ROCKY POINT, N.Y., Nov. 9 A New York middle school's use of a stoplight-type signal to warn students to use their inside voices while eating is being questioned by some parents.
Rocky Point parents wonder whether Joseph A. Edgar Intermediate School officials have gone too far in trying to maintain healthy noise levels during lunch with a signal that changes from green to yellow to red as the decibel levels rise, Newsday reported Friday. Students were warned they could lose recess time if the light turns red.
After meeting with parents, though, Rocky Point District Superintendent Carla D'Ambrosio said she would re-examine -- but not abandon -- use of the school's Talk Light, a move that disappointed some parents, the New York newspaper reported.
"I think it's not healthy for kids to be under that kind of stress while they are eating," said Denise Nagy, who has a child attending Edgar. "Now you have got the kids like Pavlovian dogs, watching this light."
Copyright 2007 by UPI
