So, I found out a couple of days ago that at my new school teachers eat lunch with their kids. I'm not sure how I feel about this. In the past, I've always eaten lunch in my room and graded papers or what not. Lunch is 20 minutes and a 20 minute recess follows. Their reasoning is that you have to eat lunch anyway and they're trying not to add another duty other than the ones we already have. My mom says it'll be good for me because she thinks I need to socialize more with other teachers, especially since this is a new school, lol. In reality, it doesn't matter how I feel about it, anyway. :lol: Beth
I eat lunch with my kids once a week. I couldn't do it every day. I like eating in the teacher's lounge and having a few minutes of actual, adult conversation.
And even then... it's a small group of 5-7. I'm eating my lunch, I don't have the desire to babysit lunch behaviors, too. Getting to come up to lunch with me is a privilege that can be lost... permanently... if a student being a pain in the keister keeps me from being able to eat my lunch, they get to spend the rest of the year in the lunch room. So far, no student has abused the privilege.
I was hoping you did. When I had to eat lunch with my kids, I also had no planning time. It was 24/7 with kids. I did it for five years and it was really a relief when I moved and switched jobs.
I thought I would hate it, but I usually didn't mind. I did it for 6 years! When I was in 5th, we'd sit at a separate table with 4th/5th grade teachers. When I moved to 2nd, I usually ate with them so I could monitor them better. Once or twice a month, we'd sit together (2nd grade teachers).
Yeah, during the past I've really enjoyed the quiet time. Yeah, I see what you're saying. I'm not 100% sure, but I think the teachers sit at a table and everyone just kind of keeps an eye out. It's a small school, and its outgrown the cafeteria, so there won't be a lot of kids in there at one time.
I've done it before, and while it is a great way to build relationships with kids, I prefer to have a few minutes of quiet in the middle of the day. Gr3Teacher, do you choose the kids who come into your room? Is it a reward?
I do a combo system... students can earn entries into a drawing, and I choose three kids. It's fairly rare that a student doesn't earn at least one entry, though some kids have more. Then the kids I select can choose a friend to come with them.
We eat at a table in the lunch room with our kids. We do have aides in there (usually 2, this year there were 3), but 1 is dedicated to helping Kindergarten and the other one doesn't get there at the start of the lunch period because of a weird schedule thing. We sometimes have to help get our kids through the line (serving ketchup or whatever), and then we mostly let the aides monitor the kids. At times, however, we deal with behaviors. It's not my favorite thing, but it's not the end of the world, either...
You mentioned that lunch duty was chosen by admin over other duties. I'd much rather do lunch duty than recess duty or an after school dismissal duty! I'm going to eat anyway! I'm not going to stand outside directing cars because I feel like it
I know this is somewhat common in other places (only because of this board- its unheard of here.) However, their reasoning makes no sense. Eating lunch with the children is a duty. I can't imagine how much eating I would actually get done if I was eating with my students. I guess others who eat like this can speak more to it. Eating lunch with the teacher is a novelty here. I use it as a reward for students. It's one of their favorites to get to each lunch with us!
Agreed on all counts. I'm not usually one to get all up in arms about "the contract," but I can't believe teachers aren't entitled to a duty free lunch. I'm pretty sure that a duty free lunch is a legal requirement in my state, regardless of if the school is union or not. This would make me pretty angry. I have also done "lunch bunch" with the teacher as a reward for students- it is an extremely rare treat! They love it, but I'll be honest- I kind of dread even giving up lunch with adults every once in awhile! Kids would have to do something pretty big to earn it.
Agree with everything you said. I'm in Oklahoma, and I'm pretty sure we're supposed to have a 20 minute duty free lunch. It'll be different if all the teachers eat at a teacher table. I mean, I'll still miss my quiet time, but at least I'll be immediately surrounded by adults. If I have to eat at the table with my kids, well...yeah...going to be a long 20 minutes.
When I taught 3rd grade, I ate with the teachers some days, and I chose to eat with the students the other days. Even though while teaching 3rd grade, I was blessed with great teachers to work with, I actually enjoyed eating more with the students. I enjoyed the teachers, but the 3rd graders were so happy and we laughed a lot more. The teachers were nice, but often one or two got really grumpy in the lounge and well...sometimes it is more fun to eat with Tigger than Eeyore. Third graders love to eat with their teacher, and they can say the funniest things...both the boys and the girls. Long 20 minutes, LOL...I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how fast those 20 minutes will go by.
Whew! I thought you were saying that you had to have the kids eat in your classroom everyday. At my school we have breakfast in the classrooms, so each morning for about 15 minutes my class is eating. I don't mind not having quiet time, but the milk and food that get spilled on my carpet are a pain. Luckily you don't have to worry about that. If you're sitting at a table with other teachers that'd be a great opportunity to get to know them and socialize. Worse case scenario if you can't think of something to say, I'm sure one of the kids will do/have done something interesting you can discuss.
I do enjoy eating with my students when they earn it as a reward. Especially because it's only 1 or 2 students and you get to really see their personality in such a small setting. But I would never want to have to do that everyday. As much as I enjoy their company, sitting with them at lunch, minding their behavior, being responsible for their safety, is a duty. I agree with those who have said all teachers should be entitled to a duty free lunch. How you chose to spend that time- with teachers, with students, alone, that would be fine. But having the option to get a break from being around the kids should be something all teachers get.
We have to eat in the cafeteria, but there is a separate area where the teachers sit. Last year I sat with my second graders a couple of times a month. Sometimes I actually liked sitting and talking with the kids more than the adults!
I've always had to eat with my kids. The first 3 years, I was teaching in portables ; so I had in my classroom with my kids. There times, with certain foods, I hated it. There were times I enjoyed it- there were times we could just enjoy our lunchtime at our pace. Once our school was built, we still eat with our kids. The grade teachers eat at a table , while the kids eat at their tables. I like the time eating with my grade level. We often get grade level stuff done during this time.
