Schools and candy

[EweSheep]

Quote:
This is the biggest issue here. This was completely inappropriate. As the teacher, I'd have registered a complaint over this with the local school board. The principal should be censured if she publicly "dressed down" a teacher ESPECIALLY in front of students. A school administrator who behaves in this manner should be removed from his/her position, in my opinion.

X2

3x!

 

[PineappleMama]

That's what you get for teaching kids things like American history, Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, etc. Amazing how it can come back and bit ya in the bum isn't it.

Tell them they got my vote! I think it's awesome. And a case could be made that the principal is being a bigot, AGEISM is a no no in the PC world you know... letting only the spry youngsters have an opportunity while the old fogeys of the school miss out isn't fair.

As to food in the classroom. I loved Ms McGee, she gave out those delicious strawberry candies. Wasn't until years later we figured out I was allergic to red dye... explains why I had stomach problems all through third grade... great taste or no.

 

[classicsredone]

What is the difference between cake and candy? My mom and sisters are teachers, and I've heard a lot of crazy stories. This is up there on the list. Even with the push to change the food available in schools, I honestly don't feel that cutting out ALL candy is necessary. It is especially ridiculous to ream a teacher in front of the kids. Kids that eat well and are allowed treats here and there learn healthy boundaries. They learn that if they binge on sweets, they'll feel gross.

 

[PineappleMama]

Minimum Nutritional Values... a cake is made with flour and flour is made from wheat and everyone knows that wheat is good for you. A cake is made from eggs, eggs have protein and protein is good for you... and so on...

Candy... sugar "not good for you" and a bunch of other stuff you can't pronounce (mostly corn products)... hard to claim that's good for you, even the the lame way that they can with cakes. BUT, I have seen this logic used to allow chocolate (has milk) but disallow Skittles (also has gelatin in it, a meat byproduct that vegans can't have)

It's not just a LIST... there's a thick PACKET about all this stuff... given to every room mom in the school, every assistant RM, every lead RM, teachers... etc. Started a few years back.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Generally cake has less sugar than candy. Add in a super sweetened icing, and that difference may well disappear.

I for one feel that most of society (led by commercial products) have pretty much eliminated "neutral" flavours: tea, even water(!) MUST be sweetened, and far more so than in years past. Every food seems to need to be either super savory (BBQ potato chips and nacho flavoured doritos, for examples) or super sweetened.

Used to be you would find sweet tea premade in the deep south, but everywhere else it was unsweetened, with sugar for those who wished to sweeten it. Now you sometimes can't even find unsweetened tea!

That said, how was the policy change publicized, and are you sure it is just the local school, and not a change throughout the district that just happened to coincide with the change in principals?

Personally I would prefer to have only homemade theats and no storebought ones--homemade ones are usually less unhealthy.


Maybe the number of parties or the amount of candy were getting out of hand? Or that that was the previous experience of the new principal?

The only issue I ever had over Valentines cards is that until kids get to junior high or high school, they need to have cards for everyone in their class (or no one)--if not, feelings get hurt.

As long as the kids are respectful in their petition, I think it is a great idea. Not likely to (by itself) change things, but speaking up for what one wants is an important lesson.

Perhaps a group of diplomatic parents can approach the principal to discuss setting up class party guidelines.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

The teachers at the school did band together and talk to the principal about the dressing down a teacher in front of ANYONE let alone students. She did not back down one inch. The teachers are dropping like flies, but there is a rumor coming from district that she is "moving on" at the end of the school year so it has given them hope.

My daughter asked me what I would do if she got involved in the petition and got in trouble. I said, I'd back her up, but she'd have to face some consequences on her own. I told her she needed to decide for herself what she thought the issue was worth to her and that I would support her whatever decision she made.

I wanted to go out and write up the petition and print it up myself!! But, I am proud of her. There will always be people who are unreasonable and who have power over you. Learn early how to pick your battles and then how to fight them!

 

[Whispering Winds]

I worked in a school kitchen for a long time, and we took so much flack for poor nutritional meals it was unreal. Funny thing was when the same kid who's parents complained, brought their lunch, guess what they had in it? All carbs, sugar and a soda!!!!!!!!!! Go figure. We used the commodities because were required too, and the gov. should have been the one at fault. . .when I first started we got apples in cans, cherries, frozen blueberries that were wonderful, but now they rarely get anything close to that, and the eggs they serve for breakfast just frost my kadoodle. They are flat and round like a pancake and most of those kids think they are just wonderful!!!!!!

Anyway . . .candy at holiday time is such a treat and most kids look forward to that more than anything . . .I started taking ice cream and bananas and choc. syrup and one or two other flavors and make banana splits for DS's BD parties and its just comical over the kids faces when they see me coming because they know what they are going to get . . .I think the prin. at this school should have been reported and the parents need to go to the board meeting and have a compromise made. I don't think the prin. has the total authority over what can and cannot be brought into the classrooms. Our prin. (retired) had a policy against no Halloween. One mother came in and did face paintings in second grade that were NOT even close to Halloween, leaves, pumpkins with NO faces, and some other fallish things and that prin. didn't like the teacher anyway and went down and literally tore her apart because she allowed Halloween in her classroom. One thing I learned about people working in that industry was "everybody is 'hit' on something," and sugar is obviously this prin. albatross. Funny thing is, the sugar probably isn't hurting the kids nearly as bad as the dyes in the food/candy. She has too much time on her hands to be making such strict rules about occasional incidents. I also truly believe that some people should not be allowed to work with or around children.

But, on the other hand, what is the fundraiser for PTO going to be at this school? Our school sells that dang $$$$$$$ candy every year, with the $$$$$$$$$ junk you can get at DG or the dollar store for 80% less . . .I give DS $20 NOT to sell it, and he is happy as a clam with the deal. I feel bad asking people who are having hard times to buy junk or stuff they don't need or can buy cheaper somewhere else.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

Oh yeah, let's not miss the irony of this very school hustling kids out selling candy!!

Because they are!!

 

[PineappleMama]

If you really want to annoy this principal... AFTER giving them a chance to see reason of course ... then you go over their head.
Send your petition and maybe the name of a lawyer chosen at random from the phonebook to the district.... siting discrimination.

Letting this class do something and not that one is a major no no, as well this principal should know... a ban all around or allow all around is fine, but picking and choosing which students get special favors and which don't... NOT based on performance or subject matter (IE the 6th graders who go to the Jr High to compete in the multi school track stuff get a T-shirt but the Kinders who don't go don't get one... or those studying Mexican history might get to eat a tortilla while the Kinder's studying animals get to go to the zoo). Just randomly saying THESE kids deserve a treat cuz I said so, but THESE aren't deserving is NOT cool. Not without SOME kind of verifiable justification... what principal in this day and age would be this stupid... mind boggling really.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

Apparently the kids won!!

At least the concession that they could give candy, they just could not eat it at school. She is telling the kids it was a "misunderstanding". The kids might have misunderstood her, but the teachers most certainly did not and the letters that came home from the classes reiterated the no candy rule.....

I am proud of the kids, they handled this very well indeed.

The wrote a letter ("in cursive" my daughter told me proudly) and a bunch of them signed it and left it at the principal's office. Power to the little people!