cafeteria duty

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cafeteria duty
By Carolyn

I teach in South Carolina. Here in the sunny South it appears that teachers are required to take their kiddies to the cafeteria and STAY with them every day! I didn't do this back in PA. We had teaching assistants and
a duty-free lunch.
Getting back to your problem: Can you separate the kids in any way? I find that if you can spread the kids out a little bit, there's less noise and talking. Space the kids every other seat, if that's possible. I have had to do this with my kids a few times this year. It really does help.
Isolated lunch helps, too. If a child begins to get noisy, throw food, and

that sort of stuff, I move him/her to the "sad table." He/she has to sit alone. If you don't have a table for that purpose (if your cafeteria is crowded), try moving the child to another table with another group of children. I did that last year in the school of almost 900 kids where I worked. Sitting with another class, the child has little to say, especially if he's a second grader sitting with a group of fifth graders.