I am still thinking about this topic, so I think I'll post something more thoughtful later, particularly in regards to the fees for materials....but first a question about lunch. How much time do kids actually GET for lunch at the various levels? What percentage actually do go home?
I know that kids at any level haven't gone home for lunch in my lifetime in any US area I'm familiar with. In fact, at the high school level, lunch period can be as short as about 20 minutes--hardly enough time to go home and come back, even if you live next door. Some schools allow juniors and seniors in high school to leave "campus" if they have good grades, particularly if they have a study hall on one side of the lunch period. I don't know what elementary schools are like here, but I suspect that, like at the HS level, lunch time is slowly being shortened in favor of more instructional time.
When I was in elementary school, it was rare for teachers to do the supervising at lunch--generally there was a cadre of a few mothers who did the recess and lunch supervisions. It could have been voluntary, but I think they were paid a small pittance, like the crossing guards.
My first thought is that if a substantial percentage actually do go home, then asking parents of the others to pay (with a waiver system in place) is probably reasonable. However, if you've got most kids there all day, it becomes as much a part of the "instructional period" as the 1/2 hours before and after school when the school is generally held responsible for coralling the kiddos on their grounds. I *think* some schools in the US have afterschool programs on their grounds, and obviously those aren't free.
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Date: 2007-06-17 01:45 pm (UTC)I know that kids at any level haven't gone home for lunch in my lifetime in any US area I'm familiar with. In fact, at the high school level, lunch period can be as short as about 20 minutes--hardly enough time to go home and come back, even if you live next door. Some schools allow juniors and seniors in high school to leave "campus" if they have good grades, particularly if they have a study hall on one side of the lunch period. I don't know what elementary schools are like here, but I suspect that, like at the HS level, lunch time is slowly being shortened in favor of more instructional time.
When I was in elementary school, it was rare for teachers to do the supervising at lunch--generally there was a cadre of a few mothers who did the recess and lunch supervisions. It could have been voluntary, but I think they were paid a small pittance, like the crossing guards.
My first thought is that if a substantial percentage actually do go home, then asking parents of the others to pay (with a waiver system in place) is probably reasonable. However, if you've got most kids there all day, it becomes as much a part of the "instructional period" as the 1/2 hours before and after school when the school is generally held responsible for coralling the kiddos on their grounds. I *think* some schools in the US have afterschool programs on their grounds, and obviously those aren't free.