I teach HS and have my lunch at a principal designated period. I teach 2 classes before and 2 classes after. My principal constantly holds meetings during this time as it is when the kids are at lunch. For some teachers this is not their designated lunch so they must attend. I have been refusing to go b/c after the 1st few times I found I was getting stuck and upset during the meetings (things are not good there) so I have been taking my "duty free contractual lunch". Now I am being 'uncooperative' and he is telling the kids that I won't give up my lunch to help them. I really need the calm, slow time to eat. I tried not eating at the meetings, but can not go from 7am until 3:30 w/o eating. We are not allowed to eat unless it is on our "lunch", so I can not get caught eating on my prep period later in the day. I really do not want to bring a letter from the surgeon since they do not know why I was out in October. I just said surgery.

Not sure how to handle this. The band is making work very difficult for me. I need to eat at my 10:30 lunch. I went to a meeting yesterday and had string cheese and turkey pepperoni(one of my staple lunches) and b/c of the aggravation and talking while eating I had to leave and throw up. Not attending the meetings also stresses me out b/c I know I am putting nails in my coffin by not going.

Any ideas? Like I said part venting, part problem

Tracy

I teach HS and have my lunch at a principal designated period. I teach 2 classes before and 2 classes after. My principal constantly holds meetings during this time as it is when the kids are at lunch. For some teachers this is not their designated lunch so they must attend. I have been refusing to go b/c after the 1st few times I found I was getting stuck and upset during the meetings (things are not good there) so I have been taking my "duty free contractual lunch". Now I am being 'uncooperative' and he is telling the kids that I won't give up my lunch to help them. I really need the calm, slow time to eat. I tried not eating at the meetings, but can not go from 7am until 3:30 w/o eating. We are not allowed to eat unless it is on our "lunch", so I can not get caught eating on my prep period later in the day. I really do not want to bring a letter from the surgeon since they do not know why I was out in October. I just said surgery.

Not sure how to handle this. The band is making work very difficult for me. I need to eat at my 10:30 lunch. I went to a meeting yesterday and had string cheese and turkey pepperoni(one of my staple lunches) and b/c of the aggravation and talking while eating I had to leave and throw up. Not attending the meetings also stresses me out b/c I know I am putting nails in my coffin by not going.

Any ideas? Like I said part venting, part problem

Tracy

Sounds to me like your principal is breaking federal labor laws by not letting you have an uninterrupted lunch break. You have the right to take a lunch break without having to work through it. Talk to your labor union see if they can help. Good luck and God Bless.

I don't want to be political but as a country we established workers rights a long time ago. I know it is difficult to stand up to these "requests" to give up your rights without retaliation. Plus you have a right not to discuss your health with your employer. If you want to be as non confrontational as possible you could have your Dr just write a letter that it is "medically necessary" that you eat in a low stress environment at a specified time. If not you may need legal representation, if you have a lawyer insist on you having a lunch period it may lessen the chance of retaliation later because you have documentation. That is a really tough spot to be in, I hope it works out for you. We shouldn't be asked to give up our health to serve our job, no matter how important of a job it is.

Have you thought about approaching your teacher's union? They are there to help make sure that your principal follows your contract.

I teach in FL and 'duty free lunch' has always been an issue. My hubby doesn't understand that I usually have about 12 minutes for lunch after dropping off and picking my middle schoolers off!

Hang in there!

Deb

I too have issues at lunch - i have 30 minutes to eat _ am usually interrupted by one of the docs for an ekg or repeat bp or something...

not to mention my work environment isn't that great and I am on edge and stressed the whole time i am there. It makes eating very difficult for me - i usually end up stuck, slimming and getting sick - unfortunatly i have resorted to smooth lunches - yogurts, cottage cheese and even oat meal... i feel your pain wish i had a good suggestion.. if it were me I would go sit and speak with my boss and flat out tell them what was going on -- why i needed a calm uninterrupted lunch... but thats just me - that simple conversation could solve your problems.

Thanks guys-

The union is well aware of his violations. He has never "Made" me give up the lunch, but I get called in often when ever I choose to take the lunch. He targets those who are not "team players".

I am glad that I am not the only one with this problem. Well, not that others have trouble, but I thought maybe I was being a baby about it.

The politics in the schools is crazy.

Maybe it would be a good idea to tell your boss about the surgery and the reason why you need that lunch time...

I feel your pain. I am a Police officer and we don't have a specific time to eat. We eat when we have a slow period and those are almost always interrupted by a call for service and we have to leave half way through our meal to go take a call..It makes it hard to eat healthy so we usually resort to going through the drive-thru for meals...Once I get back to work next week, I'm going to have to work something else out...I will probably rely on Protein shakes during my work day and then eat actual food on my days off or in the evenings...

Now I am being 'uncooperative' and he is telling the kids that I won't give up my lunch to help them.

This is appalling! Poor kids, represented by a principal who behaves this way!

I think that, in your shoes, I would tell him something along the lines of, "I have hesitated to share much--and still am not willing to discuss my health issues with you in depth--but I require a non-working lunch for medical reasons. I am as much of a team player as I ever was--and I would greatly appreciate that you not undermine my relationship with my students by telling them otherwise. It is unprofessional and detrimental to them, not to mention our working relationship. I am more than happy to attend any meeting you hold. But I must also then have a non-working mealtime to meet my medical needs."

ETA: I know it's not ideal (and is unsatisfying over the long-term), but until things get squared away, can you keep a stash of Protein shakes on hand for these meetings?

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think you should just deal with it. I understand that federal or state law or your collective bargaining agreement may give you certain rights (although I'd be shocked if your CBA didn't address these meetings) but isn't part of learning to live with the band working it into your life?

I'd love to have a calm interrupted lunch every day too, but sometimes my job (the work, not my employer) demands that I work through it and eat a Protein Bar at my desk. Sometimes I have to go out for business lunches, and have to be very careful to order Soup and maybe some fish that I can push around my plate and pretend to eat. It's just part of life. I am happy to have a good job in this miserable economy, and if that means I don't get the exact lunch and lunch environment I want every day, so be it.

I do agree, however, that badmouthing you to your students is highly unprofessional.

i don't think you should have to forfeit your lunch just cuz you are a teacher. like everyone else said, you are entitled to the uninterrupted lunch by law and there's nothing wrong with you taking it. and i don't really feel that it's any of the principal's business WHY you need it other than it's medically necessary. it's none of his business what kinda surgery you had. he sounds like a real jerk.

Betsy, I like the way you worded that. Perhaps it is time to be a little forthcoming with him.

Part of it is that by giving up the lunch pd. as scheduled is that I would be from 8:50 until 1:10 with no 'break'. For those not in the classroom that means no bathroom, no trip to the Water cooler, no trip to the fax machine or supply closet to get away from the desk for 3 minutes. People don't realize that part of it either. But, mainly it is the 'eating' time I need.

Thanks for the input.

On break now until a week from Wednesday!

I am one to work with whatever comes along, so I would have a protein shake during the 10:30 break and schedule lunch at 3:30. My personality is just that way. I would rather do that than talk about my health issues at work. Now that I have lost more than half of my weight though, I don't care what other people think. For once in my life, I really don't care. I tell people now that I have a band, and I get a variety of responses. "Wow that is cool" "Really"? etc. Some act like I now have the plague, and I just think it is funny. A woman who works near my place of business came over to specifically ask me how I lost weight. I told her and she turned around and headed back out the door so fast it made me wonder what the heck she thinks about it. She didn't say and I really don't care, so there we go again..... Hugs!!!!!

I completely understand your problem. I teach 2nd grade. I have had a princpal from hell for about 5 years. If you're not a teacher you can't understand the complete & toal power a principal has. I won an official grievence with the union. The principal retired in May, 1 month afer I won my grievance. I didn't know it but my union rep screwed up by not getting it in writing. Because I had not been in that type of situation before I just assumed the union would take care of it. I thought that's what I paid all of my dues for. My new principal said she had nothing in writing, and there was no big room open, so she really couldn't do anything.So, I am still stuck in the same horrible little room. I was put there because my principal was PSYCHO. I got put on the hit list because a a girl in my room had sexually inappropriate things done to her on the playground. They were great parents & we had a terrific relationship. They were horrified & the their girl was white & the offender was a black boy. The Resource Officer got called in. That pissed off my psych principal. She told me that "She needed to keep a close eye on me" and moved me & my class to this crummy LITTLE room in the middle of 2nd quarter. So I understand your situation. You can not demand your legal rights or you can be screwed so bad. My suggestion is to make an appointment & plead your case one on one. Good luck!