It has come to our attention that in a direct response to our post Lessons From the Lunchroom, a number of parents have begun to organize efforts to address the 15 minute lunch of the 4th and 5th graders at Trinity Elementary School. Many parents were unaware that this was happening and are not satisfied with the responses given by City School District officials. We will bring you more information as it becomes available. If you are interested in getting involved, e-mail us at nrcommunitypulse@gmail.com.
5 thoughts on “Parents Mobilizing to Address 15 Minute Lunch”
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A Parent Will Present this Particular Issue at Tonights PTA
To mom4change:
Thank you for your comments. The parent working on the letter to the administration is scheduled to speak at the PTA meeting tonight, October 6th, 2008.
Some of the parents who contribute to this blog actively participate in their respective PTAs. At least one parent is on one of the schools’ PTA board.
We believe that efforts are moving things in the right direction.
To the New Rochelle Community Pulse team:
–
Thanks NRCP for keeping us “posted”. lol : )
Looking forward to hearing how things are progressing.
HAPPY LUNCH
THAT IS NOT TRUE WE HAVE 857 KIDS THAT TO HAVE LUNCH WITHIN 11-1:30 PM MY SON TOLD ME THAT THERE IS A TABLE THAT IF THE DO NOT FINSH THERE LUNCH THEY CAN GO TO ANOTHER TABLE TO EAT BUT SOME KIDS GO OUTSIDE AND DO NOT WHAT TO FINISH THERE LUNCH. THEY CAN HAVE 45 MIN IF THEY WHAT TO BUT THEY WOULD RATHER GO OUTSIDE
15 minute Lunch
Of course if you give a kid a 15 minute lunch and then tell him recess begins, the kid is not going to (in most cases) finish their (notice the spelling of their) lunch and miss time playing. That is why adults set up lunch periods where the children don’t have to make choices that they are not mature enough to make. An adult knows that a kid should finish their lunch before playing, kids only want to play.
That is why there are many anecdotal stories from many parents about the kids coming home with unfinished lunches.
Studies have shown that the average time a student can get their lunch, eat their food, and socialize briefly during lunch is 20 minutes.
Here is link to a study:
http://www.nfsmi.org/documentLibraryFiles/PDF/20080221023914.pdf
Is the PTA part of this effort?
There was an earlier post on this blog from a teacher/reader (KickoffTD on August 19th) which stated (among other things) that:
“An effective way to change your school is to be an active member of PTA. It is a place to let the administration know you are a concerned parent.”
“Some parents need to learn how to participate and avocat for positive change. Everyone working together is a better way…”
In response to that (on August 22nd) Tex commented:
“Sometimes parents have found the PTA to be more interested in preserving the positive image of their school and tend to acquiesce with administration on most things. They welcome your involvement if you want to bake cupcakes, but not if you have a complaint. Public discourse through blogs is a relatively new way to effect change, and it’s unlikely to go away.”
I am wondering if the Trinity PTA is backing the parents who “have begun to organize efforts to address the 15 minute lunch of the 4th and 5th graders”? Is the PTA behind these efforts or do they agree that the 15 minute lunch should remain as is? Since, “Many parents were unaware that this was happening and are not satisfied with the responses given by City School District officials” I would think that this is the exact type of situation in which the PTA would be spearheading the efforts.
The first commenter (KickoffTD) goes on to say that:
“The reason north end schools appear to benefit from the district more than south end schools, is those parents are active participates with the district to create change. You set up a blog to complain.”
What we as south-end parents do “need to learn” is what north-end parents learned long ago; not to relinquish their power and place their complete trust into the hands of people we hope are making the best decisions for our children. We are too willing to turn our power over to the so-called professionals, to people who we may think know better than us when, in fact, we are the ones who know what is best for our children.
If you read the “goals” statement of this blog, you will realize that it was most certainly set up to advocate for our children. Blogging is a definitive and progressive tool used by many to advocate, especially when conventional methods prove to be ineffective.
This is not just a matter of 5 or 10 minutes a day, it’s a matter of what else is going to be taken away from our children without our awareness? Will the next thing be 10 minutes of reading or 10 minutes of math? What if academics start to pose the same “scheduling conficts” as the lunch periods?
You can help our Trinity children receive the same amount of time to eat their lunch as the children of other schools have just by signing the circulating petition. And ask your PTA if they are helping or hindering the efforts, especially if you’ve paid your annual membership dues.
Parents of younger children, help to make a change now so you won’t have to later on.
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