School Lunch

[SuperJerk 0]

My senoir schedule for next year:

Precalc (mandatory)

Physics (mandatory)

 

Mandatory? Where the fuck do you go to school? NASA?

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Magnet/gifted school, maybe? Those were mandatory for me junior year. Lot of people took them in 10th grade, too.

[SuperJerk 0]

Fucking overkill is what it is.

[EricMM 0]

Why shouldn't PE be just as mandatory as fine arts or math?

 

I mean, you only really need Trig and calculus if you're going to college, and it's so much better there anyways.

[Hawk 34 0]

Fucking overkill is what it is.

 

Not really, it's quite standard for schools to require them (I was taking Physics my frosh year and pre-calc my sophomore year).

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Thinking about it, there might have been another way around taking physics, but I think that was only if you took, say, Anatomy & Physiology along with AP Bio. You could sort of generate your own track, if the administrators thought it was worthwhile enough. You could really hop into Physics any time you wanted, but 11th grade was standard. Lot of people doubled it up with Chem in 10th grade, then did AP Chem and AP Physics after that.

 

And throughout all this? Bagged lunch. How I got where I am today.

 

Are there any sort of variants on the reduced lunch program that allow for students to bring their own lunch? A sort of district-distributed food stamp, maybe, instead of the lunch voucher? I'm guessing no, since that would probably cost a lot more, and be difficult to regulate.

[gWIL 0]

My senoir schedule for next year:

Precalc (mandatory)

Physics (mandatory)

 

Mandatory? Where the fuck do you go to school? NASA?

 

 

Honors diploma. Quite a few people are ahead as far as courses go. I would be done with Science, but I took Astronomy this year which isn't on the diploma track. If I give into my underachieving ways it'll look like this

 

Advanced Team Sports (Elective PE)

Seminar in Film

Restaurant Management

Newspaper

English 12

Gov

Econ

[Jingus 0]

PE sucks.

 

Yeah, I said it, and I'll say it again: PE sucks.

 

I absolutely hated gym class every single year that I was forced to take it. I was always very clumsy, usually a bit overweight, and very conscious of the fact that I didn't perform or look as good as the other guys. I never learned a damn thing except that I sucked at every sport and athletic activity ever designed by man (with the only exceptions, oddly, being volleyball and weightlifting).

 

I wasn't the only one like this, either. In every class, you'll find fat kids, clumsy kids, chicks with giant boobs that just sprouted and interfere with every step they take, and kids with various illnesses, syndromes, and handicaps that make a day in the gym like a day in hell for them.

 

Why is math, science, arts, social studies, and the like all mandatory when gym often isn't? BECAUSE THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. Doing well in trigonometry can lead to a job in astrophysics. Doing well in PE can lead to a job digging ditches.

 

 

the food that they are serving to these kids. .. free... Fries covered with cheese and chili with a slice of Papa John's pizza

 

In my day, we called that good eatin'. Banning "bad foods" is just stupid. If someone eats themselves into a coronary, that's their problem. Don't ruin it for the rest of us.

[MrRant 0]

PE sucks.

 

Yeah, I said it, and I'll say it again: PE sucks.

 

I absolutely hated gym class every single year that I was forced to take it. I was always very clumsy, usually a bit overweight, and very conscious of the fact that I didn't perform or look as good as the other guys. I never learned a damn thing except that I sucked at every sport and athletic activity ever designed by man (with the only exceptions, oddly, being volleyball and weightlifting).

 

I wasn't the only one like this, either. In every class, you'll find fat kids, clumsy kids, chicks with giant boobs that just sprouted and interfere with every step they take, and kids with various illnesses, syndromes, and handicaps that make a day in the gym like a day in hell for them.

 

Why is math, science, arts, social studies, and the like all mandatory when gym often isn't? BECAUSE THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. Doing well in trigonometry can lead to a job in astrophysics. Doing well in PE can lead to a job digging ditches.

 

 

the food that they are serving to these kids. .. free... Fries covered with cheese and chili with a slice of Papa John's pizza

 

In my day, we called that good eatin'. Banning "bad foods" is just stupid. If someone eats themselves into a coronary, that's their problem. Don't ruin it for the rest of us.

 

Dude, we are mostly talking IMO about kids that need a certain nutrition level to foster their growth. Especially physical.

[SuperJerk 0]

Fucking overkill is what it is.

 

Not really, it's quite standard for schools to require them (I was taking Physics my frosh year and pre-calc my sophomore year).

 

Again: Required where?

 

I've worked for enough school districts to know that REQUIRING Physics and Pre-Calculus is NOT typical. Most schools give you a choice of a biological science, then a physical science, and a third year of science of your own choosing. For math, its a required 3 years which generally means Algebra, Geomeotry, and Alg2/Trig (in that order).

[EricMM 0]

Look, Jingus, don't you see how your just eating bad foot might have led to bad performance in PE class?

 

And health is JUST as important as Advanced Maths.

 

Seriously, we're looking at a population that 1/3 of which either suffers from or is cured of diabetes, and I don't know how to cure diabetes.

 

And diabetes FUCKS you up.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

I don't want to ban any foods for adults, just for kids in public schools who often don't know better. I know I didn't get a good grasp on nutrition and health until pretty late.

 

Also, I think a healther, more fit person is generally more energetic and motivated and probably would do better in school. For example, student athletes tend to do considerably better than non-athletes academically. Of course this also has to do with their having to maintain eligibility.

[Guest InuYasha]

Even at my fattest I would at least hit a 10 minute mile.

Even in my Senior year in HS, when I weighed around 230 lbs, I still managed to walk home almost everyday, with a backpack full of books, reading a book, and made it home in 15 minutes or less. I had to walk a mile.

[EricMM 0]

smitty, if you think atheletes do better BECAUSE THEY'RE FIT, you're a bit mistaken.

 

They get their shit fudged.

[Slayer 0]

They get their shit fudged.

do what now?

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

smitty, if you think atheletes do better BECAUSE THEY'RE FIT, you're a bit mistaken.

 

They get their shit fudged.

 

That's bullshit. Maybe it happens in some cases, but do you really think secondary schools, colleges, and universities all over the country are conspiring to inflate the grades of athletes?

 

Whenever one of my students joins the football team, he now has an impetus to do well (to maintain eligibility), coaches breathing down his neck and stopping by the classroom to see how he his doing, plus as a teacher, whenever he is being lazy, I can just say, "What about football?" and he will get right back to work.

[Guest The Satanic Angel]

smitty, if you think atheletes do better BECAUSE THEY'RE FIT, you're a bit mistaken.

 

They get their shit fudged.

 

Or they get some unnamed curve.

 

There were a couple smart atheletes at my high school, but most of them were typical jocks with no brains.

 

Then again, I think the standards at my school were very low..

 

As far as the lunch thing goes.. isn't it more the parent's responsibility to raise healthy kids that know what food choices to make?

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Partially, but if all that's in front of a kid when they eat their school lunch is crap or more crap, they're in a piss-poor situation to make a healthy diet choice.

[Guest The Satanic Angel]

Partially, but if all that's in front of a kid when they eat their school lunch is crap or more crap, they're in a piss-poor situation to make a healthy diet choice.

 

Brown bag.

 

When I was in elementary school, it was a priviledge for me to eat the school lunch.

 

But they also served good food, no choice in what you got.

 

I do agree that there should be better choices, but all responsiblility can't fall on the schools to force better choices on kids.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Take into account kids on the free/reduced lunch program.

 

I don't see this as a McDonalds kind of case where one can say "Just don't eat a Big Mac." The schools do have a responisibility to take care of kids. It's not like it would kill them to serve salads. Produce bought in bulk is plenty cheap. It's not like it even has to be the best stuff in the world. Perfectly good institutional grade shredded lettuce and carrots is better than the greasebomb chicken nuggets and crap I ate in elementary school.

[MrRant 0]

Or there are always sandwiches. Sandwiches are cheap to make more or less. I'm sure they could buy bread from one of the outlets where the bread is a week away from the technical expiration date and easily use it up.

[Brett Favre 0]

Precal is optional.

 

PE is great man. Especially if you win all the time, in whatever sport you're playing. Its 20x better than learing about functions and all that crap.

[Jingus 0]

Precal is optional.

 

Not at my school it wasn't.

 

PE is great man. Especially if you win all the time, in whatever sport you're playing. Its 20x better than learing about functions and all that crap.

 

That's a pretty big if.

 

 

As to the athletes debate, yeah, they've got added "incentive" to get good grades: do well or you're taken off the team. But yes, the jocks do definitely get preferential treatment, at least they did at every school I ever attended, especially if they play "important" sports like football or basketball.

[Hawk 34 0]

Precal is optional.

 

Not at my school it wasn't.

 

PE is great man. Especially if you win all the time, in whatever sport you're playing. Its 20x better than learing about functions and all that crap.

 

That's a pretty big if.

 

 

As to the athletes debate, yeah, they've got added "incentive" to get good grades: do well or you're taken off the team. But yes, the jocks do definitely get preferential treatment, at least they did at every school I ever attended, especially if they play "important" sports like football or basketball.

 

Of course, athletes get special treatment. Why shouldn't they? Face it, schools make a killing off athletics. If a football player busts his ass and puts himself on the line, and the school can reap the rewards, is giving him a sliding scale on the geometry exams hurting anyone? No.

 

PE, should required because it gets those fat geeks away from the protractors and in shape. If those people are supposed to be our leaders in 25 years, I want them to be healthy as possible.

 

PE, gives you a variety of things. One, it was fun as hell. Two, gets you active. Three, gives your head a break from the overdose of knowledge that you are getting injected with. All this knowledge you learn just so you can pass these tests, so schools can get more money.

 

Using the whole "PE just highlights the awkwardness of teenagers". Geometry doesn't do that? A fat kid will still be a fat kid, the emo-kids will still be cutting their wrists and the jocks will still be banging the cheerleaders. That won't change if you get rid of PE.

[Jingus 0]

Of course, athletes get special treatment. Why shouldn't they?

 

Because sports are an extracurricular activity. Nobody is forcing them to be an athlete.

 

Face it, schools make a killing off athletics.

 

Colleges are, sure, and I do think that the athletes should get a cut of the money. But K-12 schools don't really make any more money from an athlete than from any other student.

 

If a football player busts his ass and puts himself on the line, and the school can reap the rewards, is giving him a sliding scale on the geometry exams hurting anyone? No.

 

YES. It hurts the football player, cause he never learns it correctly and comes to expect good grades to be handed to him. It hurts the other students, cause they had to put in a lot more work to get the same grade, and that tends to build resentment.

 

PE, should required because it gets those fat geeks away from the protractors and in shape. If those people are supposed to be our leaders in 25 years, I want them to be healthy as possible.

 

In my experience, no, it doesn't get them in shape. If someone doesn't want to be active, they usually find some way to slack off during PE anyway. It's impossible to force someone to enjoy healthy exercise.

 

PE, gives you a variety of things. One, it was fun as hell. Two, gets you active. Three, gives your head a break from the overdose of knowledge that you are getting injected with.

 

Your second point is true. The first and third are completely subjective, and I sure as hell didn't feel that way back in school.

 

All this knowledge you learn just so you can pass these tests, so schools can get more money.

 

The entire purpose of school is to learn. Period. It's a school, not a park playground.

 

As for the "get more money" argument, how is that different at all from your argument about schools getting money from athletics?

 

Using the whole "PE just highlights the awkwardness of teenagers". Geometry doesn't do that? A fat kid will still be a fat kid, the emo-kids will still be cutting their wrists and the jocks will still be banging the cheerleaders. That won't change if you get rid of PE.

 

So if nothing changes whether they're taking PE or not, what's the point of forcing it on them?

 

 

EDIT: why aren't the quote tags working?

[Brett Favre 0]

Slacking off in PE isn't anyones problem. They shouldn't be slacking off; it's their own fault they're wasting their time like that. You probably hated PE because you sucked at sports, or you were lazy. The point of PE is to get active, and stop being lazy.

[Hawk 34 0]

You need to force it on them because they need it. The schools have a responsiblity to keep their children educated and that includes physically educated as well.

 

Learning things like team-work, leadership, athletic ability, strength and other stuff are very important things to learn.

 

You won't get that from Physics. You can learn this in PE

 

How can you say high-schools dont reap rewards from athletics? Why you think HS's build 15,000 seat stadiums for football, or arenas for basketball? It's an attraction that draws money. Why you think schools actively recruit players from out of the area to attend their school? Because that school makes money off of it.

 

Why do you have a resentment towards PE?

 

What i was saying was, someone (probably you) mentioned that PE only pointed out the social awkwardness of HS. HS, itself points that out. Not just PE. Which is why cutting PE for that reason is a bad move, because it doesn't eliminate anything, except healthier teens.

[Jingus 0]

You probably hated PE because you sucked at sports,

 

Ding ding ding. And you can't teach someone not to be clumsy and completely unathletic. PE was pointless for me. I learned that I liked lifting weights. That's the ONLY thing I learned after ten years of the shit, other than learning that I hated wearing short shorts.

 

Learning things like team-work, leadership, athletic ability, strength and other stuff are very important things to learn.

 

Teamwork, sure. Leadership? Only for those who got to lead. Athletic ability and strength? How are those "very mportant things to learn" by any stretch of the imagination?

 

Why you think HS's build 15,000 seat stadiums for football, or arenas for basketball?

 

When has any high school anywhere ever built a stadium like that? I went to a fairly rich high school, and we only had the two big rows of bleachers like every other HS.

 

Why do you have a resentment towards PE?

 

Um... cause I was really bad at it, constantly felt embarassed, and altogether hated it?

 

And it's not just that I was a big lazy fat slob. I was taking karate classes three times a week at the same time that I cursed the earth that the school gym was built on. I loved karate; I did it because I wanted to do it. But I sure as hell didn't want to run a mile, play dodgeball, learn country line-dancing, or any of the other inane stuff they made us do.

[Brett Favre 0]

I didn't want to learn about proofs and graphing trinomials, but I still did. Honestly, you don't need that shit anymore than you need PE. PE, if you put effort into it, should keep you in shape.

 

My math teacher was pissed at us because we were leaving her classroom while she was saying something (after the bell rang). Some kid said he had to go because he had PE. The math teacher told him that PE was the most useless subject in the world. Ironically, like two weeks prior to this incident, she came running down the hall because she was late, and while sitting down in her chair, she was out of breath for no less than ten minutes. Had she taken her PE seriously, she wouldn't be spazzing out after running like 10 yards.

[Hawk 34 0]

You must live in an area where HS sports aren't everything. Go to Texas, California or Ohio. They got huge stadiums there for high school football (not all of them, but they were there)

 

Just because you were always picked last for gym, doesn't mean it doesn't have a purpose.

 

I hated Math and sucked at, but you don't see me bitching that it shouldn't be used in HS.