Childhood Obesity Vent
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| Sat, 02-05-2005 - 2:46pm |
I haven't posted in a few months, so I hope you remember me ;) Our computer was down (finally got myself a brand new shiny one last week!) and well . . . . life is busy. Anyway, I hope to post more often again - I was just getting to know some of you when our computer went out. So . . . . . my topic of the day that I am enraged about.
I found out at a PTO meeting last week that the Texas Legislature is trying to pass a new law to go in to effect for the 2006-07 school year which states that teachers MUST include the childs WEIGHT and BMI on their report cards. I am so angry, I could lose my mind over it.
First of all - teachers are not health care professionals. Secondly - by listing a childs weight and BMI on a report card, we are helping childhood obesity how? And can I have that of the teachers while your at it? I was told that the snow-cone machine was no longer in use, because it "doesn't meet the state's nutritional guidelines" - a snowcone!?! And we serve WHAT in our school cafeteria?
Why don't you start some classes to help educate parents, re-vamp the school cafeteria so that kids CAN make better choices, because what they have to choose from can't be all that swell. Do you think that obesity is 100% controlled at home - or will the school take some of that responsibility for it? And in a society that already has enough body-image problems, how will this help.
Am I nuts for getting worked up about this? Has anyone else heard of this in their state? Looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say!

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I've suggested already rather than waste the time weighing and figuring bmi, take the same time and have the kids walk/run/jog the track. it costs nothing. there is enough time wasted in school for rediculous government requirements to begin with and weighing/bmi estimates are why we have doctors. the schools responsibility is to educate the children in healthy eating, and physical care, not measuring them individually. if they started putting my kids on a scale and telling me about my kids bmi, i would be over there RAISING h@!!. any responsible parent takes their children for annual checkups for such monitoring.
<<> *maybe* a few, but the humiliation to even one is not worth waking one up imo.
oh, is that so??? well, i am built exactly like my ancestors. my mom, all the way back to her great grandmother were all way over weight and im sure they had much more physical activity than myself.
no, its not across the board. its so easy to sit back and judge when one doesnt have a weight problem, or has conquered one. i am in the process of conquering mine, at the age of 47, and its an uphill battle. just because i am doing it, i dont expect everyone can and or should do as i do. i have my own physical/chemical make up and what works for me, wont always work for everyone else. healthy eating and physical activity contribute to good health, but genetics are a HUGE part of it.
Almost all kids who are bright, who have "healthy" opinions of themselves, and who can get an "A" with minimal effort in the early years reach a point, be it their first AP class or their first college class or graduate school, where their "smarts" aren't good enough. They will learn that they have to try their hardest and it will often not even be good enough.
Also, kids (especially the bright ones) know that they are "A" students even if you hide those grades from them. Besides, how *do* you hide their grades from tests? Don't they see them before you see them?
WRT to the quotes from the book:
"When kids are led to focus on how well they are performing at school, they tend to explain their performance not by how hard they tried but by how smart they are."
I don't think one can overgeneralize. I was bombarded with the importance of grades both from my parents as well as the teachers and the school. I always was proud of the fact that I worked hard for that grade and never thought it was something I was born with. I think how a kid reacts to grades (smarts vs. hard work) has to do with the feedback that the kid gets.
"This (the overemphasis of achievement) is clearly not a productive way for kids to look at things, regardless of whether they have been successful or unsuccessful." To me, it's best to know the importance of achievement *and* the process. Not one *or* the other.
I know you've suggested that already, and I've agreed with its benefits, but the fact of the matter is that many schools have cut PE classes. (Or are you literally suggesting a one time walk/run/jog around the track in place of the school taking a few minutes to take the weight and BMI of each child?)
Me: Do you believe that recording weight and BMI would not wake up ANY overweight child? You: *maybe* a few, but the humiliation to even one is not worth waking one up imo.
We'll have to agree to disagree on this one - I think if recording weight & BMI wakes someone up on their serious health issues its worth doing, even if it causes humiliation to a few
<<> *maybe* a few, but the humiliation to even one is not worth waking one up imo.
Does anyone actually believe that a pre-adolescent child isn't already painfully aware of their size? My 8 year old is aware of her size vis a vis her classmates and no number on a report card is going to serve as a wake up call--these kids are getting that wake up call on the playgrounds and school busses. And a bmi number in a vacuum really doesn't make much of an impression if it isn't coupled with an in-depth explanation of what the number means and where a child should generally fall.
I regularly consult with my ped regarding my daughter's weight. She is charted about every six months and trying to explain to her why she is weighed so often while also trying to keep her body image ok is a very hard line to walk. She has been tested twice for thyroid issues (that is a fun one to explain, yeah honey we are sucking out your blood because you are overweight). I guess I feel that I am doing everything I can and having my child weighed and "graded" on said weight by someone who may, or may not, be as careful as we are to walk the line is potentially harmful.
You aren't giving me much to disagree with.
Yes, I agree with your first paragraph. Absolutely. In fact, there is a study going on right now (I think U of Michigan?) that is finding that the number one population of students dropping out of or failing college in sophomore year are gifted students. Probably because they've finally reached the point where they can no longer coast. And they lack the resiliency that less gifted students have.
Second paragraph--umm, I am not hiding grades. I am de-emphasizing them.
In regards to the first quote, Kohn has several pages of documentation to lead to that sentence. He does not consider that as a personal opinion or simple observation.
The second quote, well, he's saying that emphasizing the achievement often taints the process.
In my brother's class, the valedictorian/salutatorian seat was a heated race.
Mondo
I know you probably don't mean to be particularly malicious but do you really think it is slacker-dude's fault that he got to the top without working for it? Does anyone ever think it isn't really a fair deal that he was never given the chance to learn to work hard?
Nah, most people just want to laugh at him as he flops around in failure after peaking in high school. After all, people born extra smart deserve to be punished.
It wasn't slacker-dude's brilliance at isse, he was royally ROYALLY arrogant.
Mondo
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