Waterloo, Quebec, Canada (AHN) – Parents of elementary students at the Ecole Notre-Dame in Waterloo, Quebec are creating noise over a new school policy that requires the pupils to be silent when eating their lunch. The policy, put in place at the start of the school year, runs for 15 minutes only when the students dine at the gymnasium.
Louise Gagnon, the mother of a seven-year old boy enrolled in Ecole Notre-Dame, complained about the new policy to the Val-des-Cerfs School Commission, which has oversight over Ecole Notre-Dame. She also initiated a petition to stop the practice, got 100 signatures and sent the complaint to the commission.
Students who are caught violating the “silence only” rule are moved, while frequent violators of the rule are suspended. Gagnon’s son has been suspended twice.
Gagnon blames the policy for changes in her son’s behavior. From a calm child, her son became a furious and aggressive boy demonstrated by his running everywhere, jumping on furniture, being noisy and speaking loudly. She initially thought he was being bullied by other students.
The commission has defended the policy. Commission Chair Andre Messier said the board approved the school’s idea because of complaints from parents and teachers that the children suffer from headaches due to the noise and most of the students hardly ate lunch because they were too busy socializing.
Messier claimed the Ecole Notre-Dame students are now calm, happy and eating better. Messier pointed out students have the rest of the lunch break to run, play and make noise in the school’s play area.
If the policy is successful, the commission may consider applying it in other schools in the area.
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