To not see the big deal about Jewish and Muslim dc wearing red disks

[BrandNewAndImproved]

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/french-school-forces-muslim-and-jewish-pupils-to-wear-coloured-discs-a6669396.html

So basically it stops dc being given food they can't have at lunchtime and no way imo can it be compared to the yellow star.

I might be biased in that I am a school cook and before that a nursery cook where every dc had a placemat with their photo and dietary preference. Schools don't do this instead we have a list with photos on and what they can't have but we have had near misses with jelly for example. A child who couldn't have the jelly asked for the jelly knowing they couldn't have the jelly and luckily as soon as the server put the jelly on the plate the child said but I'm not allowed this it's not halal and she had a fresh new plate of food.

Something for the cooks to see in primary schools to avoid mix ups is a great idea. The only problem I see with what the French have done is not to do it for all dietary requirements like allergies and intolerances

In DS's school they wear coloured bands for dinner choices.

The teacher reads the options meat, vegetarian, halal and they get given a band. Same as a charity band type thing. Then the servers know what they are having at the hatch.

Seems to work well and I've never heard of any bullying connected to it.

Disgusting to defend this clearly racist practice. If dinner staff are unable to communicate with children directly (don't understand why they shouldn't be) then every child could take a disk with the colour indicating which of the food options s/he wanted and hand it over while being served.

And, brandnew, the number of children who don't speak enough English to say whether they want meat or quorn in the UK is zero - even a newly arrived child without a word of English can point.

I actually think it's a great idea for all children to have a badge like this. It could have a picture of them on it so it couldn't be swapped and colour coded for food choices.

One thing though IMO allergies mean they can't eat certain foods, religious restrictions/vegetarianism mean they can eat things but the child's parents won't let them, bid difference.

Brandnew That doesn't apply at Halal-only slaughterhouses though, of which there are plenty. There is plenty of non-stunned slaughter going on in the UK, it's not talked about much, but it is very real.

That actually deserves a lol mellowjello,

We have plenty of dc that can't speak English when they start from Poland to the middle east. Halal isn't no pork halal is chicken, beef, lamb that's been slaughtered in a halal way and looks no different then regular meat. Some dc might of only turned 4 a week previous to starting school and have never been in a position to chose their own food before.

Zzzzz do you really expect every cook to go round the classrooms and get to know every single child...

You are right wasonthelist I'm not defending halal it's just something I'm not that bothered about. I'm not a vegetarian I like meat but at the same time I think the slaughter of all animals for us to eat is barbaric and wrong. I realise this makes me a hypocrite.

No sorry, I am well aware that some people come to the UK without English. (I used to volunteer with young Afghan refugees - many entered schools in London never having learned to read or write in any language, let alone English.) My point is that when you are offering someone one of a limited number of options you don't need language to communicate.

"Then they can achieve the imposition of their religious laws on all without any of us realising."

Oh do bore off with your paranoia. I can assure that you haven't 'accidentally' eaten Kosher chicken in subway.

It's a good idea, much more reliable than photos - think of the change a new haircut can make.

They shoud be issued by staff who know them - kids of that age range are often insufficiently mature to choose a disc of the suitable colour.
For those with allergies, a mistake could be life-threatening.

DC above a certain age should be able to chose whether to stay vegetarian.
Theoretically they should also be able to choose their religion, but probably primary schools won't want to open that can of (non-veggy) worms.

"The reason for this is that both these groups want special treatment, but they don't want you to notice that they want special treatment. The discs make you notice and this is a crime."

I want "special treatment" for my disability. I want to be able to access buildings. I'd prefer if you didn't make a song and dance about it by making me wear a disc.

Disability and religion are both covered by equality legislation. I'm not sure about France but it's hardly known for being very tolerant.

At ds's school all the children that are having school meals order their meals the week before and are given a wristband to wear on the day that is colour coded to indicate which meal has been ordered. We live in a semi rural area where there are very few children from Jewish or Muslim backgrounds but I believe it is done so that school can predict in advance quantities of food required and therefore save money. Surely this could be implemented on a wider scale, that way the parents that want to have more control over the meals their dcs are eating at school can do so but the dcs aren't marked out as being different.

Gosh, what lovely displays of racism on this thread.

It didn't take long before unpleasantness like that of scatteroflight appeared did it?

Mellowjello I already communicate with dc that can't speak of understand any English. When they first start school we often have no idea of their dietary preferences and speak to their teacher. Their teacher often has no idea what they can and can't eat. Just because they point to something and want it doesn't mean they are allowed to have it.

Or just do what DD2's school does, and serve only vegetarian food. Job done.

I'm sure if a school only served vegetarian food some posters would say those with religious needs had achieved an imposition

Couldn't they just switch the entire menu to veggie & nut free? Sounds cheaper & simpler!

We also have the coloured wristband for each and every child that has a school lunch. They denote non-halal/halal/veggie and kids can choose (before school with the help of a carer if needs be) freely from across the options irrespective of religion. All meals are nut-free and any child with other allergies/needs is dealt with separately. The older kids serve the meals at the table according to the colour of the wristband.

A practical solution to a quite complex problem, I think.

WTAF.

At DS' school in Germany we order the meals online. There is a choice of two. One is always vegetarian. I have no idea how they tell which child is which, though! Perhaps they just ask their names?

Although what hackmum says does sound more reasonable - perhaps this has been blown out of proportion?

Jewish people want everyone to eat kosher food? Where on earth are you getting your information from? The mien kampf handbook?

The school my DD attends has a menu that is sent around every month. You pick what meals your child will have. The children are then sent to get their meals in small groups, according to dietary requirement. Nobody wears badges, the school get to know who eats what.

TBH, I'm quite glad that DS isn't stuck always with the vegetarian option as some of it he doesn't like. He was in his first week and he ate and liked the food four days out of five but one day came home starving.

Although having just tallied up what he reported today with the order form... it seems he had the veggie meal today despite ordering the meat.

I think if you understood your history and Jews being made to wear yellow stars by the Nazis you'd see how this method is an issue.