TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

When You Hear The Beat, It's Time To Eat In Cafeteria

ADVERTISEMENT

By GREG BLUESTEIN, The Associated Press

Published: September 16, 2007

SUWANEE, Ga. - The kindergartners' lunchroom chatter comes to a halt as a New Age music track blares over the loudspeakers.

With conversations stilled by the electronic tones, there's not much choice but to eat. So the children make serious headway on their milk, burgers and veggies.

Three minutes later the music stops, the conversations resume - and lunch is largely consumed.

'See how empty our trays are when we go to the garbage?' asked Amy Bartlett, principal of Sharon Elementary School. 'Much emptier than they used to be.'

Searching for serenity in the lunchroom, teachers in north Georgia's Forsyth County may have found a new way to keep their students quiet and focused on their meals.

When the music is not playing, students are allowed to talk, tease and do whatever else kids normally do during lunch. When the classical or New Age music begins, though, the students must stop talking and start eating.

About a dozen of the county's 16 elementary schools play music during lunchtime. Administrators said they don't have hard numbers to prove the project's success, but a look at the lunch trays tells the story.

Without the music, Bartlett said, much of the lunch ended up in the trash.

'Now they do really focus on consuming their food during music time,' she said.

Teachers said it helps students and teachers alike.

'I think it's a great idea. It really helps with keeping them quiet. It just helps us keep an eye on them,' said Kristi Dawdy, a third-grade teacher. 'These moments of silence are golden for teachers.'

Students, too, don't seem to mind. Some said it didn't take them long to learn to follow the top rule posted on the lunchroom's white walls: 'Quiet during music.'

'When the music comes on, we sit quiet and eat our food,' said Mary Kathryn Gentry, who is 8.

'Normally when music is not on, everyone is talking, and you don't have time to eat,' said Elizabeth Lansden, a fellow 8-year-old. 'You get a chance to eat your french fries and nachos now.'

Of course, some additional incentives don't hurt. This year, the school is throwing an ice cream party for the class that proves to be the quietest when the music plays.

Each track is instrumental, and most last between two and four minutes. In between the songs, students have 6 1/2 minutes to socialize.

Eventually, Bartlett hopes to synchronize the songs with the music teacher's lesson plans.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT