Finally got irritated enough with my kid's school...
kkoltcz
Posts: 30
I've been having more and more issue with my kid's school this year then I have any other year when it comes to food. Some of it vegan based some of it just nutrition in general and I finally snapped and wrote a letter and sent it off to all of the officials, and principals.
In this instance it wasn't about them feeding my vegan son eggs and ham, refusing to give my vegan daughter water instead of milk when she forgot her lunch and couldn't get a hold of me, it was about all of the other stuff. I'm hoping they'll consider what I had to say and that I was clear about what I was saying but anyway here it is:
*************************************************************************************************
I appreciate you taking the time to read my email, I know the school year is winding down and a lot is going on. As a parent with two kids in your school district I wanted to voice some concern over something that I’ve seen over and over again throughout this school year.
As a parent I turn my kids over to you every weekday in hopes of providing them with a better future. I was not trained to teach, and I believe that teaching is better done in person (not an online school) so we found a school district we were comfortable with entrusting our kids to and bought a home here. For the most part we are very happy, we’ve been pleased with the teachers, the learning (what happened to spelling??) and our kids have been doing well. My concerns are not about the quality of education, but rather the inspiration our kids are being given to learn.
When did so much of the rewards become about food? I understand that companies are giving you free rewards to hand out to kids- but should you really be using them? My daughter has brought home “rewards” for Golden Coral, Arbey’s, Burger King, Incredible Pizza (btw who won’t even let you play games without buying the buffet-certificate or not)... etc. She comes home excited because she earned a Soda or snack cake, or other treat/candy and I’m personally bewildered and feel a bit undermined as a parent. I’m okay with and understand holiday parties and birthday treats being brought in- but why use food to reward educational milestones? Those companies giving out free reward certificates for educators to use are using your school as a source for advertising. You are teaching my kids where to go to eat, that food is a celebration tool and it’s not even good food that’s being pushed. You are being used. There is a health crisis going on right now- kids are heavier then ever and are experiencing life threatening weight based diseases earlier and earlier in life- should the schools be pushing bad eating habits. There is 0 nutritional value in that soda, there is no health benefit to fast food- it shouldn’t be an award.
Each time my daughter brings home a food certificate I have to apologize to her, and wipe away her tears because we will not be using it. Each time I hear about a food/drink based reward in school I cringe- Do I make her more socially unacceptable and standout providing more opportunity for her to be ridiculed by asking that her teachers treat her differently then the rest of the class , or ignore it and just allow it to happen- even though every bone in my body says it shouldn’t be happening in the first place. I’ve been ignoring it too long- I’m asking you as educators to think about it- is it really necessary? Is it really what you think is good for our kids or is it just the easy thing to do. If junk rewards are the only way we can inspire our kids to learn /do the right thing then there is something very wrong.
Forgive me for making my daughter the prime example but so far it’s where I’ve seen it most, but with talking to other parents I know her teacher is no different then any of the others and I in no way have issue with Ms. XXXXX. I’m not suggesting all food fun be taking out of school- I’m merely asking that it’s used for special occasions, not rewards for doing things they are there to do anyway. I understand that our personal eating habits are our own choice, not yours and therefor you don’t have to live with them, but I also understand I’m sending my kids to you for education- not food.
If you can spare 14 minutes http://www.upworthy.com/watch-the-video-that-coca-cola-and-mcdonalds-hope-you-never-see it’s an educational and quick watch- and important.
Thank you,
*********************************************************************************
Anyway, what do you think? I'm hoping I was clear without letting my irritation show.
In this instance it wasn't about them feeding my vegan son eggs and ham, refusing to give my vegan daughter water instead of milk when she forgot her lunch and couldn't get a hold of me, it was about all of the other stuff. I'm hoping they'll consider what I had to say and that I was clear about what I was saying but anyway here it is:
*************************************************************************************************
I appreciate you taking the time to read my email, I know the school year is winding down and a lot is going on. As a parent with two kids in your school district I wanted to voice some concern over something that I’ve seen over and over again throughout this school year.
As a parent I turn my kids over to you every weekday in hopes of providing them with a better future. I was not trained to teach, and I believe that teaching is better done in person (not an online school) so we found a school district we were comfortable with entrusting our kids to and bought a home here. For the most part we are very happy, we’ve been pleased with the teachers, the learning (what happened to spelling??) and our kids have been doing well. My concerns are not about the quality of education, but rather the inspiration our kids are being given to learn.
When did so much of the rewards become about food? I understand that companies are giving you free rewards to hand out to kids- but should you really be using them? My daughter has brought home “rewards” for Golden Coral, Arbey’s, Burger King, Incredible Pizza (btw who won’t even let you play games without buying the buffet-certificate or not)... etc. She comes home excited because she earned a Soda or snack cake, or other treat/candy and I’m personally bewildered and feel a bit undermined as a parent. I’m okay with and understand holiday parties and birthday treats being brought in- but why use food to reward educational milestones? Those companies giving out free reward certificates for educators to use are using your school as a source for advertising. You are teaching my kids where to go to eat, that food is a celebration tool and it’s not even good food that’s being pushed. You are being used. There is a health crisis going on right now- kids are heavier then ever and are experiencing life threatening weight based diseases earlier and earlier in life- should the schools be pushing bad eating habits. There is 0 nutritional value in that soda, there is no health benefit to fast food- it shouldn’t be an award.
Each time my daughter brings home a food certificate I have to apologize to her, and wipe away her tears because we will not be using it. Each time I hear about a food/drink based reward in school I cringe- Do I make her more socially unacceptable and standout providing more opportunity for her to be ridiculed by asking that her teachers treat her differently then the rest of the class , or ignore it and just allow it to happen- even though every bone in my body says it shouldn’t be happening in the first place. I’ve been ignoring it too long- I’m asking you as educators to think about it- is it really necessary? Is it really what you think is good for our kids or is it just the easy thing to do. If junk rewards are the only way we can inspire our kids to learn /do the right thing then there is something very wrong.
Forgive me for making my daughter the prime example but so far it’s where I’ve seen it most, but with talking to other parents I know her teacher is no different then any of the others and I in no way have issue with Ms. XXXXX. I’m not suggesting all food fun be taking out of school- I’m merely asking that it’s used for special occasions, not rewards for doing things they are there to do anyway. I understand that our personal eating habits are our own choice, not yours and therefor you don’t have to live with them, but I also understand I’m sending my kids to you for education- not food.
If you can spare 14 minutes http://www.upworthy.com/watch-the-video-that-coca-cola-and-mcdonalds-hope-you-never-see it’s an educational and quick watch- and important.
Thank you,
*********************************************************************************
Anyway, what do you think? I'm hoping I was clear without letting my irritation show.
0
Replies
-
I think it's an important issue. I work in a school and last year our classroom had candy and treats (along with pencils/toys/puzzles) that they could purchase with their positive points. This year we've switched to only doing experiential rewards (so far the most popular is strangely "have lunch with the teacher") and the kids still haven't gotten used to it. But since it's important that they learn to value doing things versus eating things/owning things (and also because it means no teachers have to spend money) I've been willing to deal with the "aww i don't want to cash in. you don't have anything good."
A big issue with awarding children for good behavior is that there is no government budget for it. Rewards come out of the teacher's pocket, unless some kind parent donates stuff. Even sensory items like gum and hard candy get bought by the teacher.
Not that you need to throw money at the problem, but if you would like this to change you could try getting some other concerned parents together and purchasing alternative rewards.
You could even "swap" with your daughter, offering her a trip to a park or museum for her certificates.0 -
I think that was very well written and I completely agree, does the school have a PTA you could talk to maybe that would bolster support0
-
I've actually gotten two great responses 1 from the superintendent and the other from my daughter's principal that they will be discussing it at their upcoming meeting. So I'm hopeful. I do understand about donations- I honestly would rather they throw the certificates from businesses away and ask that parents donate other things if they want to donate. How many packs of pencils can you get from the dollar store, or fun erasers for that pack of sprite you brought the kids. I also think they are giving away too many rewards period at this point- I didn't get a snack cake and sprite each week I completed my homework- and I did it any. And yes that is just one of the silly things they get that kind of reward for.
I have trouble getting involved with the PTA just because of the amount of activities my kids are in, and my husband's constant travel- I worry if I only show up to a meeting ever so often and start this kind of conversation I'll wear out my welcome fast. This area is not healthy friendly- and I've already had issues with friends not liking my eating habits and finding it offensive I can only imagine how strangers will react. ::sigh::0 -
I've actually gotten two great responses 1 from the superintendent and the other from my daughter's principal that they will be discussing it at their upcoming meeting. So I'm hopeful. I do understand about donations- I honestly would rather they throw the certificates from businesses away and ask that parents donate other things if they want to donate. How many packs of pencils can you get from the dollar store, or fun erasers for that pack of sprite you brought the kids. I also think they are giving away too many rewards period at this point- I didn't get a snack cake and sprite each week I completed my homework- and I did it any. And yes that is just one of the silly things they get that kind of reward for.
I have trouble getting involved with the PTA just because of the amount of activities my kids are in, and my husband's constant travel- I worry if I only show up to a meeting ever so often and start this kind of conversation I'll wear out my welcome fast. This area is not healthy friendly- and I've already had issues with friends not liking my eating habits and finding it offensive I can only imagine how strangers will react. ::sigh::
Any updates? We haven't had this issue in our school, besides birthday treats (which actually have to be semi-healthy, no cake or cookies etc), and then they did one contest for a food pantry food drive and the winning class got a pizza party (my daughter's class won but she doesn't like pizza so she brought her packed lunch anyways lol). I have had one issue with lunch time though-I pack every single one of my kid's lunches (mostly because it's cheaper) and since I'm not a fan of my kid's drinking a lot of milk I started the year off by them bringing in reusable water bottles for lunch time. My one daughter's teacher said that wasn't allowed :huh: So my daughter drank from the drinking fountain every day after she ate and still didn't drink the milk
This year if it's an issue than I'm going to make a fuss-I already bought each kid a set of reusable water bottles and they WILL use them at lunch time 
They'll contain either water, diluted apple juice or chocolate almond milk (which my kids love!). Cheaper and healthier than the crappy cartons of stale tasting milk they sell. 0
