Why kids not talk they have been working all day and they can't talk at lunch. Stupid p

I think this is dumb af.

Go to one of these cafeterias with high ceilings and a packed space. It can be physically painful to the ears. Seriously.

My first grader has the last 5-10 minutes of lunch as silent time to let them finish up -- I guess a lot of kids don't eat much when they are too busy talking. That seems like a fair compromise to me.

A public MC ES near me does silent lunch, and this is one of the reasons I won't buy a home in that area. A person I talked to said their DC was punished for giggling or talking at lunch and put on the stage, then forgotten during recess. Twenty minutes later, the lone child left to ask for help and no one had noticed she wasn't in class.
Lunch is a small time of the day that kids should be able to loosen up a little and relax, and maybe chat. All of the 3 montgomery county ES's that we've been to have NOT been quiet lunches. I think it's mean.

We're at a public that does silent lunches. My child explains that if they talk, they don't get recess. I believe it's also to keep them on task.

Anonymous wrote:I think this is cruel. The children are working the rest of the day, and during their break they have to be silent? WTF

The eating time of lunch is not the only time for socialization. Further, silent lunches actually increase the recess time which is far more fun than the eating time. Really it's no big deal. But if you don't like them you don't have to send your child to a private that has them.

Sometimes it gets REALLY loud, and kids are so busy talking then they are asked to have a "silent lunch." This is rare, and only a last resort after many warnings to be quieter, and eat. Sometimes the kids will even ASK for a "quiet contest!"

Signed,
A teacher

Are these lunches really short? My DD's lunch is 30 minutes. That is plenty of time for her to eat and yack yack yack.

DD is at a private school and the teachers read a book outloud during lunch. The reason for this is so that the kids will actually eat. There is plenty of recess at the school, so the kids to get a chance to socialize.

Our school sometimes starts with silent lunch as the children eat and listen to classical or soft music, usually about the first 10 - 15 minutes. Some children need to quiet themselves and eat instead of chatting. Once everyone has a solid 10 - 15 minutes of healthy eating time, then they may talk quietly to their neighbor. Otherwise, it will be half hour and most will be ready to go outside to the playground and some will still be taking their first few bites. This isn't always -- the teachers use discretion if the class needs to quiet down and think about mindfulness.

Our public does not have silent lunch. Occasionally they will impose assigned seating for a day or two if problems persist. I would NOT be ok with silent lunch.

Maybe they were finding that kids were talking too much and not eating enough, then parents got mad that their kids were starving when they picked up their kids from school. So they implemented this policy. Just a guess.

Silent lunches were my number one concern when touring for kinder. I can't believe some private schools have them. I thought they are only found in overcrowded public schools.

I think this is cruel. The children are working the rest of the day, and during their break they have to be silent? WTF