Monday, July 14, 2008

Food glorious food

Although with celebrity attention ala Jamie Oliver, food in school remains an issue. Students frequently enter classes, lollypop in mouth, sweets in bag, juiced to the limits on sugar. This impairs their ability to concentrate and inevitably ends with head on desk in a sugar low ten minutes later. Combine this with 'energy' or carbonated drinks and students are left unable to learn anything.

This unfortunately is not where it stops. Students then resent them being confiscated and the materials are returned more than likely at the end of class and the cycle begins in the next period with the next teacher.

The methods of combatting this are arriving with parents able (in some schools) to prepay lunches at the school canteen and restrict money available to students for sweets. Other schools are banning sugary foodstuffs from canteens altogether. Health classes are informing students of the impact of high sugar foods. Sadly though, the majority of sugar abuse is in the low ability students, students that are already behind and aren't paying attention anyway. These students have not eaten breakfast, nor have sat at a table with their parents for a meal in a while.

Healthy food, healthy brain, healthy learning.. easy!

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