For various reasons children are coming to school malnourished. In some cases it's not because they aren't getting enough to eat, but simply because they aren't eating the right foods or enough of them.
This is rapidly becoming a generational issue with kids. I've been doing some light reading (some articles) about food dyes, mercury, and high fructose corn syrup in food and the effects they have on children. While this may seem intuitive (it's bad), it seems most parents and educators are more concerned about the importance of drug and alcohol education we still have a lot of ground to make up with an important building block of education = food.
I used to drive by a local area high school a lot (to and from work) because it was near the highway. I saw a lot of kids, I mean a lot of kids ....rivers of kids, at lunch in particular streaming in and out of the convenience store which is a city block away from the school, within direct sight of the high school.
One day I need a bottle of water so I thought I'd stop in and see what Willy Wonka was peddlin' down at the chocolate factory....
As you can guess, the store didn't have much in the way of actual food. It was packed with processed foods, chips, candy bars, sodas, gum every kind of candy you could dream of.... Worse yet, "Energy Drinks"......Monster Energy, Red Bull etc. etc.
I thought..."oh my goodness"....what happens in that school after lunch?
I think you get the point, that store is a Gold Mine! Ok besides that ....that store is an educators nightmare in the form of King Size Snickers and a Monster Energy Drink. Is it any wonder, kids can't concentrate after they down 500ml of high fructose (diabetes inducing) Monster Energy....or chuck back a few Oh Henry's (they're healthy they've at least have peanuts right?)
How can students pay attention (function) while he/she is peaking then crashing on all that caffeine and sugar? Likely they can't....Social Studies is my teachable and I'm no scientist..so I'll go with intuition....making diet part of your class discussion may be worthwhile...if you want to do a Masters on this you might have some takers...correlations abound....
There are more issues here, like community responsibility (the store)......but I've rambled enough......
Here's a link that links to some other links, and so on and so on and so ....
Hope you all are having a good night studying out there....beware I heard (CBC) bedbugs are on the move...found in a library in Vancouver... you know it won't be long before they are here too...and just in time for Halloween...SCARY!
Hmm, the website wasn't working right now, but I think that this is a very important issue to address, Blair.
ReplyDeleteI have wondered about teaching healthy eating in the classroom. Or bringing some fruits or veggies in the morning when I know I'm dealing with a class that doesn't get a good breakfast.
As for sugar highs, it's totally true. I try to avoid eating candy or drinking sugar beverages (juice, pop) when I'm at school or working because I literally have a 30 minute buzz and then just... drop. I have no energy or attention span. And that still happens to me as an adult. I haven't even tried an energy drink. Yikes!
It's hard to say how teachers can control food intake: I know that schools don't have as many sugar options: vending machines for example. However, in my school we still had a concession where you could buy junk food.
It's a tough but important topic to talk about. Maybe even bringing up the benefits of eating certain types of food (fish and bananas) before tests might help motivate students to eat better. Or maybe if your class is after lunch, try to get students outside (weather permitting) during a social studies class to help walk off sugar. You can still get work done outside.
Oh, and that's also just nasty about the bugs! :P
Blair I like the way you write.
ReplyDeleteIt is truly unfortunate what students eat/don't eat at school. I mean sure the vending machines are "healthier" but how much more? The food in there is still processed, and much more expensive. If that is the case then why not at lunch time just walk over to the fast food stop and get something that is cheaper and tastes way better? I mean that way a student can get more bang for the buck and when they need to stretch it all week it makes sense.
Also those that bring lunch, what are they bringing? Are they packing shots of wheat grass juice, and salad with hemp and flax and an apple? No, not likely. At that stage students are packing their own lunch which would generally consist of whatever is easy and in the house, granola bars, fruit snacks, etc... I think part of it is the parents job. I think they need to be leading by example with eating habits and what they supply in the house for their children. I mean sure education of healthy eating habits is wise, but what is going to go in one ear and out the other? It also depends what they have access to at home.
I mean a step in the right direction was the breakfast program at school. That at least got most students on a level playing field for the morning, something to keep them going. Even then what are they serving in that program?
Overall talking about food choices is good, but I think it would be similar to the risk taking. Sure they recognize the importance, but whether they actually do it is a whole other sack of potatoes.
Firstly, I agree with Lisa, your writing is entertaining Blair. I totally remember piling into the car at lunch in high school and heading to the nearest McD’s
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that this is a major issue that has not been addressed. It goes with the cliché of "we are what we eat" right? From a biochem point of view our bodies are machines that need the right nutrients to function and excel. Having a well-balanced diet is hugely important and clearly kids aren't receiving this. There never use to be such a thing as childhood diabetes, which is now increasing at a steady rate. The whole energy drink thing is another issue which I think needs to be addressed as a society. There have been numerous studies done on the harmful effects of caffeine, as it is classified as a narcotic, especially on a developing body. Kids are already supposed to have higher energy levels, why should they be drinking coffee and energy drinks? Should caffeine be regulated, in that you can't buy it until you’re a certain age?
I think there is a healthy snacks program in greater Victoria where schools that apply get one healthy snack a week, like a box of apples. This is a step in the right direction but it’s only a tiny baby step.
First off, THANK YOU for bringing this up; now I'm going to rant.
ReplyDeleteLike Blair I am in no way able to comment on the biological importance of a healthy diet before and during class however, I also can talk from experience.
Yes, it is the job of parents to teach their students the importance of heathy eating. Do all parents do this? No, most don't because it is no longer financially possible. Junk food is far easier to buy on a limited budget than the healthy food that will give our students the proper nurishment for the day. In the lunch kits of the elementry students that I work with I see cookies, rice crispy squares, chocolate bars, chips. And the sad thing is, the students that actually are getting healthy food are forced to judge it because of the junk food around them. Innevitably, their lunches begin to resemble the unhealthy lunches of their peers.
So what can schools do to improve this? We can encourage healthy eating in our students until the cows come home but will it help? Parents have been eating this way for how long? this is how they've been raised. Maybe they can't afford any better? Or, they don't have the time to change their habits.
When I was in middle school a bottle of water was $1.25. I drank water every day because as someone without a job I (believe it or not) appreciated the value of money. If I drank water my limited cash would last longer. Then, at the end of the year the price of water went up... low and behold I changed my prefrance. Why drink water when coke is cheaper? What happened to the reasonable prices of healthy food in vending machines to encourage healthy living? Believe me, it worked.
Also, there are studies of the importance of healthy eating in how we as individuals function. It doesn't matter where we are in developement, many students NEED to eat to reach their full potential. I personally can go a day without not being effected (so there are exceptions); however, my sister who is a recent high school graduate goes from 'miss suzy highschool/popularity' to Linda Blair from the exorcist if she does not have breakfast. I have a friend who at the age of 25 realised that she was hypoglycemic (sp?) and when she doesn't eat properly she cannot think properly at all. Eating consistantly and healthy is important.
Lastly, there are studies about the importance of healthy eating in students with special learning needs. For instance (and I have no intention of finding sources for these claims but I promise it's out there)children with autism have been shown to function much better in a variety of specialty diets ie. gluten free or all natural. I would LOVE it if the parents of the boy that I work with would encourage this type of eating with their son; however, because he is a picky eater his parents do not put in this type of effort (there are more important things to work on than his diet).
Diet is important and there is no certain way to enforce these needs within schools; it is the responsibility of the schools as well as the parents to try to make these changes together.