After much perusal of the canteen menu and contemplating
what they fancy, the lunch time selection has been made.
Choosing from a vast array of main meals, desserts and a
spot of liquid refreshment with which to wash it down, they slide their tray
along to the cashier to settle the bill for their choice of comestibles.
However, no need for a wad of cash here, for they can just
charge this splendid luncheon to their account using the latest in touch screen
technology.
Just one simple fingerprint and you need not worry about paying
for this sumptuous banquet till later.
No notes, no change, no fuss.
So where is this amazing eatery I hear you wondering, an
expensive restaurant in the heart of a busy city , the food court at a innovative
shopping centre or the dining hall at some hi-tech company.
Well sorry to disappoint you but it isn’t any of the above
and unless you’re still in full time education you’re unlikely to be getting
anywhere near this eating experience anytime in the near future.
For this is apparently the way forward for paying for school
dinners.
Instead of sending them in with a wallet or purse filled
with notes and various coinage many schools are now setting up this new system to
alleviate the need for children to have to carry any money .
In concept I can see it’s for the best part a good idea, no
money on their person means no money that can be stolen, lost or go missing.
You also can pay for that school activity or trip with
confidence, safe in the knowledge that it’s actually reached its destination on
time rather than spending about a week crumpled in the depths of a tatty old
rucksack between a science text book and a manky old banana.
But after I taken a moment to contemplate the idea more, I
wondered to myself, is it really as good as it seems?
Is not having money
on you really such a good thing if you find yourself presented with a situation
in which it was needed such as spare change to use in a call box in an emergency?
(Yes, I know most
kids have a mobile phone these days but go with me on this!)
Is a mugger or bully any less likely to attack a child who
says they don’t have any money on them rather than do it anyway to make sure
they aren’t fibbing?
And through personal experience of the system recently, is
taking away the action of them paying with actual cash in their hands removing
a vital lesson they can learn in the management of money and budgeting?
If they don’t see the amount of money reducing down in front
of them it can seem to them that there’s no limit to how much they can spend
with one touch of a finger.
And with so many people in debt saying that when they pay on
credit it doesn’t seem like real money is giving what seems to be to our kids a
bottomless pit of money at their fingertips such a good idea.
Are we by trying to protect them in one way, preventing them
from learning one of the life’s most important lessons for the future?
GIRL FROM THE NECK DOWN - MEDWAY MESSENGER 20/10/14
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