Stop feeding those hungry kids!

eldergamer

eldergamer

CAGiversary!
Mixed messages.

One story from CNN today about feeding poor kids when school's out for the summer.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/12/education.summer.lunch/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

Another story from CNN (and was also all over google news yesteray) about taking obese kids away from their parents.

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/...ese-kids-drastic-measure-preventable-problem/

An Occam's razor type solution would be just to switch the kids. Send the obese kids to the poor parents who can't feed their kids, and sent the poor hungry kids to the parents overfeeding their children.
Problem solved.
 
[quote name='RedvsBlue']Nah, an easier solution would be to get rid of summer and go with year round school. Then adults win too.[/QUOTE]

God forbid the little pricks actually spend more time in school learning, what the hell is wrong with you?

This wont ever work though because our society is adverselly opposed to change in how we normally do things. Kids would complain, parents would complain they have to change their schedules, tax payers would complain it costs more to operate a school year round, school board higher ups would complain they have to work year round and basically not enough people would be for it.

Americans just hate change that requires any effort or real change. The only change they want is more whitening agents in their toothpaste, better tv's, better gas mileage, faster service at drive thrus and so on. Thats the kind of change americans like.
 
Most parents are supportive of longer school years. It's becoming the norm for both parents to work, so 3 months of summer is a lot of daycare costs for parents with kindergarten and older kids who aren't old enough to stay home alone yet.

Year round is probably too much. But we could easily shorten summers to 1 month to six weeks. Plenty of time for family vacations (and for teachers to take vacations etc.).

Taxpayers are another matter as you'd be adding a couple months of expenses--teacher and staff salaries, utilities, food etc. so costs would go up at a time when school budgets are already very tight. So it couldn't be done without tax and other revenue increases.

But given how we're lagging behind so many countries in educational achievement, and how many studies show kids regress in things like math and reading ability over the summer months (and how this hits lower class kids harder as they're less likely to be reading etc. over the summer) it's really a change we should make.
 
My brother in laws sisters daughter is obese, and it sickens me. She is only 4 years old and weighs in at around 70-80 lbs!!!! THAT IS RIDICULOUS! I hear that Michelle Obama just made it to where food companies who don't have healthy food can't direct their product marketing towards children any longer (i.e. Tony the Tiger etc)
 
[quote name='punklivz']My brother in laws sisters daughter is obese, and it sickens me. She is only 4 years old and weighs in at around 70-80 lbs!!!! THAT IS RIDICULOUS! I hear that Michelle Obama just made it to where food companies who don't have healthy food can't direct their product marketing towards children any longer (i.e. Tony the Tiger etc)[/QUOTE]

can she walk? she must have knee issues if that weight is correct.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Most parents are supportive of longer school years. It's becoming the norm for both parents to work, so 3 months of summer is a lot of daycare costs for parents with kindergarten and older kids who aren't old enough to stay home alone yet.

Year round is probably too much. But we could easily shorten summers to 1 month to six weeks. Plenty of time for family vacations (and for teachers to take vacations etc.).

Taxpayers are another matter as you'd be adding a couple months of expenses--teacher and staff salaries, utilities, food etc. so costs would go up at a time when school budgets are already very tight. So it couldn't be done without tax and other revenue increases.

But given how we're lagging behind so many countries in educational achievement, and how many studies show kids regress in things like math and reading ability over the summer months (and how this hits lower class kids harder as they're less likely to be reading etc. over the summer) it's really a change we should make.[/QUOTE]

what state are you living in? Public school has 8 weeks off for summer.
 
[quote name='yahoosale14']can she walk? she must have knee issues if that weight is correct.[/QUOTE]


yes that weight is correct. She weighs more then my 5 year old and 3 year old put together. The doctors made her put her daughter on a diet, but the grandmother doesn't follow. I would post a pic, but I don't want anyone to find it and get mad at me. It is very sad, and she is starting to have health issues.
 
[quote name='yahoosale14']what state are you living in? Public school has 8 weeks off for summer.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, don't have kids so I don't pay that much attention to the specifics! :D I more meant they're off for parts of 3 months, rather than 3 months continuously.

Also my brain is more wired on the college schedule since I'm a prof and never teach summer courses so I'm used to being off from teaching (and just working on research) from the beginning of May through late August. :D

Ideally I'd say public school should just have July off. Go from the first Monday in August through the last Friday in June, then have a month vacation.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Sorry, don't have kids so I don't pay that much attention to the specifics! :D I more meant they're off for parts of 3 months, rather than 3 months continuously.

Also my brain is more wired on the college schedule since I'm a prof and never teach summer courses so I'm used to being off from teaching (and just working on research) from the beginning of May through late August. :D

Ideally I'd say public school should just have July off. Go from the first Monday in August through the last Friday in June, then have a month vacation.[/QUOTE]

well southern/west coast schools all end in late may(primarily due to AP tests from what i hear). it gets complicated at the high school level for courses because with AP tests in may, the classes literally do nothing/watch movies/play games for an entire month if their school does not end until late june.

Ideally, they should all start in august and end in may. im not really sure why the schools dont start early-middle august to get out in may/early june(some claim a bogus excuse of heat, which peaks in july, not august)

what field do you teach in?
 
Tests can be moved, especially if they make more of a standard national schedule.

I don't like August to May as that is then 3 months off and tons of research shows how much kids lose in reading and math ability etc. over the summer months already. Especially lower class kids (who already are more likely to fall behind) who are less likely to have parents making them read etc. over the summers.

Make it August through June and have any AP tests, standardized tests etc. be mid to late June so they're using the whole school year for actual teaching. That would go a long way with making up the big educational achievement gaps we have compared to many European and Asian countries.
 
I'm in college now.. and since very few spring/summer courses run I have been bored out of my mind. I remember this being an issue when in the K-12 bracket too. Summer is just... long, and too fucking hot. Schools have AC at least, a lot of houses don't, or at least don't run it.
 
[quote name='Lyricsborn']Our school had AC but weren't allowed turn it on. Why? because of the budget.[/QUOTE]

Mine got warned to turn it on because of medical conditions students (such as myself) had, and how they would be fucked if anything happens because of lack of AC. Gotta love lawsuit fear.
 
Thread Derailment with summer school discussion.

Back to the topic at hand, I'm just sort of skeptical of the 'hungry kid' issue. It's not like there's a food scarcity problem in this country.

And a causual stroll through Wal-Mart will show that there's plenty of obesity among the lower class and those with lower incomes. (Plenty of studies for this too, I'm sure)

So unless you're completly homeless and broke how can you go "hungry"?
 
[quote name='georox']I'm in college now.. and since very few spring/summer courses run I have been bored out of my mind. I remember this being an issue when in the K-12 bracket too. Summer is just... long, and too fucking hot. Schools have AC at least, a lot of houses don't, or at least don't run it.[/QUOTE]

lol...michigan, hot?? :rofl:

unless you go to college somewhere else.
 
The thing about kids is if you start feeding them, they'll keep coming back. The best solution, the loving solution, is to not feed them in the first place. Sheesh, strays.
 
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