Student put in detention for sharing school lunch

[KamaAina]

http://www.krcrtv.com/news/local/student-put-in-detention-for-sharing-school-lunch/28115110

An eighth grade student from Weaverville Elementary School got a detention slip for sharing his school prepared lunch Tuesday.

Kyle Bradford, 13, shared his chicken burrito with a friend who didn’t like the cheese sandwich he was given by the cafeteria....

"It seemed like he couldn't get a normal lunch so I just wanted to give mine to him because I wasn't really that hungry and it was just going to go in the garbage if I didn't eat it," said Bradford....

"We have a policy that prohibits students from exchanging meals. Of course if students are concerned about other students not having enough to eat we would definitely want to consider that, but because of safety and liability we cannot allow students to actually exchange meals," said Barnett.

Allergies?! Wouldn't the student with the allergy be aware of it, and refuse the proffered food?!

[B2G]

1. What kind of people

are we trying to turn our children into?

[yeoman6987]

3. Stop I want to get off

If California is turning unreasonable then our country has no chance.

[KamaAina]

9. This is the far north

the part that wants to split off along with southern Oregon and form the "State of Jefferson".

[Brigid]

13. That is the most excellent question of the day.

[derby378]

2. "Liability," my ass...

Our children are being turned into wimps by a bunch of morons.

[elleng]

4. OH.JEEZE!

Among.my.fondest.memories:Trading.sandwiches!

REALLY,school.administrators.appear.to.be.among.the.WORST.decision-makers.
in.the.country!

[Journeyman]

8. The period key on your keyboard appears to be stuck . . .

A little isopropyl alcohol, maybe some compressed air, may loosen that for you. I've noticed it the past couple days. Really detracts from the quality of what you want to say.

[Maedhros]

15. I think she mentioned that the space bar doesn't work on the terminal she's using,

hence periods as separators.

[elleng]

16. I.wish.it.were!

Space.bar.on.this.loaner.is.not.working.Waiting.for.repair.on.MYcomputer!

[Journeyman]

17. Understandable. . .

My apologies if I gave offense.

[elleng]

19. No.offense.at.all,Journeyman!

Many.have.asked.

[Glassunion]

26. . = The Final Frontier

[elleng]

27. OK,

replacement.power.unit.for.MY.computer.has.arrived,friend.installing.it.
FINGERS.CROSSED!!!

[Glassunion]

28. You've inspired me to replace the word "space" with .

I kind of like it.

[elleng]

29. Oh,you're.so.(.)y,Glassunion!

[Orrex]

48. The prose style does add a certain Kirk-esque flair to the reading.

[Generic Other]

20. I also have been wondering

about your sudden need to emphasize every word. You could try using only smilies!

[elleng]

21. :-)

[Brigid]

14. I think it was elleng who said . . .

That she has been having problems with the space bar on her keyboard lately.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

5. like the girl who died in Charlotte, NC a few years back

despite knowing she was very allergic to peanuts and thought she was eating a meal free of that particular ingredient?

i know it sounds stupid, but as a policy it IS there to protect students from the unknown.

sP

[KamaAina]

10. But did someone share it with her?

Or did the cafeteria include the peanuts and not disclose that to her?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

22. what would have been the difference?

she's dead. she ate a dish that was not supposed to have peanuts in it... it could have been one she ordered or one that was shared. and she was old enough to know better. she knew peanuts could kill her...

sP

[frazzled]

6. Well, a rule's a rule

If you disagree with a rule, organize with other students and/or parents and work to get it changed. But if you break it, you'll get detention ... which I'm guessing means something as onerous as staying an hour after school or losing some privilege for a short time. It's hardly something to make a federal case out of.

Problems with allergies and hygiene are real, actually. Public health is real. This may or may not be a justified rule, but it's the school's rule nonetheless--and a rule presumably that has been communicated to students. Acts of civil disobedience--breaking the rules to make a point--are still punishable.

What would happen if all the rules a school made were ignored? It would, of course, be chaos. Protest the rules, fine; break the rules, deal with the consequences. In my day, you could get detention for chewing gum.

[kcr]

18. Hardly something to make a federal case out of?

I disagree. Rules are rules is a shitty defense of unjust treatment.

[Louisiana1976]

31. Right on!

[sharp_stick]

7. Flag thrown for bullshit

15 yards and loss of down.

They just wanted to make sure the kid without any money in his school lunch account had to eat the free POS cheese sandwich in front of all his friends to humiliate him.

It was a standard school lunch being shared with him, not from home. Even in the overly protected world of today's schools I don't buy the allergy line. He was in grade 8, if he was allergic he's been dodging the deadly peanut for many years I'm sure he knows what standard school lunches he's allowed to have.

[KamaAina]

11. Now you've done it. A cheese sandwich thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5145253

And I'd like to see the referee's hand signal for the 15-yard BS penalty.

[hifiguy]

12. This so calls for a Brony/Weird Al reference

but gentleman that I am I will not post a visual or Youtube link.

And I'd like to see that hand signal as well.

[KamaAina]

24. I think the hand signal for the 15-yard BS penalty would be a shoveling motion

[whistler162]

25. Nah.. his "friend" wanted the better lunch

food. The cheese sandwich.

[Starry Messenger]

23. And if kid had an allergic reaction, everyone on DU would be crying to sue the school.

Hey, you think this is stupid, now teachers have to be the ones to keep epi-pens on hand and administer medical treatment in case of allergic shock. Parents think its a great idea and rammed it through the state. They think its mean that teachers want there to be more funding for, you know, actual nurses.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

30. this ^^^

[femmocrat]

32. Exactly.

Our district had a strict "no sharing" policy. I don't think anyone ended up in detention, but we tried to catch any sharing and stop it. Too many kids with all kinds of allergies these days. Also, no one was permitted to touch another person's food.

Another prohibition, although slightly different, was kids buying snacks for other children. Definitely a no-no!

[treestar]

39. Very True eom

[Orrex]

49. ^^That

100%

[unblock]

33. times have changed. i think a lot of people who object are thinking of a different era

when lethal allergies were extraordinarily rare.

they're not so rare these days, most schools have at least one, most likely several, students with life-or-death allergies.

that care-free attitude makes for wonderful reminiscing, but the joy of trading lunches pales in comparison to the gravity of the new reality. seemingly fun and well-intentioned acts like this can end up resulting in a dead friend.

i'm not sure detention is specifically warranted, but the rule certainly makes sense to me.


note that there's a risk of cross-contamination. if a parent makes a peanut butter sandwich for one kid, then uses the same knife without thoroughly washing it to spread mayo on a different, "peanut-free" sandwich, even that "peanut-free" sandwich could be lethal to someone with a severe peanut allergy.

it's not just the explicit ingredients, it's also the preparation area and equipment. this is why plain m&ms aren't safe, because the same equipment is used for peanut m&ms and they can't guarantee there isn't contamination from the peanuts.

[KamaAina]

34. But the burrito was (presumably) made in the school cafeteria

where, one hopes, there'd be no cross-contamination.

Of course, it's always possible that they buy the burritos from an outside vendor, in which case all bets are off.

[unblock]

37. what they're trying to teach is that sharing food is dangerous.

if the first kid took a bite out of the burrito and an allergic kid eats the rest, there's still a danger if the first kid ate any peanut products within the last 12-24 hours.

[gollygee]

38. The kid is 13

At 13, he knows what he can eat and not, what is safe to share and what is not. There's no way a kid that age hasn't been at friends' houses, extra-curricular activites, whatever, where he's had to navigate any allergy issues a million times. I don't buy that the "no" was because of allergies.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

41. yeah, no teen ever fucks up so bad they die...

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/video/9251506-teens-parents-hope-peanut-allergy-death-brings-awareness/

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Allergies/college-freshman-peanut-allergy-dies-eating-cookie/story?id=18723777

That's off the first page of google results...

but keep on believing that mistakes and carelessness don't happen.

sP

[gollygee]

51. There aren't any peanuts in any school lunches

and this was a school lunch, so if you're looking at an allergy, it's going to be something else.

[KamaAina]

43. One hops that even Weaverville has a supply of plastic knives in its school cafeteria

Problem solved.

[unblock]

44. problem not solved. peanut protein stays in your saliva up to 12-24 hours even with brushing!

yes, it's possible to share by cutting the burrito.

but we're dealing with a life-and-death situation, the goal isn't to make it convenient for the comparatively small upside of being able to share food.

they need to teach a simple rule that everyone can follow, just don't share sounds good to me.

yes, there in my kitchen i can do other things to be careful, for instance i can be constantly vigilant against cross-contamination. but you know what i actually do? no peanut products in the house, period. simple. just because i know how to keep peanut butter out of mini-unblock's food doesn't mean it's wise to court disaster. i don't miss peanut products in the slightest, especially because sunbutter tastes almost the same. mini-unblock's school cafeteria recently switched to sunbutter as well.

[KamaAina]

45. No, no, no. Use the plastic knife to cut the bitten part off.

[unblock]

46. crossed while editing -- hit post too quickly ;)

[KamaAina]

47. Sunbutter sounds like a great alternative

especially since a dear friend loved sunflower seeds.

[edgineered]

35. Thanks for exposing what the meaning of sharing a lunch has become.

Until ten minutes ago I thought that normal eighth graders who liked each other ate together. And if you were eating from the same tray, a date with your friend wasn't far behind. Now this comes along. Does this change the meaning of lunch together to today's eighth graders?

[LuvLoogie]

36. Same parents who pushed this story would have sued school for their getting son sick.

A news story? Really?

[dsc]

40. there is a very real reason for this policy

though usually both kids would be getting the detention, and that is often bullies force kids to give up lunches this allows punishment for that behavior without making the kid whose lunch is being taken to make a target of him or herself.

[unblock]

50. excellent point

[Boom Sound 416]

42. "Liabilities." Starts and ends there