amys

I need to vent about this incident that happened to me this week.

This week my son who is in 2nd grade at a public school received school breakfast for two days. Normally, he brings his own lunch. But lately his bus has been arriving early at school, therefore he wanted to eat breakfast. Well the first day he didn't remember his code number to pay for his breakfast. Low and behold the school calls me at work demanding the 70 cents. Ok I let this go, I gave my son $2 for the breakfast he ate and for the next days breakfast if he chooses to eat there again at school. Ok now he paid $1. He didn't realize that he needed to give them more moola for the 2nd breakfast. Guess what now I was called again where I worked for 40 cents. I work as a professional in a hospital where I don't need this nonsense.

What is this world comming to!!!!!!! Here we are giving Iraq $85 billion to help their country out and here we are fighting for 40 cents for a child who wants to eat breakfast. Its not even like we have an outstanding balance. They know my child will eventually pay cause the school cause they will see him the next day after day.

This country is going downhill. What does "no child left behind" mean? Oh not the us citizen children.

phew off my chest now, look what 40 cents can do to a person
amy

scotch03

chill Amy - only 40 cents. Give the kid $50 next week - he will be popular and can eat all week long!

jaytee

leave no child behind means send them all to fight in Iraq

Pulaski

I always assumed that a school's primary purpose was to educate children. Why do others think that the school system has an, any, obligation to feed children?

Maybe if people realised that it is their responsibility to feed their children there would be more money available for the schools to spend on education!

amys

I was not asking for any handouts. I was just irate why they would call me on this. (i thought he got hurt again or was sick).

They could have sent a note home mentioning to me he owes money. I have no problem paying. Where I live there are about 10 schools where there is a pilot program whereby all students regardless of income to receive breakfast and lunch for free. My son is not in one of the pilot schools so therefore we have to pay. I thought they would be a little less harsh since they know school children need proper nutrition.

The money is not the problem for me, it was the way they come about it that made me tick.

amy

scotch03

From the schools point of view, perhaps:-

1 - Phone call is quicker than sending a bill or a wee note.

2 - Chance to speak to parent - more personal.

3 - Mum will be glad we took the time to make a personal phone call instead of making him look like a welfare case by passing a private letter to him whilst in class.

supernav

your son must be in one of those "ghetto" schools. Trust me, they don't treat kids like that in beverly hills schools, or rich suburb schools in minnesota.

-= nav =-

Lion in Winter

Hey Pulaski, relax man, you're getting all worked up. Didn't you get that wonderful school lunch in the UK, cuisine at its most haute? What about that milk and buns in the morning? Perhaps you were private school all the way, but all children eat.

And may I venture to say (opens can of worms), if there is a shortage of money for public education in this country it's not because of the food they serve (believe me, I worked in a school for a couple of years!) but because of who is setting the budget priorities. Hard to accept that the richest country in the world cannot find enough money to decently educate - and feed if necessary - its children. :lecture:

Pulaski

I accept that it is for the public good that we pay taxes to educate our children, but I don't see why my taxes should be used to feed someone else's children.

BTW Apart from two terms, I always took sandwiches to school for lunch.

Lion in Winter

Lucky you! - on the sandwiches I mean. I suffered from age 4 to 12 eating things that purported to be vegetables (little coloured flecks in water, boiled for three hours), meat (greyish slices of something), and enough sponge pudding with Birds Eye custard to sink a ship. If we had had the option to bring sandwiches, I would have like a shot.

Second, to be fair to the poster, she wasn't complaining about having to pay for the food, but about being harrassed at work for 40 cents which would have been paid the next day.

Breakfasts and lunches in public schools here are means tested, as you probably know. Only the lowest income get the food free, and there we simply have a difference of philosophy. The original idea was to ensure that children got some nutritious food regardless of their home circumstances. Unfortunately, in schools in poor areas at least, the food provided by schools is pretty awful.

Patrick

Lion in Winter = Democrat

Pulaski = Republican

robclews

I Pulaski was a milk monitor.

Rob

robclews

I Pulaski was a milk monitor.

Lion in Winter

Actually:

Lion in Winter = can't find a candidate in any damn party worth his/her salt (or school lunch), and can't detect much policy difference among any of them.

Lion in Winter

Ah, the smell of power.