Report cards on students’ health?

In reading “Should schools provide reports on children’s health?” (Speak Out, April 2005), I was saddened that neither point of view really attacked the root cause of obesity among children in our country. Both gave arguments about why or why not to report on weight, but neither gave a realistic solution. I firmly believe schools contribute to the obesity of children through our school lunch programs. Thus, if schools want to have weigh-ins, or for that matter want to grade the health of their students, they must first be willing to look at their own offerings for school lunch.

I eat lunch in the cafeteria with my students daily. Students are served what I like to call the white food group—milk, bread, breaded meat, pasta, french fries, fried burgers, dessert (ice cream, cake, cookies), and a little bit of fruits and vegetables (if they put them on their plates). Basically, everything is white, processed and fried.

Before we grade students on their health, let’s look at how we are contributing to it.

—Coral Wilkens
Centerville, Minn.

Perhaps my fourth-grade experience may provide anecdotal evidence of why publishing student weights and body mass indices could be counterproductive. My teacher weighed every student in my class and ranked our weights on the chalkboard. She included her own weight. I was already approximately 6 inches taller than the teacher, about 10 pounds overweight and a full foot taller than most other students. Of course, I was significantly heavier and completely ashamed. Once I was old enough to make choices about my body, I became anorexic and continued that behavior into my 20s. It took many years to kick the eating disorder and excessive exercise, but I finally am comfortable with my slightly overweight 44-year-old self.

—Joni Chapman
Ashland, Wis.

I was outraged by the totally inappropriate proposal of a New York state assemblyman to spend $1.5 million on a program that would make student weigh-ins part of the student report card. Are they trying to embarrass these children? How would our elected officials like it if we had weigh-ins for them? Schools are obligated to provide a high-quality education for all children—not a health report. Doctors and other healthcare professionals are the only ones qualified to provide reports on children’s health.

Why doesn’t the state of New York (and all other states) spend the proposed $1.5 million to improve school lunches? If we truly want to educate our children on proper nutrition, it should be done by example. Schools are providing all types of deep-fried foods with little or no nutritional value, and then our government wonders why childhood obesity is at an all-time high.

We desperately need to take responsibility for what we feed our children in schools. I believe the obesity problem would take care of itself if we weren’t promoting unhealthy eating every day with our school breakfasts/lunches and vending machines.

—Maria Vanadia
Cleveland, Ohio

If we all agree that testing children does not make them smarter, doesn’t it make sense that weighing children will not make them fitter? Let’s get serious about the solution: Start funding mandatory physical education for all grades, and mandate (rather than eliminate) recess!

—Jennifer Keys
Wichita, Kan.

Why must schools bear the brunt of every societal problem? We have these kids about six or seven hours a day. We feed them breakfasts and lunches that meet federally established health guidelines. We cannot be held accountable for the fact that their parents take them out after school and on weekends to every fast food restaurant they pass, buy them unlimited amounts of candy, or provide them high fat/high carbohydrate meals at home. However, if we include a section on school report cards about the students’ BMI (body mass index), we in fact are assuming responsibility for their health. Are schools and teachers not responsible for enough, considering the pressures already placed on us for high academic standards and test scores?

There is no doubt in my mind that while this may seem innocuous right now … just let the first newspaper request a school district’s BMI data. The headline will be: “Smith School Fattest in Region.” Every educator has seen those headlines about test scores, and if we are honest with ourselves, we know that BMI will be next. How long before the community starts blaming obesity on an individual school’s cafeteria worker or gym teacher? How long before that becomes part of the school report card that gets publicized?

Fat people know they are fat. They are typically already depressed about it and coping with it on a daily basis. Now imagine yourself being that fat student. It’s the day for you to go to the gym teacher or school nurse to get your BMI calculated. Your anxiety and depression become so overwhelming that you cannot even get yourself out of bed to make it to school. Suddenly you have a mystery illness and your parents let you stay home or you simply skip school. How do you think that will affect your attendance, schoolwork, mental well-being and safety?

If the government wants to enact legislation that will make a positive contribution to children’s health, then it should restore school funding for health programs.

—Tony Eversole
Loveland, Ohio

I am a school nurse in a large urban school district, and I’d like to make a few points about requiring schools to report on students’ health.

First of all, to Texas Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, how do you propose to fund this mandate? Does your state have a law requiring all schools to employ school nurses and/or follow the National Association of School Nurses guidelines? Few states do. I think the money to fund the reports would be better used to increase school nurse coverage and ensure an improvement for all school-age children’s health. School nurses have a direct impact on schools’ adequate yearly progress [under the No Child Left Behind Act], test scores, attendance, graduation rates, etc. School nurses educate not only the students but the staff and the community as a whole on health issues.

I was one of those “big” children who used to get weighed every fall and spring. I hated it. Peers will point, snicker, etc., no matter how much the teacher or nurse is careful to make sure it is private. I agree with Ms. Jen Chung that putting money into expanding health and physical education will make more of an impact on our country’s future. School nurses are an excellent resource for such programs. We work closely with health, science and physical education instructors to educate our students. Use the professional resources we already have.

—Margaret A. Chisham
Wichita, Kan.

Empty praise or positive reinforcement?

As a retired New York City schoolteacher, I disagree with the ideas in the article “The Empty Promise of Empty Praise” (Class Notes, March 2005). How can you say that focusing on students’ self-esteem has little impact on their behavior or schoolwork? 

My teaching experience proved otherwise. I always concentrated on positive reinforcement to raise a student’s self-esteem. Ninety-nine percent of the time, this style of teaching helped students to progress in behavior and academic achievement.

—Eileen Leshkowitz
Floral Park, N.Y.

The route to solid self-esteem (as opposed to the “favorable and perhaps even inflated view of themselves” attributed to bullies) is not by hearing empty praise but by developing areas of competence. While I don’t recall the specific research from my grad school days, there was evidence—not to mention common sense—to support the conclusion that genuine self-esteem arises from having skills in academic, performance and/or social areas. Good teaching helps build self-esteem as children master skills and gain confidence in their abilities.

—Evelyn Headen
Plymouth, Minn.

As a practicing school psychologist in a high-achieving high school, I would remind you that everyone is different. That is, many children need frequent boosts to their self-esteem, while others sail along independently. I am constantly impressed by the little pep talks and kind words of encouragement my colleagues offer to many of our students, particularly those with learning issues, and I can tell you that I observe firsthand the benefits of going the extra mile!

—Randi Brown
Mohegan Lake, N.Y.