"Motivation is part of education and classroom teachers should have input because they are the ones doing the work. "
"Not all candy purchases are used for motivation."
"The question becomes do we want to be the food police in the schools. "
"Teachers and principals might not understand why this issue is being pushed so hard. "---Administration Response to "Candy Purchases" issue (Minutes of the Finance Committee meeting 8-22-11)
Food --junk food!---as a motivator? Come on, people! This is 2011...not 1911. Anyone who's taken Psych 101 knows about Pavlovian responses and conditioning. Many kids adopt a LEARNED BEHAVIOR that if you act up a little bit, you'll get some Ho-Hos...or a Twinkie.
Not all candy purchases are used for motivation? Really? So that's a clear admission that at least PART of the purchases are designed as motivation. We did learn of one teacher who creatively incorporates candy into her science curriculum. We love it...but again...how much is used for science vs. how much eaten?? And have you considered other non-food ways to offer the same lesson in an equally "fun" way?
There are two separate and distinct issues here:
1. Candy is not a part of any known or accepted curriculum. It is our responsibility as part of our Health Ed. curriculum to teach kids better eating behaviors to quell the rising tide of childhood obesity. Yes these kids are confronted with food ads daily. But we don't have to do so in our schools. Life is choices...but in the schools we need to limit the choices available to help kids learn to make better choices.
2. If you insist on providing candy for whatever purpose, it should NOT be purchased with tax dollars. Our tax dollars should be used to provide materials that are educational requirements. You can't convince us that candy is a necessity. If you absolutely insist you must have it, then pay for it from SCO donations or get the Sun Prairie Education Foundation to loosen its grip on some of the $500K they've received from "Naming Rights" donations. Get more creative with positive incentives. OK, so carrots won't work. Find something that will. Save the tax dollars for books and other educational materials.
Teachers and principals may not understand why this is an important issue? Again...REALLY? Then it's the very well compensated administration's obligation to inform them...right? This message needs to come from on high. And be complied with.
Food Police? Please! Your job is to support and enforce ALL district policy whether or not you personally agree with it. Once a decision is made; get on board. If you's prefer to work in a school district that doesn't care about nutrition....if that's really what's high on your list...then we say, "go for it".
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| "Food Police"? We don't think so! With the childhood obesity rate climbing faster than school property taxes, SOMEONE needs to tackle the issue of junk food in our schools and eliminate junk food as a reward system. |
...and those rumors ain't nice.
And when I fall asleep I don't think I'll survive the night, the night.
'Cause they're waiting for me.
They're looking for me.
Ev'ry single night they're driving me insane.
Those men inside my brain.
The food police, they live inside of my head.
(Live inside of my head.)
The food police, they come to me in my bed.
(Come to me in my bed.)
The food police, they're coming to arrest me, oh no.
---with apologies to Cheap Trick
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