Lunch Room Monster (Uh, I Mean Monitor)

 I eat lunch with my two daughters at school about once a month. We enjoy the mid-day visit and many times I surprise them adding to the fun. What takes away from it is the lunch room monitors. They are just down right mean and picky about the noise level in the cafeteria. The first time it happened was two years ago when I was having lunch with Charlotte, 8, who was in kindergarten at the time. The lights went off, signaling the students they were getting too loud. Charlotte told me what the lights out meant. I looked over at another mom a few seats down who was eating with her daughter as well. She rolled her eyes. "I did not think it was that loud," I whispered to her, fearing I would get caught for talking and sent to the principal's office. "Me neither. It is a school lunchroom after all," she responded. Then the lights went on and talking was permitted. The following year, an English woman monitored the lunchroom. Every time I had lunch there, the lights went out. "It is getting too loud in here," she would ironically yell. She reminded me of the voice in a Pink Floyd's song from the album The Wall. The part where the man English man yells "If you don't eat your meat you can't have any pudding." She left for some reason. My guess is too many parents complained. Yesterday, in the middle of eating corndog nuggets with Charlotte and her adorable second grade friends, the lights went out again. I was not happy because I was enjoying talking with the girls, all of whom are good citizens. The new lunchroom monitor, a really tall man, told the kids they could not talk at all. We were whispering when he pointed at our table and barked "no talking." Give me a break. Kids cannot talk in class and this is one of two times a day they get to socialize. I understand the cafeteria can get loud, and at that time it should be addressed. But a little loud should be permitted.  In the words of that other mom "it is a lunchroom after all." What has been your experience?