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Don't know if any of you have been keeping up with what our wonderful General Assembly has been up to, but they're at it again.
The latest is the bill that passed the state senate this week, which would require Georgia schools to measure students' BMI and create a tracking data base of unhealthy schools. Don't get me wrong - childhood obesity is a huge problem, but how much more are these bozos going to put on the schools?
Honestly, I think this is just a further attempt by the Georgia General Assembly to weaken public schools in Georgia in an effort to get vouchers passed.
I am an eighth grade social studies teacher. I have kids coming to me each year that do not know that Georgia is a state not a country - nor what the difference is between a state and a country. I had a student try to argue with me just yesterday that Alaska was a country not a state. I have students on my team this year who read on a first grade level and cannot add and subtract positive numbers. There is no way they will ever graduate high school with the new graduation requirements (another post all on its own), and now the General Assembly wants to put another parental responsibility on the schools? It is insane. Schools are already held accountable for student attendance (one measure of AYP), even though we cannot get out and make parents get their kids to school, now they want us to be the fat police.
I have problems with this legislation on so many levels, that I don't even know where to begin. First there is the economics involved. Everyone knows that obesity is a much larger problem with those who are low-income. Some may say it is lack of education or laziness on the parent's part, but this isn't completely true - it's economics. Go to the grocery store and price healthy foods compared to pre-packaged crap. For people with limited resources the high-sugar, high-fat processed foods are often their only alternative. For people who have to stretch the dollar, it is far cheaper to buy items with long shelf lives than to buy fresh whole foods that have to be re-stocked weekly.
Secondly, there is the issue of children's self-esteem. Kids are mean enough to each other without the schools contributing by making the kids weigh at school. God, I can't imagine how awful this law would be for some of the 6th grade female students who are in the midst of puberty and going through that awkward chubby spell many early teens and tweens go through. It's a fact that the female body fattens up right before puberty - every female goes through it, and for the vast majority, the body thins back out once the hormones regulate. My own bean-pole daughter went through a spell where she had a tummy right before she started her period. She was so self-conscious during that time. I cannot imagine if she had to weigh at school during that year what it would have done to her.
Then there is the issue of eating disorders in teens. I had a male student hospitalized this year for anorexia. This child had been a chubby kid who was made fun of by other students. He quit eating and dropped unconscious suddenly one day back before Christmas. He had to spend two months in a residential facility for eating disorders. God - what would this bill do to him? Thing is he is not alone. Kids have enough stress on them from the media without the government adding to it.
Finally, there is the issue of separating parental resposibility and school responsibility. The schools cannot and should not take over parenting kids. Sure schools should offer healthy lunches and PE and recess, but the kids only eat one meal at school. HOME is where eating habits are developed. Home is where kids learn to either be active or sit on their butts watching TV and playing video games. Children should be weighed and measured by their doctors - not their teachers. Yes, many kids never go to the doctor. THAT'S WHY WE NEED UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE!!!! That's what the government should be pushing for. Yet, they cut Peachcare and then expect the schools to make up for it. It is insane.
Most people in Georgia pay no attention to what our General Assembly is doing. Please spread the word in your community about this legislation. Write and call your local representatives and help defeat this bill.
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