Please give a warm welcome to Ray Canterbury. He is a state representative for the county of Greenbrier. The WV legislature just passed a measure expanding meal service for school children. The bill passed with a 89-9 margin. Mr Canterbury was one of the nine, how ever unlike the other 8, it appears that Mr. Canterbury was unable to keep his mouth shut.
"I think it would be a good idea if perhaps we had the kids work for their lunches: trash to be taken out, hallways to be swept, lawns to be mowed, make them earn it,” Del. Ray Canterbury (R-Greenbrier) said during floor debate. “If they miss a lunch or they miss a meal they might not, in that class that afternoon, learn to add, they may not learn to diagram a sentence, but they’ll learn a more important lesson."
Mr Canterbury argued that a free lunch would ruin their work ethic. Never mind the fact that the kids who's parents can afford meals do not have to work for their food (their work ethic must be totally screwed up).
Mr Canerbury is in very good company. Mr Gingrich said the same thing during his bid for the White House on 2010.
“You say to somebody, you shouldn’t go to work before you’re what, 14, 16 years of age, fine,” Mr. Gingrich said. “You’re totally poor. You’re in a school that is failing with a teacher that is failing. I’ve tried for years to have a very simple model. Most of these schools ought to get rid of the unionized janitors, have one master janitor and pay local students to take care of the school. The kids would actually do work, they would have cash, they would have pride in the schools, they’d begin the process of rising.”
Granted Mr. Gingrich did not say that the kids had to work for food but I do not think Mr Gingrich fully understands child labor laws much less how demeaning that would be for the kids in the school. But hey, at least the kids leave school with a trade right?
