Maybe I missed the point of the article I read; however, it was voicing the complaints of the parents of children enrolled in Washington DC public schools. Apparently, those with the the complaints were questioning why President Obama's daughters get "healthy" food choices like vegetarian and vegan options while the public schools don't offer the same.
The answer seems self-evident. Sasha and Malia attend the PRIVATE school Sidwell Friends, which is Quaker owned. The school charges about $30,000 per student per term. In addition, they get educational dollars. It is very likely the school can afford to cater to the whims of the upper eschaleon of Washington DC.
I can understand that the parents of public school children may want those options as well, but if they don't like the "free" food provided by the school, they have the option of brown-bagging their kids with food they find acceptable. I suspect the objectors are parents of children receiving free or reduced lunches. While there's nothing wrong with families receiving that aid, it is an indicator of families are also receiving ADC and food stamps. Often times the eating habits of these children are poor, and they wouldn't necessarily eat healthier foods if offered. Fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive and if he children never learn to eat them at home, they aren't going to eat them at school.
I agree all children in public school should have the same food options as the children in any other public school. This doesn't mean however that public school children should have the same options as the children whose parents pay, above and beyond taxes, for them to attend private schools. This is part of the added expense of sending a child to private school.
I've seen first hand the amount of fruits and vegetables thrown out by the children and the school cooks because the children wouldn't eat them. Public schools will never provide more vegetarian-type options until it is shown that the children will eat them. The schools can't waste that money when they are legally obligated pay to the wages of the teachers, pay for their heathcare, and retirement.
This problem can't be fixed unless the entire public school system is re-worked. There's a thought!
1 comment:
Again, the sense of entitlement. If you want you kids to have better food, do send a bag lunch. The good food gets tossed and so the schools cave and offer pizza. I don't believe in bribing kids to eat, we are their teacher, not the peer. Growing up poor our meals were sometimes a mixture of new and leftovers; you couldn't " make a meal" off what you wanted. You didn't have to eat something if you hated it, but you didn't get to pig out on your favorite. I didn't eat meat, but I then had to do the meal with one portion of whatever else I wanted, I didn't get 2 slices of cheese to make up for the meat,. Complicated, to explain, but nobody went hungry and not one person got to be a hog on a single item.
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