I Am Ticked Off! Re: School Incident

[DawnCt1]

There is more to the story, but as it wasn't really an intregal part of the story, I shortened it.

My son is 11. A

I was envisioning a child of 5 or 6 and based my comments on that. Eleven year olds can manage quite well without a snack. He is old enough to explain to his teacher why he was late and deal with the consequences on his own.

 

[PeterPansMum]

DD Is 10 (in 5th grade) and has snack every day.. If she takes the bus she has breakfast at 7:30 and lunch at 1:30, coming home at 3:40. Her teacher has built in a snack/working time every day. They eat while they work and she does get HUNGRY when I forget to pack a snack. I think I'd let it go, with the discussion that- It's okay to help people, sometimes grownups make mistakes.. Not worth TRYING to discuss it with the teacher (that would probably just make you madder.. )

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I have to tell you, no offense to the OP but I really have to agree. It seems like kids just eat an eat anymore.

After and "emergency call" for snacks last week I just dropped off 3 jugs of Apple Juice and some crackers at my sons Preschool this morning. The teacher thanked me and was making a complaint that "nobody ever leaves anything..."

I guess it isn't a huge deal but really, the kids are there from 8:30 to 10:45am. I really don't understand all that much why the HAVE to have a snack. I mean, my kid goes from breakfast to lunch on the weekends without collapsing from hunger over lack of a snack.

The newest thing at the High School and Junior High is the Sports games. The Moms all have to take turns bringing half-time snacks now. Whatever, but most of those games last an hour to 90 minutes - tops. Seems like a normal 14 year old should be able to make it through without eating.

 

[Camicar]

Once my dd got out of kindergarten, there were no more snacks, period.

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

I'm just suprised he gets a snack at all.

DS6 in 1st grade doesn't get snack time. That stopped in Kindergarten.

 

[FayeW]

I've had my coffee, and my breakfast, and have gotten over my snit.

I was really annoyed because I jumped to the conclusion that he didn't have a snack because he was being punished for being late, although I see now that it may have been as others have suggested: he didn't get a snack because he missed snack time.

I was quick to jump to this conclusion because I was already irritated by this teacher's "drink OR food" policy. It made me think that perhaps she uses snack time as a way of exerting control over the kids, and I was reacting to that. Clearly, he didn't starve to death, but I didn't like the idea of witholding food as a punishment, particularily when he was doing a good deed.

Kids have always had a snack at recess. The younger kids get two, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In the higher grades they only get the morning recess to have a snack. They used to just grab their snack and eat while they were outside playing. Now they give them 5 mins after recess for a couple of reasons: 1) they need to get outside in the fresh air and get their bodies moving. 2) they left a lot of trash outside.

School starts at 8:00, and they don't eat lunch until 11:40. Most of them eat breakfast at 7:00 or earlier, so they are hungry when recess rolls around.

 

[talulabelle]

I would get the other side of the story before you get upset. Kids have a tendency to tell things in a way that makes them look better vs what really happened.

yeah , thats what I'm thinking too. Perhaps the part about, "and then after I helped the child, I headed back to class but stopped to play on the swings a few minutes and climb a tree and chat with a friend, and then I went back to class, but if I hadn't have helped the kid, I would have been on time" got left out of the story.

 

[nuke]

There are no snacks at our school at all. Even K students can survive from 8:30 to 11:00 am and 11:30 to 2:45pm without a snack.

 

[FayeW]

There are no snacks at our school at all. Even K students can survive from 8:30 to 11:00 am and 11:30 to 2:45pm without a snack.

So you are telling me that your children do not take a cookie or piece of fruit to eat at recess?

 

[believe]

DDs 10 and 7 are only allowed to take a water bottle to school, no snacks. Their lunch times are 11:50 and 11:55. No snacks at any grade and water bottles aren't allowed till second grade.

I know in 6th grade you don't get recess. I don't know of any schools that give recess at that grade around our area.

 

[jrmasm]

I have to tell you, no offense to the OP but I really have to agree. It seems like kids just eat an eat anymore.

After and "emergency call" for snacks last week I just dropped off 3 jugs of Apple Juice and some crackers at my sons Preschool this morning. The teacher thanked me and was making a complaint that "nobody ever leaves anything..."

I guess it isn't a huge deal but really, the kids are there from 8:30 to 10:45am. I really don't understand all that much why the HAVE to have a snack. I mean, my kid goes from breakfast to lunch on the weekends without collapsing from hunger over lack of a snack.

The newest thing at the High School and Junior High is the Sports games. The Moms all have to take turns bringing half-time snacks now. Whatever, but most of those games last an hour to 90 minutes - tops. Seems like a normal 14 year old should be able to make it through without eating.

Hmmm, I'm pretty sure that when it came my turn to bring fruit rollups and juice boxes to the H.S. team, they'd be going without. That has got to be the dumbest thing I've heard this week.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

well, I would be upset that taking away food was punishment...whether or not she didn't have a handle of what actually happened doesn't bother me as much...but no snack? that'd be a problem for me.

I agree. Give my kid time off recess or extra work but taking away his food would make me very angry.

 

[jrmasm]

So you are telling me that your children do not take a cookie or piece of fruit to eat at recess?

You didn't ask me but DD now in 7th grade has never brought a snack to school. She eats breakfast and then lunch. That's it.

 

[mjkacmom]

So you are telling me that your children do not take a cookie or piece of fruit to eat at recess?

What recess? Do kids actually get recess? Here, school starts at 8:30, they have lunch from 11:30 - 12:30 (20 minutes eating time), and school is out at 3:15. And no snacks after kindy.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I would let the one incident slide.

I do however have a huge problem with this teachers snack/drink policy...

IMHO a teacher has NO right to determine what I send with my chiild for a snack time. If there is a snack-time, then fine, let the kids have a snack. That is an issue of scheduling. If a snack is scheduled, then NOBODY has a right to dictate what another person shoud eat or drink.

You really need to read up on school policy... Some school's do have ridiculous school-wide policies regarding things like "no candy" etc... And, that would be a different issue.

Also, I wonder if this teacher considers water bottles as a drink, the same as juice boxes. I would have a huge problem with the children being given a snack to eat.. which would often be things like salty chips, or dry crumbly cookies, without a drink available to wash it down!!!

I do think that this snack/drink issue is one worth a battle. I would be asking for clarification... in writing, CC to the Principal. (since otherwise, this teacher does not seem willing to respond to parent's concerns...) And, if water is not allowed while the kids are being allowed/encouraged to eat, I would fight it...

This teacher sounds like a real you-know-what...

 

[janets]

Our school still has snacks built in up to 5th grade (after which they are in middle school). Kids have an early lunch and the snack is built into the afternoon.

The issue I have is that this year his teacher (whom I know personally and really like) decided (apparently along with the other 4th grade teachers) what snacks are appropriate for their classes. This is completely different from the school's policy on unacceptable snacks (mostly those of the candy variety). She will not allow 100 calorie packs, chips, etc. She even wanted to prohibit goldfish until the other teachers said it was okay.

I do hear that if a child brings what she considers a "prohibited snack" she will not deny them the right to eat it but she won't be happy. Frankly, I think a 100 calorie pack is much easier to eat than giving him a juicy, drippy fruit that leaves his hands and desk sticky. But I don't have that choice. So he gets pretzels or goldfish most days. And yes, I want him to have a snall snack to keep him focused on his work instead of his belly.

Not being in the OP's place, it's hard to know if her son was truly denied or he just got back too late for the snack period and the teacher wanted everyone to move on. But it's a good chance to show him that everyone makes mistakes and that rules are rules but to praise him for helping a younger child.

 

[FayeW]

I would let the one incident slide.

I do however have a huge problem with this teachers snack/drink policy...

IMHO a teacher has NO right to determine what I send with my chiild for a snack time. If there is a snack-time, then fine, let the kids have a snack. That is an issue of scheduling. If a snack is scheduled, then NOBODY has a right to dictate what another person shoud eat or drink.

You really need to read up on school policy... Some school's do have ridiculous school-wide policies regarding things like "no candy" etc... And, that would be a different issue.

Also, I wonder if this teacher considers water bottles as a drink, the same as juice boxes. I would have a huge problem with the children being given a snack to eat.. which would often be things like salty chips, or dry crumbly cookies, without a drink available to wash it down!!!

I do think that this snack/drink issue is one worth a battle. I would be asking for clarification... in writing, CC to the Principal. (since otherwise, this teacher does not seem willing to respond to parent's concerns...) And, if water is not allowed while the kids are being allowed/encouraged to eat, I would fight it...

This teacher sounds like a real you-know-what...

I have already had conversations with the vice principal about the school snack policy and apparently there isn't one. Each teacher does what ever they want. I haven't spoken to her this year because I asked my son if, when he chose his snack instead of his drink, he was allowed to get up and get a drink from the fountain (each class has a sink with a fountain attached) and he said that he was, so, I let it go. He wasn't going to "suffer from thirst" as Springs1 so eloquently puts it.

My conversations previously revolved around a particular teacher that my daughter had in grade 4. She decided that children couldn't have anything for recess that they had to eat with a spoon. So, no yogurt cups, fruit cups, or pudding cups, etc. When you add that to all the peanut allergies, it was sometimes a little tricky. Most of the time it wasn't an issue but it really infuriated me to have a teacher decide what my child could or could not eat. My daughter has ADHD and at the time was taking ritalin. It really effected her appetite so I took the stance that since she ate next to nothing at lunch time because she had no appetite, by golly if I put something in her lunchbox that she WOULD eat, then NOBODY was going to tell her she couldn't have it.

 

[littleteapot]

You didn't ask me but DD now in 7th grade has never brought a snack to school. She eats breakfast and then lunch. That's it.

I suppose every child is different. I have boy/girl twins and my son could not easily go 3 hours without a snack during the day. He is off the charts for height and at the 98% percentile for weight, the boy needs to eat. His twin sister would have no problem going longer.

I do try to give my kids some protein (cheese, peanut butter) at snack time and that helps them go a bit longer. My pediatrician does not recommend fruit juices, with the exception of POM. My kids drink water.

 

[talulabelle]

I have to tell you, no offense to the OP but I really have to agree. It seems like kids just eat an eat anymore.

After and "emergency call" for snacks last week I just dropped off 3 jugs of Apple Juice and some crackers at my sons Preschool this morning. The teacher thanked me and was making a complaint that "nobody ever leaves anything..."

I guess it isn't a huge deal but really, the kids are there from 8:30 to 10:45am. I really don't understand all that much why the HAVE to have a snack. I mean, my kid goes from breakfast to lunch on the weekends without collapsing from hunger over lack of a snack.

The newest thing at the High School and Junior High is the Sports games. The Moms all have to take turns bringing half-time snacks now. Whatever, but most of those games last an hour to 90 minutes - tops. Seems like a normal 14 year old should be able to make it through without eating.

We do this, but it is grapes or orange slices . It keeps their blood sugar up so they don't tire the second half. Pro sports teams do it. I don't know how much it helps the high schoolers (whom I'm sure could continue playing without it) but I think it makes them feel like the big guys who are pros, and makes them feel like their parents a behind them and supporting them, and it make the parents feel involved, so I just don't see what's wrong with it.

 

[imadisneyholic]

I can remember having a snack time from K-9th when I lived in Tennessee. Then I moved to Georgia and finished school here with no actual snack time. We did have plenty of time between classes though to eat a snack if it was needed.

What I find interesting is how long students spend in school these days. My school days ran from 7:45am to 4pm. Seems like most these days start later and end earlier.