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Go to the principal over something like this??? Are you people kidding me???? Why not just involve the local and national media while you're at it.
The teacher is running HER class. If the kids are clowning around and not paying attention, what do you suggest she do?? Tell them "oh, come on now little Tommy, pleeeease stop disrupting the other 20 kids who are trying to learn something. If you act like a good little boy, I promise, I'll buy you an ice cream after class and we can go to Toys R Us and you can pick whatever you want".
I agree with a previous poster --- I'm sure the teacher is not eating the snacks but passing them on to another child who has none. If a parent has a problem with that, then the parents are nuts. Their kid's lunchbox is probably stuffed to overflowing with crap and I'm sure he's not going to miss one Ding Dong or Twinkie.
Gotta love the poison pen mindset, the flaming anonymity. Really. So much drama. Yes, by all means we should call in Anderson Cooper or better yet, Nancy Grace.
Is drama time over? Can we get back to the topic now? There are plenty of other disciplinary actions that don't involve coddling the children or ignoring the behavior. Taking the snacks that the students' parents pay for is completely unacceptable, and if it's happening, the principal should know about it.
And this whole assumed redistribution of snacks program is just irrelevant speculation. The only thing we know that the teacher may be doing with the snacks is taking them. Many families are on very limited budgets these days, but regardless, taking the students' food is indefensible under any circumstances.
I suggested that the teacher choose a different punishment, not that she let the students get away with misbehavior. For example, the inattentive students could be made to outline the chapter, unit, etc. that they weren't paying attention to. That's what teachers did when I was in school, and it worked. This consequence is more connected to the action, and it has the added bonus of forcing the student to look at the material being taught. Then follow it up with a note home to the parents explaining that the child was inattentive. Let the parents take additional action.
Teachers should absolutely be able to run their classrooms without parental interference, but taking food from the students is pretty far out of bounds.
Not to mention....if indeed the teacher is giving the snacks to another student, what is the liability in the event the recipient has some kind of reaction? And frankly, "redistribution" isn't up to the teacher to decide or enforce...
Not to mention....if indeed the teacher is giving the snacks to another student, what is the liability in the event the recipient has some kind of reaction? And frankly, "redistribution" isn't up to the teacher to decide or enforce...
Good point! My husband had an allergic reaction last Christmas. It was one of the scariest things and he almost died. When I helped out in the school I was surprised to find so many children allergic to peanuts. Nothing to mess around with.
Yep. And what if the students whose snacks she's taking are diabetic?
This is the sort of scenario that is discussed frequently by Neal Boortz. He broadcasts from Atlanta--loud and clear and very frequently about the quality of 'government schools' and teachers' unions. Painful to hear at times, knowing that the rotten apples can do so much damage--but apparently it's the truth and children don't deserve this sort of incompetence.
From the OP's previous post about this teacher it is painfully clear what is going on. Seriously poor teaching and administration.
I don't know how other states plan to address this issue but in GA heads are on the chopping block. Accountability across the board. The accreditation of several systems is now questionable. Superintendents were forced to resign. School boards are scrutinized closely.
In DC there was a massive reduction in force when lack of accountability was detected there.
Somewhere in CA they publish the teacher's name if the students don't meet the standards.
The OP has stated this is happing to HER kid. Taking a child's lunch for punishment is ridiculous! I have a strict budget and I do not pack my child's lunch so someone can take it away. I don't care if its a snack. He is my child and no one takes food from him. IF this is actually occurring in the classroom, there are much more effective ways of handing disruptive children. What is next? Withholding bathroom privileges? Do you even have children?
Wow... do you need to go back and read the original post!!! The OP never said it happened to HER kid or that any lunches were taken away. She said:
He told us lots of kids have given the teacher a snack because nobody wants to get extra spelling homework, and that so far he has been lucky because he hasn't been caught not paying attention. (AKA, many times he doesn't pay attention, he just hasn't been caught yet.)
Yes, I do have a child. And she knows she had better pay attention in class, never disrespect a teacher or other authority figure in the school (including parent volunteers), and to stay away from the clods who cause trouble. If she does get in trouble in school (which she thankfully hasn't in 8 years of school), she knows I will listen to all sides of the story and make a determination. If she's in the wrong, she knows there are consequences.
Sorry, but I get sick and tired of all the cuddly, feel good crap with these kids. No one is supposed to correct them or discipline them or tell them they're doing something wrong or have them suffer consequences for their behavior. The kids who cause the problems in school are the same ones whose parents come up defending the kid, even though the kid was 100% in the wront. Give me a break. If parents teach their kids how to behave and to respect others, they wouldn't have to worry about their Twinkie being taken from them.
Teachers should absolutely be able to run their classrooms without parental interference, but taking food from the students is pretty far out of bounds.
So when the OPs kid has his snack taken away, the OP should go talk to the teacher. Right now, we don't even know if this is truly happening.
How do we know the teacher isn't taking the snack and then discussing the "infraction" with the kid later on and giving them back their snack then or at the end of the day????
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Oh, and to the poster who asked "what if the kid's diabetic"? If he/she is, the teacher would know about it and wouldn't deprive the kid of a snack if the kid needs it to keep his blood sugar stable.
I agree with the re-distribution statement and actually thought of that after I posted.... I mean, what if she gives something with peanuts in it to a kid allergic? Not a good thing. We don't know she's giving them to other kids though. The only thing the OP said was that her kid told her the teacher takes the snacks.
Sorry, but I get sick and tired of all the cuddly, feel good crap with these kids. No one is supposed to correct them or discipline them or tell them they're doing something wrong or have them suffer consequences for their behavior. The kids who cause the problems in school are the same ones whose parents come up defending the kid, even though the kid was 100% in the wront. Give me a break. If parents teach their kids how to behave and to respect others, they wouldn't have to worry about their Twinkie being taken from them.
I don't believe anyone has said there should be no consequences...simply more appropriate consequences. Big difference.
I taught with some good and tough administrators and am thankfully no longer involved in public education. Effective administrators have ways and means of handling this sort of problem.
I'm sort of surprised that there would be snacks brought from home in a fourth grade class. If the school permits this then I would assume that officials determined that students needed to eat the snacks. If she takes them away they can't. Local, state and federal guidelines had to be considered prior to allowing snacks.
What about students on free or reduced lunch? Who provides their snacks? Subsidized by the state and federal government and that is taxpayer money.
'More than 100 Georgia schools applied for the grant, but only 77 received it. The money, supplied to the state by the federal government, is split into monthly allotments.
To qualify for the grant, schools must have a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunches, Cross said. At Villa Rica Elementary, about 73 percent of students receive free or reduced lunches, while the number at Sharp Creek is 76 percent.
Cross, who said the purpose of the grant is to educate students about the benefits of healthful food, said the fruits and vegetables can be as common as an apple or carrot to more exotic fare like star fruit or pomegranate. The menu of snacks is based on what is in season.'
Last edited by TakeAhike; 12-13-2010 at 12:47 AM..
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I have a strict budget and I do not pack my child's lunch so someone can take it away. I don't care if its a snack. He is my child and no one takes food from him. IF this is actually occurring in the classroom, there are much more effective ways of handing disruptive children. What is next? Withholding bathroom privileges? Do you even have children? 
