This is disheartening to read as a parent. We’re raising our kids to be conditioned into compliance.

“I’m sorry for being loud in the lunchroom.”

quiet in the lunchroom

Not specifically because it’s my 7, among the softest kids you’ll ever meet, that wrote it.

“Dad, I wasn’t even being loud.” And I believe him 100%. (his older brother is another story 😆) The whole class that was in the lunchroom at the time had to write this.

I feel sorry for the whole body of students, because I’ve seen myself how silly this enforcement of “quiet in the lunchroom” is. Forbid the thought of kids socializing during their break.

Takes a lot for me to say this, because I love our kids school and teachers, and I appreciate that most school employees do their job from a position of passion. Every year I buy my kids teachers whole supply list at the beginning of the year. A few years back, I also paid off past due lunch debts for all Title I schools in the entire school district.

Prior to not being allowed to with what’s going on in the world, my wife and I would walk to the school every few weeks and spend lunch with our kids.

Every time I was there (EVERY TIME), the w̶a̶r̶d̶e̶n̶ janitor would whistle as loud as possible then yell, “Hey!” and continue in a PC version of “STFU!”

Not just once, but about every 4 minutes throughout the whole lunch break.

So elementary kids days go like this:

  • Stand in uniform line
  • Go inside doors that lock behind them
  • Sit down and be quiet in class (understandable)
  • Finally get a break… but rest assured you better shut your mouth.
  • Go outside, but can’t play on the baseball field with baseballs or bats OR EVEN PLAY TAG because that one kid that one time ruined it for everyone.
  • If parents want to visit their own kid you have to go to a locked door, present your ID to a camera, wait for someone to unlock it, check in, then wait. Like the crazy guy that we’re fearing won’t just roll up and show ID, too?

I get the theory behind all of this, but as Ben Franklin famously said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

The growth of our children and strength of our future is based on soft skills, communication, and critical thinking and we’re systematically failing our kids.