PTO Today

Our school is trying a silent lunch hour with the K-5 school. Does anyone have any experience with this?
Amy

No--but I don't like it...lunch time is the ONLY time (except recess) where kids can socialize and act like real people. We have an incentive program where the children earn points for good table behavior and as the points add up they get treats like extra recess etc. Although our lunchroom is loud, it is managable and respectful. I'd have a problem with having our children give up their right to relax during the short period they have to do so.

d

I totally agree with you! I am trying to keep an open mind about it, but I really don't like it.
Amy

who in the heck can eat with a pit in their stomach because someone is standing over them hissing shhh!, shhh!, shhh! ???? Are they eating in the library?

This kind of over-control bugs the *?* out of me! Lunchtime offers an excellent opportunity for teaching appropriate mealtime behavior and social skills.

At one school in our district, the PTO purchased round tables to replace the standard boardroom tables and the principal purchased real silverware and real napkins with his own money to create more of a dining room atmosphere. Walking into their lunchroom is like walking into a restaurant with the students using their "inside voices" with napkins in their laps complete with centerpieces made by the art classes- it's fantastic and a model we hope to implement at our school.

As for your school, perhaps the PTO could purchase Tylenol in bulk for those on lunch duty complaining about the noise.

nope, never heard of it, sounds kind of extreme..what is their reasoning behind it? are you a public school? are the adult monitors also held to the same rule (tongue in cheek)?
maybe the kids will turn to IM'ing at lunch time, to communicate. in any event, i think they will find more downsides to whatever perceived upside they made this rule for.

maybe even it violates the kids right to free speech? shawn, where are you (he is a regular poster)

One more thing....your post didn't mention but if the PTO is thinking of making a statement as a group, you might want to be careful.
Our PTO bylaws prohibit interfering with school policy "The organization shall cooperate with the school to support the improvement of education in ways that will not interfere with administration of the school and shall not seek to control its policies."
Of course individual parents have lots of rights to free speech