Are School Administrators Going Nuts, Or What?

[tex]

Hi All,

Stuff like this really gets my goat. It's bad enough that do-gooders have to try to continue to take away personal freedoms from adults, but when they continue to chip away at life's little pleasures for kids, that totally sucks. Consider this quote, from the article at the following link:

Instead of the cupcakes, Alma district students celebrating birthdays now get an extra 30 minutes in gym class — policies that could be coming soon to all Michigan schools.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20101115 ... ht-obesity

Say what? Are they nuts? Do they really think that such a form of punishment is going to strike a meaningful blow against obesity? It's simply another way to try to force kids to grow up even faster, (when childhood is already far too brief, these days).

Kids have been conditioned to take birthdays seriously. Trading exercise for a cupcake, as a way to celebrate a birthday, is a pretty harsh change. If such a change is actually "necessary", it should be phased in in stages, not dropped on them "cold turkey". If the school administrators wanted to do something to promote a healthier lifestyle for kids, they could keep the cupcakes, and add the gym session, for the first year, at least.

Why did they ever start passing out cupcakes and snacks in the first place? Back in the stone age, when I was in school, that didn't happen. It's the administrators' fault that the problem exists in the first place - they should try to find a little less traumatic way to correct the problem, so that the kids don't have to feel as though they're being punished, because they, or some of their classmates, are overweight. That can lead to resentment, and subsequent social problems.

If I had been conditioned to expect a cupcake every time a birthday rolled around, I would be fighting mad if the principal took them away, and sent me to the gym, instead. At least that's the way I see it.

Tex

[Zizzle]

I have to disagree as a mom of 2 young kids. I am very supportive of this so-called ban on cupcakes for a number of reasons:

a) Cupcakes are totally empty toxic calories. I have seen the store-bought varieties doled out at my kids' schools. Ingredient lists a mile long. Food coloring that turns their poop blue and green. Sugar loads that probably interfere with learning the rest of the day.

b) Many kids today have food allergies and intolerances like us. Frequent cupcake birthday parties at school only serve to remind them of how different and unfortunate they are.

c) School systems have dramatically cut the time alloted for recess and gym class. My kids would GLADLY give up cupcakes for the ability to spend more time running around with their friends and playing sports.

d) Someone in the article says "Taking away a cupcake treat at school isn't going to make the kids skinny and make them get out and exercise," said Thompson, an Alma resident. "They have to have a good base at home."
I am a very healthy cook at home and have raised my kids with good health habits and attitudes. However, I am losing the battle on sugar and candy. There is only so much parents can do to combat the constant barage of marketing, goodie bags, etc. that make our kids crave sugar. Just as parents are expected to reinforce the things being taught at school, schools need to reinforce parental attempts to keep diets and attitudes toward food healthy. Kids are eating 1-2 meals and 1-2 snacks a day at school.

Sugar is an addiction for kids. Should businesses serve alcohol to all co-workers in the middle of the day every time someone has a birthday?? I think not!

If I could ban cupcakes from the life of my kids, I would!! And they probably wouldn't care. They don't even eat them when they are served at parties...they only lick off the sugary frosting. Most cupcakes are exciting in theory and reputation only.

[tex]

I agree that the schools never should have started passing them out in the first place. I'm not claiming that cupcakes are healthy. I'm just saying that they shouldn't expect the kids to have to break their habit, cold turkey. Kids are going to perceive this as punishment.

Getting rid of the cupcakes is a reasonable move, healthwise, but the way they are going about it, sucks, IMO. They should slowly phase it in, then the kids wouldn't get the perception that they were being punished.

Tex

[Zizzle]

Did you know Fairfax County, VA schools banned chocolate milk in the school lunch program because they could not find a vendor that didn't use High Fructose Corn Syrup? Now that's DRASTIC!! My kids won't drink milk at all unless it's chocolate milk. Sugar addiction, again.

[mbeezie]

In our school district you can have cupcakes . . . but only if you purchase them through the school food service department (cha ching). But don't expect them to offer a gluten free cupcake . . . how on earth would they ever make any money.

The teachers are banned from giving out treats and the cafeteria can't sell them at lunch but the PTA can set up a cart and sell crap to the kids and charge their lunch account. Talk about getting around the rules to serve their own purposes.

I think you are right Tex - you're only a kid once and it's the only time in your life that you won't feel guilty about eating sweets. But kids are getting too much. Do you know at children's sporting events parents supply halftime and end of game snacks. How ridiculous is that??? They burn off fewer calories than they ingest. Sigh.

Mary Beth

[tex]

Zizzle,

Yes, I read about the chocolate milk issue a while back, (in fact, I posted about it - http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11960 ). Your kids are just like most kids on that topic, so by banning flavored milk, the do-gooders robbed most of them of any benefits they might have otherwise received from milk. Of course, if you are one who believes that milk has no redeeming values, even for kids, (and that viewpoint might certainly be valid, for all I know), then they should just remove all milk from schools while they're at it, rather than to leave the stuff that no one wants to drink, just so they can say that they're providing a healthy alternative. I'm assuming that the only milk available in schools is the plain, low-fat, or no-fat versions, which IMO, are worthless, and I would never consider drinking them, either, (if milk was intended to be fat free, the cows wouldn't have put the butterfat in there in the first place). Why offer a worthless, tasteless drink? It could be replaced by a vitamin pill and a glass of water, at a much lower cost.

Tex

[tex]

Do you know at children's sporting events parents supply halftime and end of game snacks. How ridiculous is that??? They burn off fewer calories than they ingest. Sigh.

Exactly, it's all a feel-good game, to make parents and teachers and school administrators feel good, (IOW, in order to meet state and federal guidelines), while the kids are kicked around as if they were pawns in the game.

Tex

[Zizzle]

As I recall, Fairfax County offers (bad quality) soymilk and orange juice, but at an extra cost. Luckily we moved counties before my son had to figure out what to drink. Back when I could drink milk, I remember tasting a carton on a flight. It tasted of pure chemicals, and I switched to organic dairy from that moment on. I can only imagine the quality of school lunch milk. I'm not a huge milk fan - I encourage my kids to eat lots of yogurt and cheese instead. And they drink calcium fortified OJ and take gummy calcium and D vitamins. Brocolli is on on our dinner menu several times a week too. It's one of the few vegetables they LOVE.

[hoosier1]

Tex,

To answer your question. YES!!!

What ever happened to personal accountability and true parenting? This may be a little off topic.

Our school systems are so broken in so many ways...

I met a professor who was doing some consulting for our local university. His assignment was to implement methods to accredit the elementary education program. When I asked him about the objective measures, requirements, testing, etc. he was planning to use (i.e., an example), he could not elaborate. He looked at me like I was crazy for asking such a question.

He told me that there is no way to measure teachers', or soon to be teachers', ability to teach. Testing only measures what they know, not how they apply it. I was aghast. So does that mean we give up? Why do guys like this dump unqualified, and in my opinion, undereducated people into the work place. Wasn't it Reagan who said, "Trust by Verify?"

Why is that I have to measure people's performance in many aspects, including the "soft" skills, and our educational system cannot? It can be done. It must be done. And it can be done fairly so that the best performance in cultivated. It is not rocket science, but it can be demanding and require people to work hard (dare I say that).

Let's get tough again as an nation. And we need to start in our educational system. And let's let the private industry take it on. For that matter, let's let Fed Ed take over the Postal system. I'm on a roll but I am tired of this.

Not to take away from the cupcake discussion, but this is just one more indicator of the bigger problems we are flat out ignoring. The fact that our educational system is soft, produces degrees that are not designed to create or innovate, etc. Service based economy, here we come. Lower standards of living, here we come.

Rich

[tex]

Rich,



The business world, and industry in general, don't seem to have any qualms about evaluating employees at virtually every level. That's a no-brainer, because customers and clients are constantly evaluating the companies they do business with. They vote with their dollars.

Those who work in ivory towers, though, love the security offered by the tenure system, so naturally, measurement of work performance is off their radar.

Tex

[Polly]

Mornin'!

Rich, you will be interested to know that some major progress is being made with regard to evaluating/rewarding teachers in public education. Teachers here in Baltimore City yesterday approved a new contract in which they will actually be paid based on the achievement of their students. Seniority and degrees will no longer determine raises.....only student achievement and continuing education will. I believe this is a first for the nation. I've read that my state (MD) leads the nation in public education, so maybe this is cutting edge stuff and not happening in many other places. But it shows that there IS hope.

Love,

Polly

[starfire]

Polly,
I was truly shocked to read your post. I hadn't heard about it. It's hard to imagine your teachers there being willing to take such a chance but perhaps the majority of them really are "a cut or two above" the average. Congratulations. I'd love to know what the percentage in favor was.

Love, Shirley

[MaggieRedwings]

Morning All,

On the subject of cupcakes or exercise I many not be in the majority here but I would like to quote a very famous woman (she had the right outlook) 'LET THEM EAT CAKE!" In fact she lost weight without exercising - she lost her head. (Just a bit of humor.)

Polly - Congrats to the teachers that voted that contract - perform or move out. Seniority does not always determine the best of the lot in any way.

Love, Maggie

[tex]

Polly,

That's awesome news. There must be something in the water over there on the East Coast. MD now leads the pack in research on gluten related issues, and in on-the-job education reform.



Love,
Tex

[MBombardier]

Maggie, I remember reading about Marie Antoinette when I was a kid. Her story really had an impact on me.

I agree that the public schools are broken, and I think what's going on in MD is excellent. My husband has a degree in secondary education, and I have a sis-in-law who taught elementary school for 30 years. I know several other certified teachers, one or two in the public schools and others in private schools. My hat is off to the teachers nowadays. They have to do so many other things besides teach. If (speaking in general) parents depended less on the schools to parent their children, I believe the teachers' jobs would be easier.

Our family is one of a couple of million homeschooling families in this country. We've homeschooled for 20 years. Our third child is currently in high school and the last one is in middle school. Homeschoolers score consistently higher on standardized tests than public or private-schooled children, and I can tell you based on my own experience and that of all the other homeschoolers I know and have met over the years, it's not the money that makes the difference, it's the teacher.

Homeschoolers are in high demand in business and industry because they have a good work ethic. Also, by and large (hopefully) they have been taught how to find out what they need to know independently, and to have a life-long love of learning. They are not unique--any child can be taught this, and if we freed our teachers to teach, we'd see our students take their place once again in the vanguard of the upcoming leaders in science and technology.

I agree with Tex that the students should be weaned off the cupcakes. And I agree with Zizzle that more recess and gym would be wonderful. I do think that the less cupcakes and more gym time may be viewed as punishment by the kids, but it would probably depend on how it was handled by the teacher.

When I was in school, we were lucky if the teacher recognized our birthday and the class sang "Happy Birthday" to us. Other than that, there was long division to be learned. I think cupcakes in school is a symptom of a bigger problem, and that is low expectations. It seems that everywhere, food is expected, and the food takes the "feels good" place of achievement. Like at ball games, even the losing team should take home the satisfaction of a game well-played, not the artificial high of sugary snacks and drinks.

Frankly, this is one of my pet peeves and I have begun a campaign in my own activities not to have food there. If parents and students miss it, well... there is no doubt a fast-food restaurant on their way home.