MA Proposes Weighing, Measuring Students

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capoly

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Massachusetts Proposes Weighing, Measuring Students

The Patrick administration plan also includes height and weight measurements for all public school first-, fourth-, seventh-, and 10th-graders, to determine whether they are overweight. Results would be sent home to parents along with diet and exercise recommendations.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,477848,00.html


Wonder what the follow-up will be if child remains overweight. It's also puzzling how there's no money for basic school supplies yet money for a new program.
 
capoly said:
Massachusetts Proposes Weighing, Measuring Students

The Patrick administration plan also includes height and weight measurements for all public school first-, fourth-, seventh-, and 10th-graders, to determine whether they are overweight. Results would be sent home to parents along with diet and exercise recommendations.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,477848,00.html


Wonder what the follow-up will be if child remains overweight. It's also puzzling how there's no money for basic school supplies yet money for a new program.
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When I was in grade school this was automatic twice a year and it was put on our report cards and sent home. Very easy, no muss or fuss or extra money involved.The PE teacher would take time out one day to weigh and measure everyone and in earlier grades it was the school nurse. If they are touting that this should be a new program with funding, then that's ridiculous.
 
Deborah1012 said:
When I was in grade school this was automatic twice a year and it was put on our report cards and sent home. Very easy, no muss or fuss or extra money involved.The PE teacher would take time out one day to weigh and measure everyone and in earlier grades it was the school nurse. If they are touting that this should be a new program with funding, then that's ridiculous.
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You know, Deborah1012, this got me to thinking of my school days. Granted they were way in the past but we had not only physical exams done at school but dental work also! There was a complete dentist office in the elementary school I went to and the dentist came twice a week. But than I went to school at a time when children (if of the religion) were also dismissed early every Tuesday to attend catechism. And when the schools joined with the local bank so kids could bring in nickels and dimes on bankbook day.

Funny how all those things were happening yet no one made a fuss. What happened?
 
capoly said:
You know, Deborah1012, this got me to thinking of my school days. Granted they were way in the past but we had not only physical exams done at school but dental work also! There was a complete dentist office in the elementary school I went to and the dentist came twice a week. But than I went to school at a time when children (if of the religion) were also dismissed early every Tuesday to attend catechism. And when the schools joined with the local bank so kids could bring in nickels and dimes on bankbook day.

Funny how all those things were happening yet no one made a fuss. What happened?
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Same with me -- dental exams, weighing, measuring, physical exam, banking, and getting shots! And the cafeteria always served fish sticks on Friday.
 
STEADFAST said:
Same with me -- dental exams, weighing, measuring, physical exam, banking, and getting shots! And the cafeteria always served fish sticks on Friday.
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(my bold)

Yes...and no one thought a thing of it even though this (my time anyway) was at a time when no Catholic was yet to be elected President! So it wasn't a majority thing.
 
STEADFAST said:
Same with me -- dental exams, weighing, measuring, physical exam, banking, and getting shots! And the cafeteria always served fish sticks on Friday.
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Oh yes, shots too for me! No dental that I remember or banking though. And fish on Friday too!
 
I remember fluoride treatments and those vaccine sugar cubes (for polio, wasn't it?).

I don't know about the weighing and measuring though, at least in the case of 7th and 10th graders, I would say no. Only because I don't think it will make much difference, truly. At that age, it is easily seen if they are over (or under) weight and a better approach is to educate in general about foods and nutrition and provide exercise opportunities at school. But I am a cynical teacher of underachieving, at-risk kids whose hygiene, teeth and diets are terrible and their parents could well be (and some are) cooking meth in the trailer. Sending diet recommendations would be a waste of time and money. That being said, we do offer classes in healthy eating and so on. But I have students who would walk right out if I tried to weigh or measure them. It would never fly in my school.

Eve
 
I live in MA. All the students got their BMI tested. I got my kiddos in the mail and nearly
blew a gasket. ( my kids are normal weight and play sports etc.) I called the school because I really think they should be TEACHING and not doing my job for me. Unreal.
 
they already do this in my state.. my child recievecd a letter last year indicating her percent body fat was borderline according to the school guidelines.. Little opme has always been at close to the 90 or 95th percentile since birth despite a healthy diet. The school had a lunch plan last year where a single meal for the elementary students was over 900 calories.. most of the daily caloric intake for some of these children.
 
I remember being weighed and measured by the nurse. Why did they stop doing that?

Before schools start this new program, they need to get rid of the machines stuffed full of junk food and sugary pop. You can't dangle a donut in front of a kid's face every day, then tell him he's fat and needs to exercise.
 
opme said:
they already do this in my state.. my child recievecd a letter last year indicating her percent body fat was borderline according to the school guidelines.. Little opme has always been at close to the 90 or 95th percentile since birth despite a healthy diet. The school had a lunch plan last year where a single meal for the elementary students was over 900 calories.. most of the daily caloric intake for some of these children.
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See, that's just it and why I am against this - the food served at our school is horrible. Really. I bet the meals are 1000 calories. Their idea of vegetables is overcooked peas, corn or carrots, all of which contain little nutrition other than carbs. They often serve meat with tons of starchy gravy, and alongside it - a bun, potatoes, and fruit (canned, usually). Carbs, carbs, carbs and more carbs! We serve breakfast too and our secretary asked if I wanted an extra one they had today - I looked at it - it was a baking powder biscuit heaped with strawberry pie filling (like strawberry shortcake topping) and whipped cream with canned fruit cocktail on the side, and also milk and raisin bran cereal. One new kid didn't want the strawberry concoction but asked for some sugar for his cereal but we had to tell him we are not allowed to give them any salt or sugar. I laughed my head off - here we are serving them a huge dessert for breakfast and a kid can't skip the sugar-laden strawberry goo and white flour biscuit and get a little sugar for the healthiest part of what was offered him - the raisin bran? WTH!? Lots of my students do have these as their main meals, but for kids who actually have good parenting/nutrition going on, it is definitely paving the way for weight gain.

How can we serve this slop and then nail them for weight issues? Spending money on creating diet guidelines and mailing a bunch of things to parents is absurd if the food served in the schools is like that at my school. They should put that money into better food. Fresh vegetables. Real vegetables. My students are so unfamiliar with anything nutritious, they look at my home-prepared lunches and don't even know what I am eating. They have never had salmon, squash, or fresh spinach, etc. They "ewwww" everything I eat. They hate raw fresh vegetables, like broccoli.


Eve
 
STEADFAST said:
Same with me -- dental exams, weighing, measuring, physical exam, banking, and getting shots! And the cafeteria always served fish sticks on Friday.
Click to expand...


Same here (except the banking?). I remember in fifth grade my friend and I had a growth spurt and we were so embarrassed having our weight spoken out loud. We all stood in line in the nurses office. I remember the heat rising in my face when she said I weighed 95 lbs. Most of the girls were still in the seventies. I still think it's a good idea (as long as it's kept in confidence from other students).
 
eve said:
See, that's just it and why I am against this - the food served at our school is horrible. Really. I bet the meals are 1000 calories. Their idea of vegetables is overcooked peas, corn or carrots, all of which contain little nutrition other than carbs.
Eve
Click to expand...
Little opme once attended a daycare ( for a very short time after we discovered the following) that thought a pickle was a gren vegetable.. and that fluff and graham crackers was an acceptable snack for a toddler..needless to say I made up a story that my child had food allergies and provided all of our own food until we could get into another daycare

The elementary is better this year but still has too many non healthy options and some high caloric meals.. we are pretty careful about our diet and having a sibling that is a registered dietician makes it hard to ignore these things..
 
I think you guys have a good point about the school doing their part by providing healthy, nutritious lunches. Publicly weighing kids in jr. high / high school just feeds into body issues many of them are already going through then.
 
eve said:
See, that's just it and why I am against this - the food served at our school is horrible. Really. I bet the meals are 1000 calories. Their idea of vegetables is overcooked peas, corn or carrots, all of which contain little nutrition other than carbs. They often serve meat with tons of starchy gravy, and alongside it - a bun, potatoes, and fruit (canned, usually). Carbs, carbs, carbs and more carbs! We serve breakfast too and our secretary asked if I wanted an extra one they had today - I looked at it - it was a baking powder biscuit heaped with strawberry pie filling (like strawberry shortcake topping) and whipped cream with canned fruit cocktail on the side, and also milk and raisin bran cereal. One new kid didn't want the strawberry concoction but asked for some sugar for his cereal but we had to tell him we are not allowed to give them any salt or sugar. I laughed my head off - here we are serving them a huge dessert for breakfast and a kid can't skip the sugar-laden strawberry goo and white flour biscuit and get a little sugar for the healthiest part of what was offered him - the raisin bran? WTH!? Lots of my students do have these as their main meals, but for kids who actually have good parenting/nutrition going on, it is definitely paving the way for weight gain.

How can we serve this slop and then nail them for weight issues? Spending money on creating diet guidelines and mailing a bunch of things to parents is absurd if the food served in the schools is like that at my school. They should put that money into better food. Fresh vegetables. Real vegetables. My students are so unfamiliar with anything nutritious, they look at my home-prepared lunches and don't even know what I am eating. They have never had salmon, squash, or fresh spinach, etc. They "ewwww" everything I eat. They hate raw fresh vegetables, like broccoli.


Eve
Click to expand...

Doesn't sound like the meals served in school cafeterias have changed much over the years. I think we had more PE though. It was at least 3 times a week in elementary school, middle school and everyday in HS depending on the rotation.
 
My school is part of a "healthy school initiative" here in PA. Kids are weighed & measured each year and the info is sent home. This is generally done in English class because everyone has English, but not everyone has gym. If a child is absent, he/she is weighed and measured on another day.
As part of the initiative, the school cafeteria is also extremely careful about what they serve and portion control. All bread is wheat, etc....In addition, since we have such a high number of free/reduced lunch participants, we only have a 1 1/2 hour delay for snow/ice. Otherwise, too many kids would have only 1 meal per day--lunch. The 1 1/2 hour delay allows us to serve breakfast and lunch.
Having worked in five different districts (at multiple schools in the districts), I can say that this school has the least number of overweight students. I was surprised. I thought northern children would be more likely to be overweight than those in GA due to climate. (You know, more outdoor exercise in a warmer climate.)
 
Holy cow, I know a fat kid when I see one. I don't need to weigh and measure him to see that he's fat!!!
 
poco said:
Holy cow, I know a fat kid when I see one. I don't need to weigh and measure him to see that he's fat!!!
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Exactly! GMAB. A waste of time. The healthy initiative is in our district too and I can't believe how lopsided it is in its execution. they have taken pop out of the machines and replaced the pop with water and juice (also high in carbs and calories) but our school store is still full of junk. When I suggested nuts, yogurt, veggie packs, beef jerky and cheese sticks, I was told they are too expensive and that the kids wouldn't like them anyway. And we cannot give them any salt or sugar with their meals but when we show a movie we pop corn, give them chips and candy. I don't really have a problem with that but it seems goofy.

The biggest problem is a lack of exercise. We walked and biked everywhere. Kids today are appalled at the thought and their parents drive them everywhere! Once I let my son bike to the store by himself when he was about 12 and I had 3 phone calls from concerned neighbors about it, as if I had done something terrible. I just ignored it as I knew he was capable.

Eve
 
We can't tell the children NO if they ask for extras for their lunches.

They don't need extras of the lunches that are served.

My youngest child was "screened" by a dentist in third grade that told her she needed braces. They made it clear, sadly, she'd "failed" the dental exam. Duh, Captain Obvious, her teeth went every direction. She came home and cried all night. I told my principal and I think that "screening" was discontinued.

Honestly, we know they are fat, kids know they are fat. We can do all kinds of things in school, but if they go home to sit and play video games after those lunches, we can't fix that.

I lost several pounds myself when I stopped eating the school lunches. :)
 
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