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Health & Fitness

Bullies Are Not Always In School – They May Be Running the School

Is the Methacton School District institutionalizing bullying?

Bullies take kids' lunch money or the kid gets beaten up.

What is it called when the School Board takes the Cafeteria Worker's money AND shuts them up?

The Methacton School Board entered into an agreement with Aramark to provide food services for its suburban Philadelphia school district.  According to the Communications Director of the School District, the contract called for an $86,000 profit to be paid to the Methacton for having Aramark do the job.

As a parent, I am left scratching my head and wondering what is going on here.  Are these two organizations in cahoots to double time the cafeteria workers and make a buck on the captive audience - students?  The profit is coming from somewhere.  It's not like 2nd graders have a side job to support their school lunch addiction.

Last year the cafeteria and food workers were employed directly by the school district.  They had health benefits and a pension and sick days.    After the School Board (all Republican and proud to cut taxes) contracted with Aramark all the food service workers were let go.  Aramark rehired some of them - at a lower rate without sick days and a pension.

(Penny wise and dollar foolish? When a cafeteria worker has the flu do you want them serving their green slime with the Aramark pink slime?  Infect an entire school population with one fell swoop?)

The food workers finally got fed up (bad pun intended) and are represented by the Teamsters.  The Teamsters have been quietly working behind the scenes to correct some of this stuff.  The Teamster's Business Manager says in the 11 years he has been in the game this is only the second entity that he has had to action with a picket line.

Parents in Methacton have been getting robo calls to inform parents of the impending strike or pickets. Here is the email sent out...



Good morning,

Members of the Teamsters began picketing Arcola Intermediate School this morning as part of a selective strike called by the organization. However, Aramark continues to assure us that food services will continue without interruption.

Our administration has been in contact with the police, and clear parameters have been established that do not allow picketing on school property.  The District's priority is to minimize any distraction from the educational process while maintaining a safe school environment.

As always, please look to the website for updates, and we thank you for your continued support.




Public schools are public property.  Every public office holder takes an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution.  I asked the Communication Director, the Union's Business Agent and the School Board in an open meeting by what statute gives the right of the school board to stop a legitimate and peaceful protest?  No one is able to give me an answer.

Ironically, the cafeteria workers are not imported from other places to work here.  Many of these folks are part of the taxpaying population of the district.  Are their taxes being used against them as the school district hires lawyers for the purpose of economically and legally terrorizing them?

I love it when those who want to shut such protests down want to say those speaking up are 'putting the kids in the middle'.  Actually, the kids are in the middle of this as are the parents and the taxpayers and everyone else. 

This should not be a distraction from the educational process.  It should become part of the educational process.  The purpose of a school district is to help train the kids to become members of society.  What is wrong with exposing them to the factors that go into their educational process?  Teachers, Administrators, Cafeteria Workers, Custodians, Bus Drivers are all part of what the government is doing for them.  Show them that this is part of how it works and why it is working for them.

Are we teaching kids how to break a union if they are being taught, institutionally, to cross a picket line?

If they are not being exposed to what a picket line is and why they exist then how are they going to be able to think for themselves (you know, one of the purposes of an education)?  How can they evaluate whether the cafeteria workers have a legitimate gripe if they are not exposed to what a protestor has to say?

How do we teach them how to peacefully protest and seek redress from the government?  At some point it is hoped they will become functional members of society, how will they be able to express their wants to a government entity?

If they do not learn these things in school, then where do they learn it?  Do you seriously want the Occupy Movement teaching this to them?

The school board meeting noted above also included a presentation about bullying - irony.  The concept taught to the kids was Stop, Walk, and Talk.  On one level it is a good concept.  When a child feels they are being harassed, they open their hand up and put it to their shoulder and say "Stop" as a way to interrupt the situation.  If that doesn't work the kids are taught to ignore the person irritating them by Walking or turning away.  The last step is to Talk to an adult.

Giving kids this mindset may diffuse an immediate situation, but will allow a status quo to go unchecked.  It also teaches kids to engage in rude behavior.  When was the last time someone held a hand up in your face and told you to stop?  Did you enjoy being ignored when you are trying to tell someone something?  While these concepts may work for one thing, it suppresses solutions for others.

I guess if institutions cannot shut down free speech by stopping the sender of the message, it can interrupt the process by teaching the intended receiver of the message to ignore it and walk away.

I call this Institutionalized Bullying.

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