No talking at lunch or else we can't hear you choke

[Scouzer]

Pretty genius.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/01/25/silent.lunch.ap/index.html

WARWICK, Rhode Island (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.

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

goddam. That is the stupidest of the stupidest things I've ever read. I won't even dignify that with justification.

 

[gsethi]

A prime example of a rule that the rule makers must first apply to themselves before applying them on the masses.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

It's a fine recommendation - though I would like to know how the 'offenders' are punished. Having a teacher watch over them isn't a bad idea. Unless it is absolute mayhem out there, a kid choking should be easy to spot.

 

[jagec]

Sounds like a good idea to me. Keep 'em from talking to each other during school, keep 'em working on standardized tests all year, ban after-school activities because they're dangerous, encourage online games and TV watching, do everything else you can to prevent real-life socialization and learning, and prescribe them enough medications to keep them even-tempered the whole time. Presto, thousands of ready-made robots, without the need for an expensive factory and no risk of an uprising.

 

[DrPizza]

Wow, imagine if 3 of them tripped on the stairs in the same week... They'd have to ban classes from being upstairs.

 

[waggy]

hahahahahha yeah that will last ohh 2 minutes.

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Wow, imagine if 3 of them tripped on the stairs in the same week... They'd have to ban classes from being upstairs.

No no, I think they'd just ban walking. You know, scooters for the flat spots, those little motorized lift chairs for the stairs, stuff like that.

 

[ScottyB]

Maybe they are afraid the children will tell each other what the priest did to them the night before.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: ScottyB
Maybe they are afraid the children will tell each other what the priest did to them the night before.

where's your flamesuit?

i think it's a bit stupid, though i understand why they did it. more concerning, however, is that no one noticed/reported it. at my mom's school, there were 2-3 teachers to watch over ~200 kids, so yeah, that's a lot and things can slip through.... but why wouldn't one of the kids say something if their classmate was choking?

 

[91TTZ]

Poorly thought-out knee-jerk reactions to avoid lawsuits FTL.

 

[paulney]

Kids, talking at lunch is bad, mmmkay?

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Rubber walled classrooms, rubber desks, rubber chairs, crash helmets...

 

[schneiderguy]

In 1876, a young girl named Jenn was walking down a river, an insane man killed her by stabbing her in the back, raping her, and then hanging her in his closet. While he hanged her he said Bukakke Bukkake.
Now that you have read this message, she will find you and her dead body will haunt your house for 5 years. Every night you go to sleep she will appear in your closet, hanging their with her glowing red eyes.
repost 3 times to be saved.

---

Your posting privileges are suspended for one week. Another post like that may be reason to ban you permanently from our forums.

AnandTech Moderator

 

[91TTZ]

People are becoming so risk-averse nowadays that they're paralyzed in fear. Soon, you won't be able to do anything that's not directly to the point because it carries with it a risk.

1. No playing sports in gym class
2. No playing outside for recess
3. No playing at all
4. Instant suspension for kids found doing any risky activities outside of school
5. Mountains are off-limits as they're dangerous
6. Swimming is forbidden
7. No scissors in class
8. The game of tag is hurtful and must be banned.
9. Outside the box thinking is prohibited
10. Helmets and safety goggles must be worn at all times.

 

[theknight571]

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
It's a fine recommendation - though I would like to know how the 'offenders' are punished. Having a teacher watch over them isn't a bad idea. Unless it is absolute mayhem out there, a kid choking should be easy to spot.

It's a Catholic school... so either it's a ruler across the knuckles, or their punishment will be doled out "later" on and by a "higher being".

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
It's a fine recommendation - though I would like to know how the 'offenders' are punished. Having a teacher watch over them isn't a bad idea. Unless it is absolute mayhem out there, a kid choking should be easy to spot.

It's a fine recommendation? Are you kidding? You're taking away the kids' social time and making lunch like detention.

 

[esun]

The proper solution is to teach the students how to make a gesture indicating you are choking (i.e. hands over throat) and to teach the kids how to recognize and respond to it. I mean, as soon as they eat in a non-silent area (i.e. anywhere in the real world) how the hell are they going to deal with choking then?

 

[Whisper]

I remember having "silent lunch" as a punishment during elementary school, although it was usually limited to just a table or two.

I also think that I vaguely remember "silent" days in which, similar to how the article describes things, you were only supposed to whisper. It honestly wasn't that big of a deal, but hopefully this stays only a temporary fix.

 

[RGN]

I think they did this to teach the children to masticate properly.

You know, so they don't choke on their chicken and stuff.

 

[Jeff7]

I'd go nuts if all I had to listen to at lunch was dozens upon dozens of little kids chewing loudly. So many people never learned to chew with their mouths closed.

I think if you're having lunch, start choking, someone around you might hopefully have the sense to start screaming for an adult to come and help out.

And if some is very truly choking, they won't be able to make any noise because their windpipe will be completely blocked off. No air movement = no movement of vocal cords = no sound.

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.

??????
Kid goes to throw away trash on lunch tray. Kid gets back to his seat to discover he forgot his empty milk carton. Kid tries to clean up like he knows he's supposed to, goes a second time to throw away the milk carton, gets detention.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
People are becoming so risk-averse nowadays that they're paralyzed in fear. Soon, you won't be able to do anything that's not directly to the point because it carries with it a risk.

1. No playing sports in gym class
2. No playing outside for recess
3. No playing at all
4. Instant suspension for kids found doing any risky activities outside of school
5. Mountains are off-limits as they're dangerous
6. Swimming is forbidden
7. No scissors in class
8. The game of tag is hurtful and must be banned.
9. Outside the box thinking is prohibited
10. Helmets and safety goggles must be worn at all times.

We have decided to ban the game of tag because it promotes discrimination.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
People are becoming so risk-averse nowadays that they're paralyzed in fear. Soon, you won't be able to do anything that's not directly to the point because it carries with it a risk.

1. No playing sports in gym class
2. No playing outside for recess
3. No playing at all
4. Instant suspension for kids found doing any risky activities outside of school
5. Mountains are off-limits as they're dangerous
6. Swimming is forbidden
7. No scissors in class
8. The game of tag is hurtful and must be banned.
9. Outside the box thinking is prohibited
10. Helmets and safety goggles must be worn at all times.

We have decided to ban the game of tag because it promotes discrimination.

The elementary school I went to banned tag because it was "too dangerous." I guess the mentality now is, "My kid scraped his knee at school! How could you let this happen? He'll be emotionally scarred for life! We're suing for hospitalization expenses, trauma counseling, and emotional anguish, to the tune of $10M."

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
People are becoming so risk-averse nowadays that they're paralyzed in fear. Soon, you won't be able to do anything that's not directly to the point because it carries with it a risk.

1. No playing sports in gym class
2. No playing outside for recess
3. No playing at all
4. Instant suspension for kids found doing any risky activities outside of school
5. Mountains are off-limits as they're dangerous
6. Swimming is forbidden
7. No scissors in class
8. The game of tag is hurtful and must be banned.
9. Outside the box thinking is prohibited
10. Helmets and safety goggles must be worn at all times.

We have decided to ban the game of tag because it promotes discrimination.

yeap. one of the local elementry schools baned it because of discrimination.

also they tried to get all the playground and park equipment taken out because a kid might hurt themselves. they also tried the excuse that it is not fair to disabled kids.

i feel so sorry for kids today. its just nuts.

 

[WiseOldDude]

If you are really chocking you can't make a sound, as you have to be able to move air to make sound.

And these people run a school? give me a break.

Apparently it is true, there is no OFF position on the STUPID switch.