Posts tagged with lecture.

Should schools tell students what not to eat?

Kathy Dobson, March 18, 2010 at 4:38 PM

Kathy Dobson

 

 

Although it's been years since my son Michael, now in grade six, has been in kindergarten, I still have the sticky note his teacher attached to his lunch bag one day. It read, "Michael needs more healthy snacks."

 

 

I admit, my blood pressure still goes up a little every time I think about that note.

 

I still remember that day as if it happened last week, instead of six years ago. I watched as my then-five-year-old son climbed down from his school bus, and even before his feet hit the ground, I could tell right away he was upset.

 

Instead of his usual cheery, "Hi Mom!" Michael frowned, then said, "My teacher says my snacks are bad."

 

Bad? His snacks are ... bad? Even before we got inside the house, I had done the whole mental Rolodex of what he had brought to school that day.

Was it the pudding cup? Or the chocolate chip cookies? I was sure his teacher had made a mistake. After all, the school offered the same pudding cups for sale at its makeshift canteen during first and second snack each day. For 50 cents, my son could even buy a Rice Krispies square. And if he was first to hit the floor during carpet time, he'd be awarded a treat, for free. One he wasn't even allowed at home. A 'Peach Fuzz' candy. Also known as 'tooth wrecker' and 'piece of crap' at my house.

 

It had to be the chocolate chip cookies. Right?

 

But after getting past that initial rush of embarrassment - even humiliation - over the very idea that my son's teacher must be thinking I'm a terrible mom, the kind who allows her child to have an unhealthy diet, suddenly I wasn't feeling embarrassed anymore. I was feeling angry.

 

So I called his teacher right away. Fortunately, she hadn't left the building yet. After explaining that I had received her sticky note, and wanted her understand just how offended I was, she immediately tossed her class aide under the bus.

 

"Oh, that wasn't me!" she insisted. "It must have been my helper."

 

When I pointed out that her helper had also signed HER name to the note, the teacher tried a different approach when she suddenly remembered that it had been her note, and then explained that with the epidemic of childhood obesity, she was just trying to remind parents how important it is to not allow our children to eat junk food.

 

After the top of my head blew off, and I had fetched it from across the kitchen and reattached it, I calmly explained why her note was not only offensive, but also counter-productive. Throughout our 'discussion,' I somehow managed to fake a calm I certainly wasn't feeling. But if nothing else, I'm always extremely polite whenever speaking to any of my children's teachers.

 

I pointed out that not only was my son a healthy five-year-old, without any weight issues, but that the school sold the very same snacks she was condemning in my son's lunch kit in its canteen. Plus, it seemed hypocritical that the same person who had embarrassed my son in front of his classmates by openly criticizing his snacks, rewarded her students with candy when they co-operated with her rules. I said if her real intention was to help educate me or other parents in the future about healthy verses unhealthy snacks, perhaps a specific list of suggested snacks, or even a photocopy of the Canadian Food Guide, would be more productive and less insulting than a sticky note.

 

She reluctantly agreed that perhaps a sticky note wasn't the best approach. Well, not if her intention had been to honestly save my son from an 'unhealthy' diet. I listened as she explained how frustrating it is for a teacher to have students bring chocolate bars and cans of pop to class for snacks. I shared her horror and concern, but I still disagreed with her approach.

 

Do schools have the right - perhaps even an obligation - to approach parents when they feel a student isn't eating 'healthy' snacks? If a child is consistently showing up to school without any food at all, yes, then it's a potential case of child neglect and the school needs to report it or at least investigate. But I think a school is stepping over its mandate when it tries to get involved in a child's dietary choices.

 

I also believe it's just another burden teachers don't need in their classrooms.

 

Yes, continue to discuss 'healthy' diets like they do in my youngest son's kindergarten class today. My youngest, at 5, has actually learned a lot about nutrition and diet from his teacher's classroom work. And I honestly appreciate the extra support.

 

But other than restricting those foods that can pose a life-threatening risk to others - such a nuts - I think schools need to butt out of individual cases and keep their sticky notes to themselves.

 

Tagged with lecture, teacher, lunch, snacks | Comments (26) |

Resources outside classes

Jenny Mitchell, November 23, 2009 at 2:36 PM

Jenny Mitchell

 

Back in high school, when I thought about university, I pictured all the obvious stuff. Crowded lecture halls packed with hundreds of students eagerly taking notes. A table in the library filled with laptops and textbooks, as panic-stricken students crammed for exams.

 

Both of those mental pictures turned out to be more or less true. There are over 300 students in my organic chemistry class, which is way bigger than any high school class I've ever had. Except, uh, not everyone is eagerly taking notes. At the back of the lecture hall, people aren't using their laptops to speed-type and record everything the professor says. They're probably updating their Facebook. Or playing Tetris.

 

Looking back, I realize that I didn't anticipate some of the coolest parts about university. There are tons of resources that are available to students outside of formal classes. Like the Earth Sciences Museum at the University of Waterloo. It features an amethyst tunnel, a gigantic obelisk of stone that reaches from the basement to the second floor, tons of gemstones, and even dinosaurs. There's also a granite water feature that represents the Great Lakes.

 

I was thrilled when I found out that there's even a place for indoor rock climbing at Waterloo, with two 16-foot long sections of walls and a cave. I first went indoor rock climbing on a field trip in grade 11, and I've loved it ever since. A bouldering wall within five minutes of my chemistry class? I couldn't believe it.

 

Recently, the University of Waterloo announced it will be hosting a free public lecture and panel to explore the science behind H1N1. Despite my germaphobic fear of mingling in huge crowds right now, I was thrilled.

 

Christine Dupont, my genetics professor from first year, will be giving the lecture.

 

I'm pretty sure two of my younger brothers have had the swine flu.

 

Neither of them were ever diagnosed by a doctor, but about 90% of all flu cases in Canada right now are  actually H1N1. This means that, statistically, either one or both of my brothers had the swine flu when they were sick last week.

 

Although I haven't been able to get the H1N1 shot yet, I'm pretty sure I've already been exposed to the virus. Especially after my four-year-old brother coughed right in my face a couple of weeks ago. I haven't felt sick yet so I'm crediting my (so far) perfect health to my awesomely superior immune system.

 

And the fact that, like a lot of people these days, I've become a germaphobe who washes her hands a bazillion times a day.

 

The free public lecture, organized by Waterloo's faculty of science, is entitled, "The Science Behind H1N1: Evolution, Pathology, Vaccines and Adjuvants." (For those in the area who are interested, it's tomorrow, from 7 - 8:30 p.m. in the Theatre of the Arts in the Modern Languages building.)

 

This lecture will include an opportunity to ask questions in a panel discussion. There are so many questions that I can hardly wait to ask. For instance, the obvious question that lots of us are wondering about: why do otherwise healthy young Canadians sometimes become gravely ill and even die from swine flu? Have any commonalities been identified among these youngest victims of H1N1 yet?

 

Despite the inevitable exposure to all the door handles and arm rests (not to mention those wet sneezers at the back of the room) that could be teeming with H1N1 germs, it's going to be interesting to hear from some experts why this flu is different from the regular seasonal flu.

 

Biology is my favourite subject, especially genetics. But I don't think you have to be a science nerd to feel excited about this event. It's one of the things I love about university life. You get to attend lectures and panel discussions on events with immediate real-world relevance.

 

Some of the best parts of university life are beyond the classroom.

 

 

Tagged with university, lecture, h1n1, resources | Comment (1) |