Principal Misses Principle

A principal in Chicago has banned home lunches (home) because she wants to encourage healthy eating.  There is a better way to motivate kids and teach them long term healthy habits and you would think an educator would know how to do it.  Here is what I would do.

They now have a situation that lends itself to science, government, math and social science at a minimum.  They have a natural leader at that school, Fernando.  Get him to form a committee with his fellow students.  Obviously, with guidance from adults, they need to come up with recommendations on acceptable foods that can be brought from home.  Their first task will be a governmental one - get a task force.  It is not enough to protest;  if you complain that you don't like something, then you need to come up with an answer that works.

The next task is to learn some science and nutrition.  The students will have to come up with a list of what is acceptable.  They will have to justify why they think a food or drink is healthy.  They will solicit foods from their fellow students and then will decide if those foods are healthy and nutritious.

They will have to have an ongoing committee.  Because every year some student will come up with something new.  The students will have to continually research these new foods and then justify to adults  that their decision is a correct one.  If the adult on the committee disagrees then they bring it to a judge.   But that adult should make the decision based on the facts, not her/his own biases.  There should be  an appeals court outside of the school if someone on the committee is not happy with the judge's decision.  The appeals courts is THE final decision. The students will have to police themselves.    And then they can't complain.  And if the principal wanted to go one step further - she could have a science fair based on the science of nutrition.

This could also work in your school.  If you get kids involved in the decision-making it is more effective on many different levels.  They learn, obviously, but it tends to stay with them longer.  Because if you understand the why you are more likely to do something.  And children, like adults, prefer to do something because they decide, not because they are told to do something.


Finally, everyone loves rewards and parties.  So every once in awhile, for no reason at all, or just because, or to say what a great group of kids I got to work with, if I were the principal, I would declare that a particular day would be "Free Food Day" with no restrictions!

We can't always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future. - FDR