“It’s Like WWII But Without the Nazis!”
A typical public school cafeteria feeds many hundreds of kids a day. In a high poverty school breakfast starts at 7AM for kids coming from homes where they might otherwise go without.
Lunch starts at 10:30 in half hour shifts. Kids are moved through a large echo-y room with 25 minutes to get their trays, sit and eat. It’s not only a challenge but it denies the kids what they really need, a way to decompress after a morning of sitting and learning! If its raining, the kids can’t play outside — which compounds the stifling of the kids — they might have to sit in the auditorium instead for the 25 minutes remaining in their lunch hour. At all costs, they must be contained and accounted for at all times. This is for their own safety.
Recently I asked David, a 5th grader, what he thought about the cafeteria. “Why do kids hate the cafeteria?” He replied, in all earnestness, “Ms. DK, its like WWII but without the nazis!” This hyperbole gets a laugh but in reality the chaotic decimal level in most cafeterias is way beyond what’s safe. Its also very stressful and boring for everyone – teachers, administrators, cafeteria workers and students.
So I asked the kids if they wanted to take on improving the cafeteria. That is the process they are in now. Naming themselves Cafeteria Busters they are preparing simple no or low cost solutions which they are presenting to the School Leadership Team. Upon approval they will calling on all 4th and 5th graders to vote on the initiatives. More on that very soon.
Inquiring Minds USA is working to innovate in K-12 by giving the kids voice and choice and incubating in 1776’s new New York City campus in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. DK Holland, the head of IQ, is also a former resident at TED Conferences. The Center for Civic Design has provided field guides so the kids can implement the voting process. http://civicdesign.org/election-administration-fourth-and-fifth-grade-style/
