled lunch hour and feeding her myself. And I'd almost dare them to give her flack about not having enough time for her other schoolwork. Extend the school day by twenty minutes if they have to, just feed my kid.
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
My son developed a very bad stomach ache due to this issue, and the fact that the lunch time is now at 1:30pm! So from 9:30am - 1:30pm and he has breakfast at 7:30am. That's a might long time. I've started sending him with snacks and thank heavens one of the classes he's in (art class) allows the students to have snacks. Otherwise I would be thumping on their door!

My daughter is in high school, as you probably know, she never gets to eat lunch, hardly ever. Because of the schedule, her classes are far apart and the cafeteria is on the far side of the campus when her class breaks for lunch. The crowd is too much that by the time she does get to the counter, almost everything is gone. Then she doesn't get enough time to sit and eat. They both come home hungry every day. It's an impossible situation!

I find the school scheduling to be so ridiculous at times. There's got to be a better way of them doing what they do. They should extend the school time in my area and I'm going to write a letter to suggest that because there's just not enough hours to do everything they schedule. If the kids are hungry they can't learn and it's a bad health risk!

It's horrible when you have to worry about your kids in school going through stuff like that and when the teacher is of no help it makes the situation worse. I hope you'll find a solution soon. Believe me, I've been through it so I know how exasperated you feel.
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
thye need MM the nazi there, SIT!!! EAT!! NOW!!! OR i WILL BEAt you all!!! faster.. faster I say!!
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
he's pissed off the NEA


Heh. In CA, the teacher's union has an anti-Arnold ad where they proclaim they are not a special interest.

I keep thinking, "Hell yeah you are!"


Come to think of it, I see that attitude displayed by other teachers too....


Yeah, and I thought doctors were arrogant!
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
Other than offering you support for going after the stormtroopers at your kids' school (which I do), I'm just left wondering... if your school doesn't offer hot lunches... why are their "lunch lady's" at all?
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top

And I'd almost dare them to give her flack about not having enough time for her other schoolwork.

Oh, I'm hoping that one of them starts hassling the kids so that i have an excuse to complain to the principal right there and then....

If the kids are hungry they can't learn and it's a bad health risk!

EXACTLY!  That's why my friend is going to the pediatrician with it if they don't start giving these kids more time to eat.

 

Believe me, I've been through it so I know how exasperated you feel.

Thank you....it's INCREDIBLY frustrating.  I feel like I'm the only one advocating for my child, and that's wrong, IMO.  This is an elemntary school, thye should have the best interests of the students at heart too.

 

thye need MM the nazi there, SIT!!! EAT!! NOW!!! OR i WILL BEAt you all!!! faster.. faster I say!!

See, that's what they DON'T need, Elie.  They have enough people yelling at them as it is...they can only eat so fast without making themselves sick.

Yeah, and I thought doctors were arrogant!

Hehe...me too.

 

I'm just left wondering... if your school doesn't offer hot lunches... why are their "lunch lady's" at all?

They DO offer hot lunches.  My kids don't care for them, so they take their lunches with them.  The kids that are lined up for hot lunches have it worse; they barely have enough time to get the food on their trays before they're getting yelled at to go outside.

Bakerstreet made a comment last year about hoe his little girl and her fellow students were having a hard time with the lunch ladies.  They had been given milk cartons, and none of them knew how to open them (I believe she was in kindergarten at the time), so they were all going without a drink at lunchtime because the lunch ladies wouldn't help them opne their cartons.  Baker went to eat lunch with his daughter and ended up opening a bunch of other kids milk for them too.  That story adequately describes the caliber of the lunchroom ladies at this school. 

Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top
I think the lunch ladies need to remember who they are there to support... and I know you are just the mother to do the job of reminding them! ;~D
Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top

think the lunch ladies need to remember who they are there to support... and I know you are just the mother to do the job of reminding them! ;~D

Thanks, I do too!

I think that they need to remember that their goal is not to have an empty lunch room, but to make sure that each child has some kind of nutrition at lunch time.  If I see anything other than the latter going on next week, I'm going to raise hell.

Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top
I am a very staunch opponent of forcing kids to eat within unreasonable time limits. One of the myriad reasons for my own weight problems is the fact that for two years with a stepfather, we were forced to eat with our heads down over our food, no talking, and plates removed in ten minutes. Needless to say, it gave me an unhealthy obsession with food in younger years that I work hard to deal with.
Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top
You know, I sit here and read these blogs from time to time and it makes me so darn happy that I live in small town America. The parochial school my kids attend walks a block to go to the public school for lunch, they don't leave till everyone is done eating and as a group goes to the other school. The public school don't rush the kids either, the lunchroom is HUGE and all the kids can fit in there comfortably, no rushing unless it take you an hour to eat *L*.
Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top
Well, if you do decide to homeschool your children, dharma, I'd be glad to help in any way I could and offer support and encouragement...we've got a LOT of experience in that department.
Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top

If I were in your situation, I would forget talking to the teachers, principle, or anyone at the school.  Raise holy hell at a school board meeting.  The schools get funding for those hot lunches and and "lunch Ladies" from the state.  If they continue on their path- write to your State over the misuse of fund and abuse that the children are receiving.

My school is 100% different.  The kids can't leave the table until they have finished 75% of the lunch that is in front of them.  I talked to my daughter's teacher about my daughter's eating habits.  She is a grazer, which her Dr. doesn't want changed since diabetes runs wild in my family.  So, I pack her a lunch and two snacks.  Her teacher now allows other children to also bring in two snack.  They are allowed to eat one an hour after school starts and one an hour before school ends.  That way, they get to eat something if they didn't get a good breakfast, then eat lunch, then eat a snack so they aren't starving on the way home.  We (the parents) donate approved snacks to have on hand for the kids who are not able to bring in their own or who do not have the money. 

I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of home schooling, but if I were you, I'd seriously keep it open as an option.  What kind of education can they get when they are faint from hunger?  Man....sounds like your kids go to school in Russia or something.  It's just wrong.

Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top
What kind of education can they get when they are faint from hunger? Man....sounds like your kids go to school in Russia or something. It's just wrong.


That was my take on it too.

My son just got home from school, and informed us that his teacher said "it's not necessary for your parents to call. If you're late for lunch, you're late for lunch, it's not my fault, and that's just the way it is".

I do hope she realizes that her comments now mean war.
Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top
You're right about "procedure." Im sure "certain" teachers who blog on JU would insist that little kids need to learn how to shut up and chow down, and that if they weren't goofing off, 15 minutes is more than enough time to eat lunch.


Can you just lay off and leave the crap on the intended blog? I don't give a shit if you don't like Ryan and I, that's your jazz, but this isn't the place for digs, Miss Maturity.
Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top
Reply By: Gideon MacLeish
Well, if you do decide to homeschool your children, dharma, I'd be glad to help in any way I could and offer support and encouragement...we've got a LOT of experience in that department.

I'll second this one. Any questions, just feel free to holler! If I don't know, I can sure find out (member of one support group and run another).

Just remember one thing: it's not for everyone and it is a big commitment. Although, based on your reaction here, I don't think the commitment level would be a problem.
Reply #21 from JoeUser Forums Top
Don't you love how at the beginning of the year, they are all for "parental involvement" until it means you actually advocate for your children then they want you to go away in a hurry.

I had an issue with my son's principal at a former school. He is severely allergic to peanuts as in he could die if he is exposed to them. He was in a modular classroom and I wanted them to keep the epipen in the classroom like his former school (in the same school district) did. The principal insisted it be kept locked in the front office in a separate building which took minutes to get to. The thing is you don't always have minutes if you go into anaphalactic shock. Not to mention what if the person with the key isn't there. I told them he wasn't going to school unless he could have it in his classroom. All they care about is receiving the funding for their attendance. They really don't care if they are there and learning. So I called the superintendant and threw a fit and suddenly it was okay for it to be in the classroom but she decided to punish my son my making him eat alone in the classroom (to protect him from his severe allergy). I called my son's allergist and he wrote the most wonderful letter and then all of sudden everything was taken care of. An impartial third party opinion is somehow taken much more seriously than parent concerns. I mean what do parents know?

My point is to hang in there. Your job as a parent is to advocate for your children to get proper nutrition and an education. This really isn't asking too much from the school. I would contact the superintendant, talk to your doctor, write a letter to the editor of the paper, speak to other parents.

It also burns me up when the teachers want to take it out on the kids. She had no business bringing that up in class. Do you think the teachers have to wolf down their meals in ten or fifteen minutes at this school? How about the principal? Don't you wish you could go in their break room and take their lunch from them after ten minutes. They would be horrified.
Reply #22 from JoeUser Forums Top
All they care about is receiving the funding for their attendance. They really don't care if they are there and learning. So I called the superintendant and threw a fit and suddenly it was okay for it to be in the classroom but she decided to punish my son my making him eat alone in the classroom (to protect him from his severe allergy).


For one, they dont care about attendance alone. If they did, they would hold out signs and everything, trying to enroll your child. The location of your residence determines where your kiddo is sent to school. The school gets x amount of money for each child. That helps determine staffing and a whole bunch of other stuff. I didnt care if a kid was added or dropped to my class. I didnt run and say 'oh no, i need that money.' Nobody at school makes a profit from your child attending there. I earn just as much with 18 kids as I do with 36. If your child comes, the school gets money. If your child leaves, they dont get that funding anymore for his attendance. When one student drops out or is added to a school of 500 kids, its like adding a drop of water in a bucket...doesnt do much for additional funding.
We dont hold more meetings and say "oh lookie here, we got one more student, what can we buy?"

Second, we do care if they arent there. My school had a policy that if my kindergarteners missed 20 days or more of school, I could make them repeat K. No, its not for more funding as you might claim. But, if a student misses that much school, a months worth...they didnt learn that 20 days worth of stuff that was taught and thats missing out on quite a bit of learning. That comment alone is ridiculous and stupid.

You called the superintendent who basically knew the law and straigtened the school out. If your child needs an epipen, they should keep it either in the nurses office (open at all times) or if you are in a seperate building, in your desk. Since you raised such a fit, the super probably chewed the school out who then got really tight ass and figured that since half of whatever is made today contains peanuts or possibly got close to them, they seperated your child. The school should have a seperate table in the cafeteria set aside for peanut allergies.

Do you think the teachers have to wolf down their meals in ten or fifteen minutes at this school?
Yes, I do. I had 15 minutes to eat lunch, the rest was my prep period.

Reply #23 from JoeUser Forums Top

I'll comment as I see fit, if you don't like that, ignore it or respond to it as you choose, but I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from telling me where to comment or what to comment about.
 

As long as there's no name calling or threatening going on, you can say what you want to here.  

Marcie, I don't think that she's referring to you.  I think she was referrring to Ryan.  I know that when I've made comments about teachers recently I've had Ryan in mind, not you.  You I'd be happy to have as my kids teacher.  Your S.O. - not so much.

Don't you love how at the beginning of the year, they are all for "parental involvement" until it means you actually advocate for your children then they want you to go away in a hurry.

I know, and it aggrivates the crap out of me.  I don't really care who I piss off, I'm there for my kids and that's that. 

That comment alone is ridiculous and stupid.

See, there you go again with the 'I AM ALMIGHTY' attitude.  This is your only warning.....I won't tolerate such behaviour.  Just because you teach doesn't mean you know more about the school system than anyone else.  Locamama is partially right, a lot of what goes on IS because of funding.

 

Reply #24 from JoeUser Forums Top
I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of home schooling, but if I were you, I'd seriously keep it open as an option. What kind of education can they get when they are faint from hunger? Man....sounds like your kids go to school in Russia or something. It's just wrong.

Actually the situation in Russia, at least as I remember it, is way better than what dharma and others described. I've studied in the 1st and 2nd grades in Russia, and I actually remember that we as kids were forced to eat hot breakfasts and lunches from the cafetiria, without any charge (we could buy extra if we wanted), and actually remember one girl that had to get a doctor's approval, before she was allowed not to eat the school's lunches.

Anyway, dharma, the situation you've described is ridiculous. I can't actually imagine a good reason why the kids are kicked out of the cafeteria after 15 minutes, if they have another 45 minutes they are supposed to spend eating. I hope that you can actually make something to change this ridicilous procedure.
Reply #25 from JoeUser Forums Top
She had not even responded here before I made a comment,

You did make a comment...it was:
Im sure "certain" teachers who blog on JU would insist that little kids need to learn how to shut up and chow down, and that if they weren't goofing off, 15 minutes is more than enough time to eat lunch.


You and he are FAR from being the only teachers blogging here on JU, and while it's no secret that I find Ryan to be utterly devoid of empathy for his fellow man, as well as one of the most consistently childish 'adults' I've ever seen express themselves here


Well I figured when I saw you say "Certain teachers" lil whip, you were talking about Marcie or I...she probably figured the same because, as the rest of JU knows about your responses on my blog.

Also...I dont think I act childish. Maybe moreso than others, but I can act serious when needed. I act like a kid around my students sometimes. As a teacher, I need to understand where they are coming from. I dont want to be that monotone teacher that bores and lectures the students to death. Instead, I want them to get involved with what they are learning and to make it enjoyable and memorable. When I talk to them...I get down on my knee(s) and listen...eye to eye. Id hate to have a teacher that didnt know how to have fun with the kids and actually make them laugh and enjoy school.

and while it's no secret that I find Ryan to be utterly devoid of empathy for his fellow man

I betcha this is coming still from the comment I made where I implied that some people who are disabled can actually be capable of working? You managed to twist my thoughts into "Ryan hates anyone who has anything worse than a broken finger!!!! He is the ANTI-CHRIST! Get your pitchforks....Ill go put on my Captain Flame in my @#@ suit and we can fire this sucker up!"

See, there you go again with the 'I AM ALMIGHTY' attitude. This is your only warning.....I won't tolerate such behaviour. Just because you teach doesn't mean you know more about the school system than anyone else. Locamama is partially right, a lot of what goes on IS because of funding.


Its like saying you know less about the military than I do Dharma. Just because your husband is in the military, that is a BIG part of your life and you know a butt load more about it than I do. Just the same...I work in the education field so I would know a bunch more than Locomama about school funding because my field is impacted and based on funding. Im not saying I know everything...but I know a whole lot more about school funding than her because I am in the education field and work as a teacher.

She said:
All they care about is receiving the funding for their attendance. They really don't care if they are there and learning.

She basically said, the only thing that matters to us is not learning, but funding. That is just plain false. No matter how you look at it, that is just plain false. Its like me telling you that your hubby is actually going to the Banana Republic on vacation with his buddies instead of going to the front lines. You know thats false because you know what he is actually doing...you are involved. I am involved in my field and I know many of the laws focused around education. To say that administrators and teachers care more about funding than the learning of your child is just as I said above.

I know that when I've made comments about teachers recently I've had Ryan in mind, not you. You I'd be happy to have as my kids teacher. Your S.O. - not so much.


Dharma, I wouldnt mind emailing you or whatever because Id like to set this straight. It seems my posts and comments on here have given you an impression of what I am NOT like as a teacher. I know those impressions are based on what I write...but Im not an evil teacher (despite what some people say) and Im not a teacher that, I feel, a parent wouldnt want their child to have. Im half tempted to post scans of my evaluations on here to help clear me out...but I can see that not working in my favor for some odd reason.

I wouldnt mind if you told me a few things of what you have an issue about with me so I can clarify myself. Although, I try to do that on here and that doesnt work out well either...hmm.