“Parents Don’t Know What’s Best For Their Children”– You Must Read This!
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I came across two articles this week that really scared me regarding the direction of the American education system.
First, let me tell you about the little girl in North Carolina whose lunch was taken away from her because it was “unhealthy” and was given cafeteria food instead. What was so unhealthy about her lunch? The preschooler’s mother packed her a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, apple juice, and potato chips. Her lunch was inspected at school and “didn’t meet USDA requirements.” The child was given a tray of cafeteria food and ate only three nuggets off the tray. Her perfectly-good lunch was sent home… with a bill for the cafeteria lunch.
What on earth??? What is wrong with a turkey sandwich, fruit, juice, and chips? I think it’s pretty scary when society gets to the point of examining our children’s lunches and deciding that parents aren’t capable of packing their children’s food. I think that the girl’s lunch was perfectly fine! It’s not like she had a coke and a twinkie for lunch! Wouldn’t her turkey sandwich have been a lot more nutritious than the three processed nuggets she ate?
According to the following article, the state is allowed to come in at any time and make sure that schools are in compliance with USDA guidelines, which includes something as minute as the contents of a preschooler’s lunchbox. If the teacher feels that the child’s lunch doesn’t meet guidelines, they are required to supplement it. In some states, children are not allowed to bring lunch from home at all.
Check out this article: http://myfox8.com/2012/02/15/usda-meal-was-not-replaced-mom-was-never-charged/
More info: http://myfox8.com/2012/02/14/nc-preschooler-fed-nuggets-because-packed-lunch-wasnt-healthy/
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If you haven’t read the news at all in the past decade, you might think this is just fine and dandy. For those of you that do read the news and keep up on current events, you likely know how unhealthy cafeteria food really is. Dateline investigated the quality of public school cafeterias and found many of them to have serious violations. They commonly serve hamburgers, pizza, and chicken wings and food is often not kept at a healthy temperature (this leads to bacteria growth and consequently food poisoning).
There have been efforts to clean up school cafeterias, but it’s still not that great. We let our daughter buy lunch every Friday when she went to public kindergarten, and what did she choose? Pizza, tater tots, chocolate milk, and jello. I was unhappy with her choices, and even more so that this is what was offered.I’m sure there where also fruits and veggies, but how many children choose these over tater tots and jello? Is this school lunch more nutritious than something I could pack at home? Not a chance.
Here’s an article discussing this issue:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6430258/ns/dateline_nbc/t/how-safe-school-cafeteria-food/#.Tz1UyYem92A
Also, 50% of elementary schools still have vending machines that offer unhealthy snacks. 3/4ths of American schools serve entrees that exceed recommended levels of fat. A la carte lines brim with unhealthy treats. And the problem is the parents? I think not.
Education Nation (Photo credit: Gates Foundation)
To understand how school and state officials come to believe that they know best and have the right to dictate every detail of a child’s life, check out the following article:
Debbie Squires, associate director of the Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association, explained to members of the House Education Committee why her association opposed allowing more cyber (or online) schools to operate in the state: “Educators go through education for a reason,” Squires said. “They are the people who know best about how to serve children. That’s not necessarily true of an individual resident. I’m not saying they don’t want the best for their children, but they may not know what actually is best from an education standpoint.”
When asked to clarify, she said “I said they may want what’s best for their child (but) they may not know.”
So… parents don’t know what is best for their children? Interesting. How did the human race survive for millenia if parents were so incapable of caring for their offspring? If cave parents didn’t know what was best for their children, they would have been eaten by predators. If our recent ancestors didn’t know what was best for their children, would they have survived the challenges of their time and grown to be successful, educated, and happy people (all without the government to spoon feed them a false sense of security)? No? If our ancestors had not been capable of rearing their young, you wouldn’t be here. Think about that.
What happened to this country? Wasn’t the United States founded on principles of freedom? Didn’t our ancestors leave Europe to escape the control their governments had on their lives? Didn’t our pioneer ancestors head west for freedom and unbounded opportunities? We’ve come a long way since then. Now, government intercedes into every aspect of our lives… right down to the contents of our children’s lunch sacks. Wake up, America, before the last of your liberties are gone. Our inalienable rights are being threatened. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, right? Your liberty is being taken away and you might not even know it.
When will it be time to say, “Enough is enough?”
Related articles
- ABC, NBC Skip Food Police Confiscating Preschooler’s Dangerous Potato Chips (newsbusters.org)
- State employee replaced preschoolers “unhealthy” lunch with chicken nuggets (winteryknight.wordpress.com)
- Preschooler Forced to Eat Chicken Nuggets After Bag Lunch Fails State Inspection (outsidethebeltway.com)
- School forces preschooler to order cafeteria lunch because mom’s isn’t healthy enough (hotair.com)
- North Carolina – Schools Hired a “Lunch Inspector” to Inspect Our Children’s Lunches in Public Schools? (bonjupatten.com)
- Preschooler’s Homemade Turkey Sandwich Replaced With Nuggets (huffingtonpost.com)
- Preschooler’s Homemade Lunch Replaced With Nuggets (seedtosalad.wordpress.com)
- Liberty Alert: Protecting Preschoolers By Feeding Chicken Nuggets? (claimingliberty.wordpress.com)
- Your Nanny State Intrusion of the Day! (thedaleygator.wordpress.com)
- School Lunch Uproar in North Carolina Preschool (eatdrinkbetter.com)
- Nanny state report: NC school officials confiscate preschooler’s homemade lunch – The Daily Caller (gds44.wordpress.com)
- Wake Up Amrica! (wdednh.wordpress.com)
- Lunch Bags Inspected for Nutrition (neatorama.com)
- The Food Police Order Parents to Pay for Replacement Lunches (trutherator.wordpress.com)
- Government agents now searching sack lunches at schools (aboundingwellness.wordpress.com)
Forbes 400 Billionaires Dish on How to Best Reform America’s Schools
Take the time to reconnect with the classics
Not only does America rank 31st out of 65 industrialized nations in math, but 1.2 million kids drop out of school annually as well. 6,000 kids drop out of school every single day. Another sad fact: More than half of 8th graders don’t read at grade level and will never catch up. That’s a pretty cloudy forecast. Something has to be done if America wants to remain a world leader and be competitive in the global marketplace, but what? Forbes interviewed billionaires on their Forbes 400 list and asked how they would reform America’s schools. Here are some highlights:
-Raise expectations and stop teaching to the lowest common denominator
-Take the Montessori approach, customizing a path for each child based on their interests rather than following the cookie cutter approach
-Focus on project-based learning, teaching kids how to find information, how to assess the quality of information, and how to creatively and effectively use information to accomplish a goal.
-Keep enthusiasm alive by pushing gifted kids to the extent of their abilities. If they’re consistently held back with the class, their enthusiasm for learning will wane.
-Parental involvement is key!
-Curriculum must inspire lifelong learning in students. Today’s system makes test results the goal, rather than lifelong learning.
-Underwrite prenatal care for poor women, which will reduce learning disabilities as well as the ultimate cost of education (interesting idea)
-Stop applying fads and politics to education and focus on what works (classical education)
-Outsource education to parents—HOMESCHOOL! (I can’t believe homeschooling is on this list.. how exciting!)
-Public schools need to be transformed into high-performing enterprises from the inefficient bureaucracies of today
-Create personalized learning experiences for each child and invest in research to determine which techniques are most effective for different kids
What do you think? Which of these recommendations do you think could best transform American education? Which would you apply to your homeschool?
Read it for yourself:
Forbes: The Best Ideas for Fixing K-12 Education: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/1010/opinions-human-ingenuity-conversation-fixing-education-forbes-staff.html
Short School Days+ Hands-On-Learning+ No Standardized Tests= World’s Best Education?
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What comes to mind when you think of Finland? For many people, not much. Finland is not a giant player in the world market and doesn’t have many news-worthy controversies to grace our television screens in the US. I’m Finnish (maiden name: Sarkkinen) and when I think of the land of my ancestors I think of peacefulness, social order, cold weather, close families, and blonde hair. I’ve noticed something interesting in the past month or so, though. Several large media organizations have mentioned how awesome the Finnish educational system is and how the failing American school system could learn a thing or two from our Finnish friends.
Finland’s schools consistently earn some of the top rankings in the world. In 2006, Finnish students topped world charts in science and reading. They came in second in math to South Korea. Their rankings were at the top of the list for many years before that, and remain at the top today. Finland transformed a poor educational system in the 1970s to one of the best in the world today. What’s most interesting (or concerning) about this? Their strategy is exactly the opposite of what we’re doing in the US.
Here are a few things you probably didn’t know about Finland: Out of 7,000 applications to primary school programs, only 10% of applicants are accepted. Since the 1980s, every Finnish teacher has been required to obtain a master’s degree before teaching. While teaching, Finnish teachers continue to take high-level professional development courses. Teaching is a highly prestigious and respected profession in Finland. The US could learn something from this! Finnish teachers are well-prepared for the classroom through many years of rigorous education and training and are paid very well too. The state pays for their education too! Did you know that a career in teaching beats out a career in medicine as the most competitive field in Finland?
The Finnish school system is dramatically different from the American version. According to the UK Guardian, Finnish children don’t start school until they’re 7-years-old and there’s no pressure on them to do anything academic-related before then. While American schools are cutting recess, Finnish school days are short and interspersed with active time running around outside and even sledding. Play and hands-on learning are an integral part to the learning process. Every child gets a free lunch and a free education through college. Class sizes are small and teachers keep the same group of students through elementary school. This is awesome, because it allows teachers to truly get to know student’s needs and get to know their families. Teachers work very closely with parents.
Another unique difference is that Finland abolished standardized testing in the 1980s. Can you imagine if American teachers could spend more time teaching useful information that they are passionate about rather than teaching for tests? The results could be amazing. Empowering great teachers leads to great results. Finland transformed from a highly centralized and failing system that put a lot of value on testing to a localized system in which highly trained teachers design their own challenging curriculum around national standards. Teachers are extensively prepared for this job and are well funded. Classes are small and well-equipped. Rather than sitting and listening to a teacher lecture for 50 minutes, students walk around, work in small groups, rotate through workshops, ask their teacher questions, and research. Independence and active learning are vital parts of this educational system and help students learn to learn productively, solve problems, and evaluate and improve their work. Teachers work hard to engage students in research and inquiry. Teachers also meet together weekly to develop challenging curriculum, create lesson plans, and put together great related learning materials.
Our American schools have a lot to learn from the Finns. First and foremost, teachers need a whole lot more respect. Have you ever hear the saying, “Those who can’t do, teach?” That mindset has simply got to go. We need to train our teachers better and to pay them more, so that high-achieving individuals are attracted to the field. In Florida, the starting salary for a new teacher is around $22,000. Not many college graduates are willing to work for that little money. I couldn’t pay for my children’s daycare on that salary, let alone pay for a house and food. Now, imagine if the starting salary were $60,000? Imagine if teaching were given more respect? Our schools would be transformed.
Next, we need less emphasis on testing. No Child Left Behind, although well meaning, has turned our schools into a nightmarish place where teachers must teach kids only what they need to know in order to pass state testing. There isn’t time to grow passionate learners or for teachers to design lessons about things they are truly passionate about. Many schools are cutting out recess and other free time to focus on testing. Rather than making sure no child gets left behind, this legislation has ensured that the entire country gets left behind.
This is the exact opposite of what Finland has done and may be a contributing factor to why America’s schools are doing so poorly. We need to change and we need to do it now.
In what ways do you think the American educational system needs to change to be more competitive?
Related Articles:
“Finland’s Schools Flourish in Freedom and Flexibility.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/05/finland-schools-curriculum-teaching
“Why Do Finland’s Schools Get the Best Results?” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8601207.stm
“West Virginia Learns Finland’s Most Honorable Profession: Teacher.” http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/29/education.wv.finland/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1
National Education Association: “What We Can Learn From Finland’s Successful School Reform.” http://www.nea.org/home/40991.htm
“How Finland Reached the Top of Educational Rankings.” http://neatoday.org/2010/10/07/how-finland-reached-the-top-of-the-educational-rankings/
Related articles
- Lessons from Finland (thewesternexperience.com)
- Extra lessons at Free Schools: Is cramming more teaching in a good idea? (mattpearson.org)
- US vs. Finland… Again (downes.ca)
- Why Are Finland’s Schools Successful? (smithsonianmag.com)
- How Finland became an educational leader (salon.com)
