View Full Version : Government takes a little girl's lunch
How do you like this one as a sign of the times, and yet another example of aggressive government expansion into private life?
A 4-year-old girl goes to school with her lunch (a turkey sandwich, a banana, chips, and apple juice). A state worker inspects the lunch, takes it because it doesn't meet "USDA guidelines", and forces her to eat one of the school lunches. They then bill the parents for the lunch.
http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/homemade-lunch-replaced-with-cafeteria-nuggets.html
Home-schooling is looking better and better.
Cesiumsponge
02-14-12, 21:57
[sasrcasm]What's the problem? We're being told transfats, sugars, and salts are bad for us. We're fighting a War on Obesity. We're regulating them at the city and state levels. We changed the Food Pyramid back into a Food Plate. It's hard for government to regulate what adults eat. It's more efficient to implement regulation on children and create lifelong compliance![/scarcasm]
Please ignore the fact that the USDA just gave away $50,000 under the Value-Added Producer Grant Program to a salty, fatty, deep-fried potato chip company to subsidize their product: http://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2012/02/29564/north-fork-potato-chips-awarded-50000-marketing-grant/
Belmont31R
02-14-12, 22:09
Schools and government's have been trying and succeeding in having a large parental role in our kids lives. That makes it easier for them to seperate family values out of kids at an early age. Parents are no longer fit to decide what their kids eat...the 'state' has to do it. School is no longer going to be about teaching English, math, science, history, ect...they are teaching morals, values, politics, ect, and separating your own values out of your kids while replacing them with theirs.
Another War on ______ with a loss of liberty, rights, and individualism. Next step will be mass banning of lunches from home and the government will decide what your kid eats everyday.
Cesiumsponge
02-14-12, 22:39
Well to be fair, they were practicing earlier last year with cameras in Texas to document how many calories children took in. The next logical step was to jump in when sack lunches became too unhealthy
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/11/texas-calorie-camera_n_860771.html
DeltaSierra
02-14-12, 22:52
Things like this make me glad I didn't have to suffer through 12 years of State subsidized education.....
The_War_Wagon
02-14-12, 23:39
Things like this make me glad I didn't have to suffer through 12 years of State subsidized education...
As a 9th generation Tarheel, I NEVER suffered through anything like THIS, graduating from hi skrool in 1985.
I'll bet REAL money, that this was thought up by some sort of nanny state carpetbagger from New Yawk, New Joisey, or some other socialist paradise, that began to invade NC (again! :mad: ) beginning in the late '80's. We NEVER had 'TSA lunch inspectors' when I was a kid. :mad::mad::mad:
ForTehNguyen
02-15-12, 08:31
this is why the federal govt shouldnt be involved in education. Camels nose under the tent and they try to combine jurisdiction with non education related agencies like the USDA to grab even more power.
NoveskeFan
02-15-12, 08:45
What are the USDA guidelines for a healthy school lunch? How does "a turkey sandwich, a banana, chips, and apple juice" not fit into a good lunch? The parents should send the bill to the state, along with a lawsuit. This country is getting ridiculous.
montanadave
02-15-12, 09:08
While there is no doubt this incident serves as a clear example of some bureaucrat putting their nose where it doesn't belong (in this case, the kid's sack lunch), let's not lose sight of another aspect of this story.
School officials took the kid's sack lunch and made her eat the cafeteria meal which was ... chicken nuggets? Fried chicken nuggets are better for the child than a ham and cheese sandwich?
Recall the actions of Congress late last year, when attempts by the USDA to create menus placing greater emphasis on fresh vegetables and fruits were torpedoed. Those efforts were defeated by members of Congress busily stuffing their pockets with money from the frozen food and ag industry lobbyists, thus insuring that pizza continues to be counted as a vegetable (and it's not the toppings, it's the tomato sauce chock full of sugar and salt) and french fries and chicken nuggets stay front and center.
Members of Congress demagogued the efforts of the USDA by characterizing the menu revisions as "the government telling your kids what they should eat," when, in reality, it was Congress caving to lobbyists insuring that kids are going to continue to be fed what the frozen food manufacturers want to sell the school lunch programs.
I don't like some school "lunch cop" snatching a kid's sack lunch any more than the next guy. I also don't like members of Congress making decisions about what kids are served in their school lunches based on how much money they're getting from ConAgra, Schwann Foods, and Coca-Cola rather than the recommendations of nutritionists, dieticians, and pediatricians.
Follow the money. It was true back then and it's still true today.
It's only the beginning.:(
Cesiumsponge
02-15-12, 09:25
Chicken nuggets....its people!
The mother lives here in Fayetteville. I was reading this article this morning and had to read it twice to believe it. Stuff like this is why I send my kids to a private Christian School! Our school system here in Cumberland and the surrouonding counties is horrible! This goes on all over the country though.
:nono:School never was about education. We imported the modern ideas about schooling from Prussia in the mid-1800s. The goal then ( and now) was conditioning the littlest subjects to be docile servants of the state and employers. An intact, involved family with it's own value system constitutes a problem for them.
There are exceptions as demonstrated by results but in the main that's true.
It appears that my young grandson will be home schooled, rather than be a sacrificial offering.
The mother lives here in Fayetteville. I was reading this article this morning and had to read it twice to believe it. Stuff like this is why I send my kids to a private Christian School! Our school system here in Cumberland and the surrouonding counties is horrible! This goes on all over the country though.
We do the same. It's a sacrifice financially but well worth it, to escape the demagoguery and sheer brainwashing that are being substituted for real education in the government-run schools.
It appears that my young grandson will be home schooled, rather than be a sacrificial offering.
Yep it's good for parents to think this through. There are definitely still some good public school systems around, where they still have some teachers with integrity who have not yet been squeezed out.
But if you have the more typical public school system in your area as we do, then Christian school, Christian school by correspondence (some of these courses are now pretty good), or home school, are much better options. You simply can't expose a young kid to constant brainwashing, 7 or 8 hours a day at school, 5 days a week, 9 months a year, and expect that they won't be affected by it.
I could maybe see if it was cake and cookies, but a friggin turkey and cheese sandwich...and a banana? To be replaced with processed chicken remnants??
More ammunition for homeschooling.
More ammunition for homeschooling.
Been a while since I wrote any local congressmen, so this will be my ammunition to do so. Just want to help make sure they know we are paying attention and that it's totally unacceptable.
By the way, where is the ACLU? Oh right, Obama...
I suggest reading this article 19 Crazy Things That School Children Are Being Arrested for in America (http://lewrockwell.com/rep3/crazy-things-school-children-arrested-for.html).
I 'public school' one of my sons at home...
Georgia Cyber Academy (http://www.k12.com/gca)
Cyber schooling can be demanding academically, depends on how the kid test out... Score high on the entrance tests, and look out, cause they're going to push the kid to excel.
Overall my wife and I are VERY impressed with how the Georgia Cyber Academy is run... dedicated professionals and high quality curricula.
When I'm home I like to listen in on the lectures to see what they are like, and I was presently surprised at the content.
I 'public school' one of my sons at home...
Georgia Cyber Academy (http://www.k12.com/gca)
Cyber schooling can be demanding academically, depends on how the kid test out... Score high on the entrance tests, and look out, cause they're going to push the kid to excel.
Overall my wife and I are VERY impressed with how the Georgia Cyber Academy is run... dedicated professionals and high quality curricula.
When I'm home I like to listen in on the lectures to see what they are like, and I was presently surprised at the content.
My son is in a similar school here in Utah (same curriculum it seems run by k12.com). His is the online branch of a public school district that runs normal schools in their county and the K12 based school state wide. There are a few of the districts here in Utah that run K12 online schools (and as public schools they are totally free of cost to the family -- for better or worse).
I spend a lot of time every day with him on it (and we are perpetually behind but we catch up eventually :p ). The wife does some of the math and I do the rest (as I work from home).
Really good curriculum. Their history is top notch. My son is in third grade and half way through this year we are up to the age of exploration -- now just finishing up learning about Maya, Aztecs, and Incas. In first grade they started with hunter-gatherer types and the birth of civilization and went up through Egypt/Mesopotamia up to around the start of the Romans, including chapters on ancient India and China. Second grade carried on from there up through the middle ages including medieval Japan and China, and third grade started with the Renaissance and has been going on from there. None of which I had learned by 3rd grade and I was at a very progressive and advanced elementary school in Arizona through 4th grade (when we moved to Mass, they used the same Reading curriculum and I was like almost a year ahead of their advanced students in the same curriculum)
Science is also pretty good. They revisit topics each year and get into more detail. Yesterday we had a lesson on atoms and that they are composed of protons and electrons and sometimes neutrons. Not deep into the details in 3rd grade but giving an understanding of elements vs compounds, etc.
I would recommend looking into K12 based solutions if you are thinking about "home schooling". The good part is that if it is part of a public school sponsored online school in your area, the kid counts as a public school student so you don't raise the "crazy right wing Christian whacko home-school" flag to overbearing govt officials.
if you are in Utah check out -- http://www.ourwash.org/online/curriculum.htm
For the rest of you -- http://www.k12.com/schools-programs/online-public-schools
--
LowSpeed_HighDrag
02-15-12, 13:42
I went to a private christian high school, and my wife went to private school from k-12. I cant imagine sending my child to a public school these days. No matter the cost of the private school, its worth it to be able to choose how you want your child raised and educated.
K12 is something to stay away from for homeschooling ! IMHO and many others :)
Not that it's bad as much as lack of freedom
Set vacations checking in
It's just gov school at home and having to check in and be watched !
I don't want to homeschool my kid and have to use a set system their is no choice !
That's why it's free :)
Again better than regular pub school but I would really look into the restrictions and things
My wife is the homeschool guru but if/when people get into it K12 is not the best choice for freedom
Math as a good example being able to use dif systems that might work better for your kid etc...
So again not that it's so bad just restrictive on choice and having to check in and curriculum etc...
This is just another example of the tyranny under which we live. Soft as it may be, it is still a tyranny.
That little girl needs more vegetables in her diet... like pizza...
Thank you Congress.
K12 is something to stay away from for homeschooling ! IMHO and many others :)
Not that it's bad as much as lack of freedom
Set vacations checking in
It has NEVER interfered with any of our trips. Twice we have basically started in October since we were in Japan in September. That was no problem.
"Check-in" is by email or once a month by phone.
There is no lack of freedom. (A lot of that has to do with which public system is running it of course as K12 does not set those policies. We are still finishing one 2nd grade class -- should be done today -- though on everything else we are in the middle of 3rd grade. We got behind when I broke my ankle in Nov 2010 and did not catch up the "Language Arts" class. That was no problem)
Btw, LOTS of private pay schools also use the K12.com curriculum.
It's just gov school at home and having to check in and be watched !
I don't want to homeschool my kid and have to use a set system their is no choice !
That's why it's free :)
I think you need to familiarize yourself with it. At least in our school district, there is no "gov school at home". The regular gov schools don't use this curriculum, no gov person has ever set foot in our home, and the "check-in" is a 5 minute phone call approx once a month, and periodic 3 line "we're ok" emails, which I cannot remember sending since last Fall.
Again better than regular pub school but I would really look into the restrictions and things
My wife is the homeschool guru but if/when people get into it K12 is not the best choice for freedom
Math as a good example being able to use dif systems that might work better for your kid etc...
So again not that it's so bad just restrictive on choice and having to check in and curriculum etc...
There is no lack of freedom. AT least in our district, you can augment any curriculum you want and I believe you can do your own things if you want for subjects you want to do differently. For example, if you want to do a different math program, either totally or to augment the given program, run with it! My sister was in a different school district on the K12 program and they basically did what they wanted and her "teacher" was OK with that.
In Utah, all school children, home schooled, online schooled, or brick and mortar public school, have to take certain standardized tests, so you have to do that aspect anyway.
Again, I would actually familiarize yourself with it first. And realize that some districts who use it may act Nazi-like, and others not, so experiences with it in one area do not translate to any other areas (good, like ours, or bad). K12 provides the curriculum and the materials. They don't set the policies. Your local district who runs the program does that. K12 company has nothing to do with that.
And like I mentioned, it is only FREE if your public school districts are sponsoring it. You can buy K12 curriculum yourself if you want or attend any number of privately run tuition based schools that use K12 as well for their curriculum.
-
Another reason for many people to use something like K12.com (there is another similar company whose name I forgot that provides online schools through public and private schools/adademies that would apply here too) is that the whole thing is set up as a system so that you don't have to figure out your own curriculum and system to work in. So it is easier to actually DO. Lots of home school people I know end up being overwhelmed since they have to choose curriculum and figure out their own system to work under to actually do it. The K12 based systems have all that for you. And you can augment any of it you want or replace pieces of it as well, at least in some districts. So you have freedom in that regard. And I have found nothing disturbing or offensive in the curriculum.
.
I am familiar with it ?
I know it does vary some state to state
wife knows more than I do :) also why she chose not to do the K12 to many restrictions etc.
in our area at least its quite dif then !
I know the online version has more restrictions ?
also I dont want to check my kids in at all !!!!!
so you can take your trips with kids whenever and how long you want ?
never said it was bad but many home school groups dont like it and in AZ they barely consider it homeschooling as much as doing public school at home !
so you are saying its not paid for/subsidized by the Gov in you area then ? yes or no ?
in Nev also one of my buddies who has been doing homeschooling his kids are in HS refuses to use the K12 for some of those and other reasons ?
again not saying its bad but when people research it best to check if you want to do that and I highly recommend researching it heavily as lots of people and lots of good home school groups are not fans of the K12 program
double posted for some reason ?
Belmont31R
02-15-12, 16:25
At least she wasnt strip searched... http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501363_162-57378348/student-sues-ga-school-district-over-strip-search/
At least she wasnt strip searched... http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501363_162-57378348/student-sues-ga-school-district-over-strip-search/
Ridiculous. If it were my child there would be severe ramifications for their actions.
I am familiar with it ?
I know it does vary some state to state
wife knows more than I do :) also why she chose not to do the K12 to many restrictions etc.
I am interested to know what restrictions? K12 is just the curriculum and online system provider. They don't set the policies.
in our area at least its quite dif then !
I know the online version has more restrictions ?
it is only available online AFAIK.
also I dont want to check my kids in at all !!!!!
you don't check your kids in. You as the "learning coach" check in with the assigned teacher. Most of the time it is a few minutes on the phone or an email. Mostly so that you feel you have support if you need it.
so you can take your trips with kids whenever and how long you want ?
Yes. And we have done that. Twice we have been away 2 or 3 weeks in September (after the school year had started) on a trip to Japan. We have also been to Las Vegas a week for the SHOT Show, and plan on going to Kalifornia for a week after Thanksgiving this year, assuming my contract programming brings in enough. All on our own schedule, when we want.
never said it was bad but many home school groups dont like it and in AZ they barely consider it homeschooling as much as doing public school at home !
Technically it is "public school at home" IFF you are participating in it through a public school district. From a practical standpoint, it is home schooling with the materials and curriculum provided by the public school district that you are participating in.
If you use the K12 system because you pay for it yourself, then it is pure home schooling. K12 provides a curriculum that you can purchase. Some public schools purchase it for their online schools, some private schools use it, and some people pay for it themselves.
My son's school district he participates in is in St George Utah. I am in the Salt Lake Valley. 3-4 hours by freeway at 75-80 mph.
so you are saying its not paid for/subsidized by the Gov in you area then ? yes or no ?
in our case, it is paid for by the state government as my son is enrolled in the public school system, in a "study at home" program that is basically home schooling in how it works. But technically it is not home schooling since the student is enrolled as a public school student.
In other cases, it is not paid for by the government. You can purchase it yourself or you can participate in it through private schools as well.
in Nev also one of my buddies who has been doing homeschooling his kids are in HS refuses to use the K12 for some of those and other reasons ?
That is his business. And each school district makes their own policies, not the K12 company. So maybe in his area the school was much more strict. The two districts that I have either been involved with or my sister was involved with and gave me feedback on here in Utah, were very laid back in administering it.
The ADVANTAGE it has is it does not draw attention as much as being on your states "home school" list since on paper, the student is a public school student. In reality, it is otherwise.
And while I have not seen anything objectionable in the curriculum at all, and in fact am quite pleased and happy with it, you, as the "learning coach" (parent) can modify it or present it however you would like. If there is a part you object to, leave it out. No one knows or cares.
again not saying its bad but when people research it best to check if you want to do that and I highly recommend researching it heavily as lots of people and lots of good home school groups are not fans of the K12 program
I did research it when we started 2.5 years ago. I don't remember any credible complaints but I don't remember much about what they were. They were basically non issues or issues with the specific sponsors they were under, not the K12 curriculum itself.
And regarding testing: K12 administers no tests (at least grades 1-3 that I can see). There are simple "assessments" at the end of most lessons so you can see if the student understood the materials or needs help or whatever, but you as the parent/"learning coach" are the only ones who see those (the teacher assigned to you from the school district probably has access to them but no one has ever talked to me about how my son did on any given assessment and they have you retake them if you don't get high enough after you re-teach the material as needed anyway).
The only testing is what your state mandates for all students and in most states that I have seen, those requirements apply to home school students as well. These are usually standardized tests of some sort. Also, 3 times a year, starting in second grade, the teacher also does a simple reading test. Most of the time this has been done on the computer through a conferencing system but once we met the teacher at the public library. Basically the student has to read 2 or 3 paragraphs and ask simple comprehension questions. This has nothing to do with the K12 system and is a Utah requirement for all students (I believe including home school students). Each state has their own standardized testing requirements that usually apply to home school students as well.
For all intents and purposes, we home school my son using the K12 curriculum. We take vacations and trips when we want, for as long as we want. We do it on our own schedule. We add in other subjects we want, and modify things as fit our son best. Since we are doing it as part of a public school's "online school" offerings, we technically are not home schooling (though we usually do qualify for home school discounts from various companies that offer such). If however, we were to pay K12 for their curriculum ourselves, which you can do if you want, we would be 100% home schooling, and we would run it EXACTLY the same way we do now, except that I would not email or get a call from his "teacher" about once a month [though Dec was the last one I did] for a 2-3 min "check in", nor would we be involved with the field trips, special events, parties, etc that the school also provides.
And to keep it on topic: at this "public school", my kid eats whatever he d*mn well pleases for lunch [or in reality, whatever I d*mn well want to give him].
-
A little background, we have been homeschooling since 1995, 'graduated' 2 of my kids already, still homeschooling 2 others, but have a son who is LAZY!!! This nice part about K12 is that the kids are held accountable by someone else than mom or dad for their work. For my oldest two and youngest two it was not an issue... but the middle son... well you get the picture.
We have found very little lack of freedom with the Georgia K12 program. You want time off... just take time off, but I kinda like having some structure with the program. If a meeting is at 10:00, they mean 10:00, starts to the second.
A local coordinator contacted us about the various local K12 clubs, and my wife suggested starting a shooting club! Working on it now, will see where it goes... Doubt I can get the state to pay for ammo...
Along the same lines... I know it's in Canada but this is some seriously scary shit. http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/676744--gun-leading-to-dad-s-arrest-was-a-toy
Something that's disturbing about the Canadian event is the level of thought control that seems to be going on.
Let's say a child has an assignment: draw whatever you want. I don't get what's the problem with them drawing a picture of a gun if that's what they're interested in. Or Jesus, or Buddha, or whatever trips their fancy. Maybe they just LIKE guns. When I was that age, guns were my favorite toys, and what I talked about, thought about, and drew pictures of more than anything else.
Is that so inconceivable? Maybe to the mind of the modern nanny-statist, it IS. For such people, I guess the most likely explanation of a kid drawing a picture of a gun is that the kid is being abused or threatened. But that's really twisted, and it's getting harder to co-exist peacefully with such people whose worldview is so utterly alien to mine. Eventually, we're going to collide, and hard.
Along the same lines... I know it's in Canada but this is some seriously scary shit. http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/676744--gun-leading-to-dad-s-arrest-was-a-toy
I think whats just as scary is the response by those who did it that the school system is a CO PARENT to the kids !!!!
Agreed Honu. It's just very disturbing to me that there's this embedded mentality in some government people (and the fact they're "sincere" in their beliefs actually makes it all the worse--C.S. Lewis wrote something about this once), that THEY know what's best for a child, not the parents, and that THEY are the final line of defense to "protect" that child from all harm.
Government as God. What a concept.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.