Posted on 04/25/2013 8:22:44 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
School is all about teaching children how the real world works. So if there is no such thing as a free lunch in the real world, should the same principle apply in our schools? West Virginia Delegate Ray Canterbury seems to think so.
During a recent debate over West Virginia’s Feed to Achieve Act, Canterbury suggested that kids who cannot afford lunch should have to work for it instead.
"I think it would be a good idea if perhaps we had the kids work for their lunches: trash to be taken out, hallways to be swept, lawns to be mowed, make them earn it," Canterbury said. “If they miss a lunch or they miss a meal they might not, in that class that afternoon, learn to add, they may not learn to diagram a sentence, but they'll learn a more important lesson."
Canterbury added that he thinks free lunches will undermine children’s work ethics, saying the bill is “teaching students they don’t have to work hard.”
Canterbury’s suggestions were met with staunch opposition during floor debates.
“I'm offended anybody in this body would dare say a child has to work for their meals," said Del. Meshea Poore. "I can't believe someone would say a first-grader, a second-grader ... a fifth-grader has to labor before they eat. This isn't an entitlement bill."
West Virginia House of Delegates Majority Leader Brent Boggs echoed Poore’s sentiments. “It is pathetic that in a country as wealthy as this, that we’re talking about whether we should feed kids or not. Somebody better check your pulse and see if you’re still living if these things don’t touch you.”
The Feed to Achieve Act will set up non-profit organizations to solicit donations for school lunch programs. The FAA is notable in that it is one of the first legislative measures to combine private donations with federal funding for school lunch programs. One primary goal of the bill is to provide every child with a free breakfast and lunch.
The bill received overwhelming bipartisan support in the state house, passing via an 89-9 vote. It is expected to be signed into law by West Virginia governor Earl Tomblin by the end of April.
Sounds good to me and I would include parents.
Amen!!!
Goes back to that long-forgotten ethic - you don’t work, you don’t eat.
Who cannot afford lunch?.
Billions are spent on welfare and we still have to feed them at school?,the feds are breeders of moochers and slackers.
This is not a new idea. Back during the Jurassic age, I worked for my lunch and I was not alone.
Parents who don’t pay taxes should volunteer as well. Lord knows there are plenty of us who don’t have kids but pay for schools.
For those of you who are interested, go to the nearest school and look in the garbage and you will see all the 'free lunches' that aren't even eaten and just thrown into the garbage.
Some schools are getting 'smarter' and are purchasing commercial grinders to hide the waste.
Make the 'free loaders' work or pay. Period.
First Collector: At this festive time of year, Mr. Scrooge, it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute.
Ebenezer: Are there no prisons?
First Collector: Plenty of prisons.
Ebenezer: And the union workhouses - are they still in operation?
First Collector: They are. I wish I could say they were not.
Ebenezer: Oh, from what you said at first I was afraid that something had happened to stop them in their useful course. I’m very glad to hear it.
First Collector: I don’t think you quite understand us, sir. A few of us are endeavoring to buy the poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth.
Ebenezer: Why?
In Japan they don’t bother with janitors for schools. The kids get assigned days to clean up classrooms and mop the halls after school.
Can you imagine the howls of protest already screeching forth from the ACLU, the NAACP and other leftist groups?
“How dare you force a poor black child to clean tables?
Thats Racist!!”
YES....kids USED to have to work in the lunchroom for lunch. Up until in the 1980’s I know of instances....what changed? Gee, I wonder..../s
He was a good man and the trashy element in the student body was kept in check by peer pressure as a result.
When my kids attended school in Japan, chores ranging from cleaning to lunch service to caring for the classroom pet(s) was part of the school day. Guess how much vandalism there is in Japanese schools.
2 thess 3:10
Perhaps you would care to explain your point (if any)?
Perhaps you agree with the current government practice of taking money (using deadly force or the threat thereof) from those who provide useful goods and services, and giving it with no strings attached to those who will not do so?
The kids eat their lunches in the classroom and the "han" (work detail of 2-4 kids assigned to the task) goes to a central lunch room to the food to distribute to their classmates.
Part of the mandatory school supplies is a set of thick cleaning rags which all the kids are expected to use at the close of the cleaning day and take home to launder regularly.
And adults should also work for welfare!
Well then, I guess I'm one of those nasty conservatives who doesn't have a heart, or who is dead according to this Lib. I am so past this talking point. Earth to West Virginia Democrats: we are NOT a wealthy nation. We are careening toward national bankruptcy. And its the fault of the "free lunch" crowd.
That’s what you do when someone says “Hey, while you were in the bathroom, we made you a delagate”. :-)
My parents struggled to pay our tuition. Dad was out of work for six months and I recall a phone call when our parish priest expressed he was not too pleased with our family's meager contributions as the Sunday collection plate missed our weekly envelope again.
I can't prove that my elementary school had that policy. The school is long gone now, but I would venture to guess that this was a valid policy years ago, which indeed did teach an important lesson.
None of us felt taken advantage of for the chores, despite not joining our classmates on the playground for recess. Rather, we found it a challenge to finish quickly so we could enjoy the use of the pool table in the adjoining room. We also managed to avoid participating in our class' recital of verb conjugations as our classmates waited for each remaining class to line up to return to class.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.