[quote]WASHINGTON — Virginia is joining the list of states that are cracking down on “lunch shaming,” the practice of schools singling out students because they owe money for food or do not have enough cash to pay for lunch.
A lunch shaming ban passed through the state Senate’s Education Committee Thursday and is now headed to the full Senate.
The House of Delegates passed the bill last week.
“[The legislation] directs school boards to develop policies around how to handle when student school lunch accounts are delinquent,” said Del. Patrick Hope, a Democrat pushing for the bill to pass.
“Some schools will put bright colored stickers or wristbands on the student,” Hope said. “This would require employees, instead of doing that, to direct communications to a parent.”[/quote]
[url=https://wtop.com/virginia/2018/02/virginia-advances-bill-ban-lunch-shaming/]Source: WTOP news[/url]
I don't like this attitude that not being able to pay for your lunch/defaulting on your lunch fee ends up spilling out in public. It's good that they're introducing such laws, so that all this can be dealt with behind closed doors.
[QUOTE=Zonesylvania;53156765]I don't like this attitude that not being able to pay for your lunch/defaulting on your lunch fee ends up spilling out in public. It's good that they're introducing such laws, so that all this can be dealt with behind closed doors.[/QUOTE]
It's a step in the right direction, but children shouldn't be paying for their own school lunch
[QUOTE=proboardslol;53156788]It's a step in the right direction, but children shouldn't be paying for their own school lunch[/QUOTE]
Yeah I mean I do agree with that, but the minute some persons hear "not paying" they default to communism, bootstraps, and all that fun stuff and ask why you want to ruin businesses.
[QUOTE=Zonesylvania;53156796]Yeah I mean I do agree with that, but the minute some persons hear "not paying" they default to communism, bootstraps, and all that fun stuff and ask why you want to ruin businesses.[/QUOTE]
You're not kidding. Someone posted this in a local subreddit and when I said the same thing (students shouldn't have to pay for their lunch), within 5 minutes the next comment was about how subsidizing school lunches so [B]children[/B] don't have to go hungry was a slippery slope into Stalinism
hilariously, i went through school completely oblivious to the fact that i got my lunch every day without having to work for it. as a kid.
all thanks to the family paying my lunch for me
this is dumb and the people who talk about bootstraps in the context of [B]public[/B] schooling are pretty dumb
[QUOTE=proboardslol;53156799]You're not kidding. Someone posted this in a local subreddit and when I said the same thing (students shouldn't have to pay for their lunch), within 5 minutes the next comment was about how subsidizing school lunches so [B]children[/B] don't have to go hungry was a slippery slope into Stalinism[/QUOTE]
That's reddit for ya.
In the UK, the government pays when students are unable, although we pay with cash upfront if we can. It's based on finances of the family, so nobody gets screwed over.
Free school lunch needs to go nationwide. I work an assistant in a special education classroom, and just the other day I had a mentally challenged 5th grade student get told to either pay his delinquent debt to the cafeteria (a staggering sum of about $2.50) or else he'd have to eat a defrosted pb&j sandwich instead of a normal lunch. The teacher announced this in front of the class, and since he didn't have the money on him, he was humiliated. We are teaching these kids early on that being poor is something to be ashamed of.
[QUOTE=Sega Saturn;53156953]Free school lunch needs to go nationwide. I work an assistant in a special education classroom, and just the other day I had a mentally challenged 5th grade student get told to either pay his delinquent debt to the cafeteria (a staggering sum of about $2.50) or else he'd have to eat a defrosted pb&j sandwich instead of a normal lunch. The teacher announced this in front of the class, and since he didn't have the money on him, he was humiliated. We are teaching these kids early on that being poor is something to be ashamed of.[/QUOTE]
What the fuck. That's crazy. =/
[QUOTE=proboardslol;53156799]You're not kidding. Someone posted this in a local subreddit and when I said the same thing (students shouldn't have to pay for their lunch), within 5 minutes the next comment was about how subsidizing school lunches so [B]children[/B] don't have to go hungry was a slippery slope into Stalinism[/QUOTE]
Considering how much money the VA schools soak up (having gone through it myself) and the general mediocre quality of school lunches, it should all be paid for out of the budget. I doubt it'd do much but leave a dent in any bonuses for school administrators.
[QUOTE=Sega Saturn;53156953]Free school lunch needs to go nationwide. I work an assistant in a special education classroom, and just the other day I had a mentally challenged 5th grade student get told to either pay his delinquent debt to the cafeteria (a staggering sum of about $2.50) or else he'd have to eat a defrosted pb&j sandwich instead of a normal lunch. The teacher announced this in front of the class, and since he didn't have the money on him, he was humiliated. We are teaching these kids early on that being poor is something to be ashamed of.[/QUOTE]
That's sickening.
[QUOTE=Sega Saturn;53156953]Free school lunch needs to go nationwide. I work an assistant in a special education classroom, and just the other day I had a mentally challenged 5th grade student get told to either pay his delinquent debt to the cafeteria (a staggering sum of about $2.50) or else he'd have to eat a defrosted pb&j sandwich instead of a normal lunch. The teacher announced this in front of the class, and since he didn't have the money on him, he was humiliated. We are teaching these kids early on that being poor is something to be ashamed of.[/QUOTE]
"You're poor? That means you're a piece of human filth that deserves to be hungry."
God I hate America sometimes.
Something to remember: Children are [I]cruel[/I].
I guarantee at least 1/3 of the time, if a kid gets lunch shamed for being poor, that's become a thing for bullies to jump on and torment the kid with for weeks or months after the fact.
Like, it would be bad enough if it's adults doing this. Imagine being at work in the lunchroom with all your coworkers and the office manager suddenly walks in and goes, "Dave, put the coffee and sandwich down right now and march yourself right out of the lunchroom, you didn't help pay for this team lunch so you're not getting any." This Dave guy is going to feel fucking humiliated because the boss is treating him like a naughty child in front of his adult coworkers, but unless Dave has a long history his coworkers [I]probably[/I] won't rib him too much about it, especially if they know that Dave's really struggling with money with his three kids or whatever.
But now put this into a classroom filled with children who lack the social empathy that comes with maturing into an adult, and who don't fully understand the consequences of teasing and bullying on a child's development. This kind of humiliation can be scarring. There is [I]no[/I] justification for shaming kids for being too poor to afford to eat, and their peers will make the torment even worse out of juvenile amusement.
My elementary school didn't even have an in-school lunch program, and high school had a cafeteria that sold crap, so I and pretty much all my classmates brought lunch from home (except for kids who lived so close they just walked home and had actual lunch before walking back) and this wasn't a problem. But I cannot fucking imagine any of my elementary teachers singling a student out for owing $2.50 and announcing to the entire class that they're going hungry because their family are lunch fee deadbeats. I [I]cannot[/I] comprehend or visualize my teachers doing that to me or any of the kids in my grade. It'd be like asking me to picture one of them trying to stab us with a knife, it's just too far gone to consider.
But it's a reality for too many American students. What the fucking shit happened to you, America? You've gone insane.
in New Zealand every school i know about required parents to supply their kids lunch. in the poorer schools if a kid shows up without lunch the school typically has a whole bunch of fresh fruit or other healthy food the kid can receive for free, no strings attached subsidized by the govt. works quite well
Every day I wonder if I've been teleported into a universe where the Onion is now reality.
Thankfully in Spain this problem can't exist because the school day ends at 2-2:45 so students eat at home.
Whoever came up with the policy to publicly shame children for having poor parents is such an awful, soulless person. Just call the parents if you want to discuss finances, a child has no way of earning money in the first place so what are you bothering them for?
[QUOTE=_Maverick_;53157244]That's sickening.[/QUOTE]
That was every day for me.
Some time during fourth grade you stop giving a shit what other people think.
[QUOTE=Sega Saturn;53156953]Free school lunch needs to go nationwide. I work an assistant in a special education classroom, and just the other day I had a mentally challenged 5th grade student get told to either pay his delinquent debt to the cafeteria (a staggering sum of about $2.50) or else he'd have to eat a defrosted pb&j sandwich instead of a normal lunch. The teacher announced this in front of the class, and since he didn't have the money on him, he was humiliated. We are teaching these kids early on that being poor is something to be ashamed of.[/QUOTE]
That blows, man. :frown:
My mom teaches in a school that is pretty famous for being one of the more ethical ones. They have two systems in place for the kids, where:
a) If they find out the child hasn't paid their lunch dues on time, they take the child aside and ask them what's up. Sometimes parents in their pride and in trying to preserve their dignity in such situations often try to lie out of it, but children are a lot more...blunt that way. Some kids come from families where even getting them to school is a big thing. We're talking kids of carpenters, electricians, farmers, that sort of thing. The sad part is that these parents are often illiterate themselves, so my mom has to keep a small stamp pad next to her for PTA's so they can stick their thumbprint on the report card as an acknowledgement after she's explained how their child has done.
Anyway, what happens in such cases is that the teachers typically get together and ask their children and family(aka my sister and I) if we'd like to sponsor the kid's lunches. I do, as does my sister, and sometimes other folks do to cover the gaps and it's fine. In the grand scheme of things it's probably a few meals out that's keeping that kid fed and happy. They do plenty of stuff like this, with very transparent funding and accounting, so it works out for the best.
b) If, in the course of their conversation, it comes to light that the child isn't getting enough to eat at home either (and this is rather sad and very true for poverty-level households and for these kids, the school lunch is the most nutritional thing they'll get to eat all day) then the teachers typically pack a bag of food, sort of like a tupperware party of sorts, then call the children to staff room and tell them to collect it before going home. It doesn't embarrass the kids, the parents do appreciate it and at least the kids are getting fed. For extended holiday periods, the same children are put on a sort of 'watchlist' with their class teacher keeping in regular touch with the parents to make sure the kid is doing okay. Summer camp is also free for them, too.
Shit like this is how delicate situations like these can be handled - people as adults seem to forget how much of a child's world is the impression of themselves on their peers. No child should have to face the acceptance of being the class Kenny and the rejection of their peers. :frown:
It's kind of sickening to see people pull a "but muh socialisms" argument as such a pathetic excuse for being an unempathetic dick. The argument doesn't even make sense, anyway - you'd want someone to do that for your kid because it's the right thing to do - it's not like there are parents out there starving their kids just so they can get their mitts on your handouts, ffs.
[QUOTE=snookypookums;53158132]That blows, man. :frown:
My mom teaches in a school that is pretty famous for being one of the more ethical ones. They have two systems in place for the kids, (cut for brevity) .[/QUOTE]
That's such a wonderful system, why don't all schools adopt that?
(I apologise if this next assumption is wrong I don't mean offence...) if the school your mother is working at has kids enrolled that aren't fed at home and are in that kind of state, then I don't imagine it's a typically rich upper-class school?
So there wouldn't be a money issue right?
just give children food, goddamn, it isn't that hard
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;53156858]That's reddit for ya.[/QUOTE]
That's why I stick to hobby-related subreddits. The worst you find there is a dusting of elitism.
Oh, and places like /r/cats because cute.
Lunch at my high school was $1.25. They would let you 'charge' your lunch if you couldn't pay once. And they would not let you get lunch unless you paid for the next one, or paid off the $1.25 first to charge again. They would literally take the tray of food from you
There were also 'Fee waivers' your parents could fill out at the start of the year that let students get free lunch, but those were bright pink and kind of humiliating for students who used them because HAHA YOU'RE POOR
It's a public school, funded by taxes, and I was required by law to attend, just like any other kid going to school. The lunch should be free
Though I will admit, for $1.25, it was a pretty good deal. You got a drink, a meal like Pizza or spaghetti, and two sides. Monday was always the best because that's when it was fresh. The meals were worse and worse each day, with Friday being the worst
I never paid for school lunch in my life. Fucking communism ruined my life. Poor businesses
[QUOTE=MrBunneh;53157513]in New Zealand every school i know about required parents to supply their kids lunch. in the poorer schools if a kid shows up without lunch the school typically has a whole bunch of fresh fruit or other healthy food the kid can receive for free, no strings attached subsidized by the govt. works quite well[/QUOTE]
unfortunately this wasn't the case when I went to intermediate back in NZ. They went so far as to withhold the "privilege" of buying lunch from school if you got too many green cards (for detention or not wearing your hat outside), and it lasted for a whole week. No free food either. Parent's forget to pack your lunch? Too many green cards? Tough shit, you're going hungry.
That school was a terrible example, my primary school was much better and supplied a free breakfast room for any kids, no strings attached like you said. I don't think my college supplied free breakfasts though, but the tuckshop was open for anyone no matter what and had cheap fresh fruit (though not many people bought it).
[QUOTE=_Maverick_;53158247]That's such a wonderful system, why don't all schools adopt that?
(I apologise if this next assumption is wrong I don't mean offence...) if the school your mother is working at has kids enrolled that aren't fed at home and are in that kind of state, then I don't imagine it's a typically rich upper-class school?
So there wouldn't be a money issue right?[/QUOTE]
Surprisingly, no - the school is actually well known in the city and is highly desirable for everyone to get in because the quality of education is also top notch. As a result, it attracts students from all backgrounds because of the cachet of saying "My child did his schooling in X" opens a lot of doors for college and universities - almost like saying you studied in Eton. There is fierce competition to get in, but the one hilarious rule that is in place to discourage corruption is that the admissions department is impartial - [I]any[/I] attempt to butter up/use connections to get your kid into the school other than on their merit disqualifies your child [I]for life[/I] from admissions. :v:
The management of the school rests with a single Anglo-Indian family that are old money and all class. My mom is retiring this year, but one of the coolest things I witnessed first hand was when my mom sent in her CV for consideration for a speculative position as a teacher there, the head of the governor's board personally called her, came home for tea (which ended up being an interview), took her on a guided tour of the school before basically giving her a blank check to do what she needed to set up a reading program (which ended up being so successful that the ministers of other states have sent delegates to see how they can implement the same).
The schemes I mentioned above are actually one of many that they have, including one with children that have special needs. Many years ago, one of the original founders of the school had a special needs child and since in India there wasn't much you could do for them outside of just keep them at home, this person traveled around the world with the child to learn what the best way was to have the child succeed in life despite their requirements. It was eventually found that their unique traits were best adapted to skilled trades, so that's what the school does now. The special needs school trains these children to become highly skilled bakers, plumbers, carpenters apprentices, etc. In fact, all of the baked goods in the canteen are actually made fresh each day by the special needs class and subsidized, which goes back into the system to look after them.
Another thing is the ongoing education fund that they have - in order to ensure that some of the under-privileged have the best possible shot at succeeding in life, the founders and the board of directors have set up a 'bounty'/Kickstarter-esque system several decades ago where former alumni and others can ensure that children go beyond high school graduation and earn their bachelor's degrees and master's degrees if they can. The only caveat is that anyone who uses the system must also contribute a certain amount to pay it forward. This has resulted in some children, the sons and daughters of weavers, painters and farmers, even getting their degrees from colleges in the UK and the US and then becoming patrons for more.
I don't like talking about what happened to my Valve money because to this day, nearly four years on since my item got into TF2, it still feels like it was a lot more than I deserved for a few hours of work, but sponsoring these kids is where a lot of it has gone (and continues to go) after my first year of earnings. So yeah, Gabe Newell doesn't know this but some of his money has gone into improving the lives of a lot of children to have a decent shot at life and an education. It was the best possible option I had at the time, and now that I've moved to Canada I intend to do something similar with my earnings here, too. I could be the sort of person that stamps my feet and throws a tantrum and rants about how [I]I've[/I] been the one to do all of this shit that the government [I]should[/I] be doing, but my screaming into the void doesn't put food in those kid's stomachs or help their condition, it just me rationalizing my apathy by pushing the blame onto someone else while I proceed to do nothing.
It's bad enough that teachers don't get paid enough to give a shit about their kids, but also when the community doesn't get together to look after their future because they are so wrapped up with invisible lines in the sand as far as political ideologies is concerned. You cannot be anything but a massive hypocrite if you talk about donating to any kind of charity, while simultaneously crying "commie" when it comes to helping your fellow man.
The public school system is fucking ridiculous with stuff like this. One of my friends (in grade school) almost died because he went into shock from a PB&J sandwich they told him he had to eat because he was a few cents short. The weird thing about the school we were at as kids was that they basically monitored the kids to make sure they were eating, and would fuss at you if you brought food to the trash to throw away.
Basically, he felt like he had no choice but to eat peanut butter because that's the only thing they'd give him even though he told them he was allergic.
[QUOTE=Snickerdoodle;53159094]and would fuss at you if you brought food to the trash to throw away.
Basically, he felt like he had no choice but to eat peanut butter because that's the only thing they'd give him even though he told them he was allergic.[/QUOTE]
smells like a lawsuit
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