I'm in 8th grade right now, and with the current problems children are facing (and adults) with weight, nutrition, getting enough excercise, and an overall healthy lifestyle, i can't help but wonder why public schools don't make this a high priority....
I really think it's nessacary for public schools to make junk food obsolete at the cafeterias, because if it's there, people are going to go for it...after all, who can't say a candy bar or fresh, doughy, mouthwatering cookie is more apealling than a bruised orange hidden away behind sugary canned fruit cocktail that looks like it's weeks beyond the experation date?
in fact, it's pathetic that students aren't taught (other than a week a year in health class) not to have a diet of chips, soda, pizza, ect. who needs to learn about body systems in health class when it's taught in science and biology later (okay, i admit, i read the high school and college biology books out of boredom, or else i wouldn't know this sort of stuff)!? Can't health class be about a student's personal health and obtaining the imformation on a healthy lifestyle instead? what's the point of preparing students for the "real world" if they aren't going to live very well in it?
and what scares me most is that the majority of students i know don't regularly exercise! Other than a few minute of running...and whacking a ball or putting it through a hoop in PE
I don't know anyone who is concerned with what they eat...not that i'm a heath nut, but i use my brain when making choices involving my health...
i could go on a few more hours about what i think, but i'd like to hear what parents, students, and all the rest have to say :wavey:
thanks...
Loading...
Your concern is valid, smart, and very real. I agree 100%. It astounds me that real health, nutrition, portion sizes that the body REALLY needs to live on, and moderation/variety are not covered in the health classes at public school.
Another subject I cannot believe is not covered is basic finances. What's credit, why is it necessary, how easy it is to mess it up or lose it, and how to take care of personal finances from balancing a checking account to moderate spending & paying bills FIRST.
Loading...
Next year the province of Ontario is mandating that all junior schools (grades K through 8) have a minimum of 20 minutes of PE every day. Who says government can't have a positive impact.... (I know, its still rare).
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
We pack our kid's lunches and so we know what they are eating. Now if they are trading, I am not sure.
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
if more youngpeople had youngrunner's attitude, there wouldn't really be an obesity problem. good thinking yr, really.
i believe the schools are starting to do what they can. our highschool has taken all junk out of vending machines (there are tons of vending machines) and now it's just water, propel, or gatorade. the highschool also has a 5 day/week phys ed program that is very aerobic. unfortunately, the PE program becomes an elective in 11th grade :x
the elementary school is trying to make cafeteria changes too. no more potato chips and doritos in the lunch lines, they really push the "healthy living" "heart smart" programs in PE, for what it's worth (probably not much for most kids)
best option is to pack your lunch instead of going thru that tempting carbo-blast of a lunch line. my son has never, in 11 years of school, bought a cafeteria lunch. i'm a lunch packin' foool.
i really believe this starts at home though. parents set the best example of a healthy lifestyle. we can not expect the schools to change lifelong bad eating and exercise habits overnight. it's a HUGE problem that took more than a few years to develop and finally manifest itself in stuff like heart disease in college kids and type 2 diabetes in preteens.
another thing that irks me is television advertising and kids -- going straight for their hearts with stuff like FruitLoops, Oreo Cookies, c**p, c**p, c**p, and more c**p. we've polluted their little systems in the name of making a profit. this, i believe, is another root of the evil.
schools can and will do more as this saga unfolds, and as the media blasts away with stories of pediatric obesity but, as i said, kids do as they see at home. healthy habits need to be taught as soon as they're able to understand.
i'm glad you're on the right track yr!
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Another one
Slightly unrelated but interesting NAH article on kids cuisine at restaurants and its role in childhood obesity
Loading...
I feel that way about P.E! Here's the typical schedule for my class:
1. get dressed out (who's going to break a sweat?!)
2. 10 jumping jacks (pathetic!)
3.streches ( do the excellent PE teaches KNOW that streching is of little significace? )
4. 25 sit-ups 8O ( what a workout!)
5. 2 minute run ( by then I am angry at the whole PE staff! I have no teachers to comfortably discuss this with,the joke of PE, because some coaches are obese, and others visably out of shape. How can I express my desires to make use of time? Tell them that this class is a waste of time? Most students only excersie during this class ( "ohhh, i don't need PE, i'm a POMMER! " <--walks most of the 2 minute runs )
The teacher of mine GLARES at me as I breeze past all of those joggers with ease. He has to have everything uniform...)
6. Saving the worse for last: PING PONG!!! Standing there, hitting a ball with a paddle really is a workout!
OH, AND TAKING TIME OFF OF OUR RUN IS A REWARD!!! iT'S LIKE SAYING RUNNING IS A PUNISHMENT?!
EXCESSIVE TALKING IS PUNISHABLE BY SQUAT-THRUST AND MORE RUNNING.
I'D MISHAVE IF I LACKED COMMON SENSE JUST TO PUNISH MYSELF WITH RUNNING :D
sorry, I have been holding this in for a long time since I learned the importance of nutrtion and the fun of exercise ( by that I mean running :pinklove: )
I also feel bad that this is kind of harsh. But it is important, you runners know firsthand. At least many know.
Loading...