I am a lunchroom supervisor and I sometimes feel that it’s a thankless job. We are in the school for 2 hours/day and we often aren’t able to participate in school culture like teachers do. However, there is so much more to the job than the basic job description. I feel we are sort of parents-away-from-home, especially when I think I constantly repeat myself in encouraging students to eat their lunches (main course first, dessert last!), to not talk with their mouth full, to sit on the bench properly and use inside voices --and please don’t cry over spilled milk. Like all lunch supervisors, I’ve opened countless fruit cups, thermoses and yogurt tubes. I’ve become skilled at soccer reffing and solving playground disputes but I wish someone would invent magic fairy dust to sprinkle on children that could make someone play with someone or stop the tattling. However, I also know that handing out a Kleenex, ice pack or band aid--and especially a kind word--works wonders at making things right again. I wish I had time to get to know students more individually but in a lunchroom with 100+ kids that’s not often possible; hence I feel I’m not doing enough.
Today that hug taught me that I really have connected with students, that my role is indeed valuable and I am not so invisible in the school community after all.
Carla (@LunchBuster) fills her non-lunchroom hours being with her husband and son and volunteering with her community association. She is also on the homestretch of completing her B.A in English through Athabasca University.