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Ontario finally bans pop and chips from school vending machines
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| Jayx1 |
Yup those evil chips and pop will no longer be permitted. Up next i'm sure will be a move to ban kids from BRINGING these things to school from home followed by restricting kids from leaving the school at lunchtime so they cannot get said junk food off premise.
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Ontario government moves to ban junk foods from elementary schools
1 hour, 6 minutes ago
CASSANDRA SZKLARSKI
TORONTO (CP) - The Ontario government is banning pop, potato chips and other calorie-laden junk foods from vending machines in elementary schools in a bid to improve the physical fitness of the province's schoolchildren.
Education Minister Gerard Kennedy released guidelines for the province's school boards Wednesday to restrict the in-school sale of treats like soft drinks and chocolate-covered granola bars to students from kindergarten through Grade 8.
"We firmly believe that this is one small way that Ontario's publicly funded education system can and must deliver excellence to all students," Kennedy told the legislature.
Approximately 27 per cent of boys and 23 per cent of girls in Grades 6 and 8 eat candy and chocolate bars daily, Kennedy said, warning that by the time kids reach the "tween" years of nine to 12, many have lifestyle habits that could make them susceptible to cardiovascular disease as early as their 30s.
The guidelines were outlined earlier in the day at a cafeteria in a downtown elementary school, where Kennedy appeared alongside a nutritionist and more than two dozen Grade 8 students.
Kennedy said he wants vending machines stocked with reasonably sized servings of water, juice and pretzels. Carbonated beverages have grown in size by 300 per cent since the 1950s, according to research from the Dietitians of Canada.
The guidelines are being sent all school boards as well as the 5,000 members of the Dietitians of Canada.
Critics, however, assailed the government for meddling in the business of parents and for ignoring a pressing funding crisis at schools.
Conservative member Frank Klees accused the Education Ministry of "assuming the role of official parent" and "micromanaging."
"The minister of education is assuming the role of official parent for Ontario's children," Klees charged.
"Parents are not to be trusted - that's this minister's message. School councils are a sham, principals have no role and boards of education are meaningless to this minister."
New Democrat education critic Rosario Marchese complained the province's schools need help with books, not vending machines.
He accused the Liberals of diverting people's attention from the real issues, citing a report released Wednesday that criticizes the province for failing to adequately fund schools.
"This minister of education would prefer to talk about empty calories than to talk about empty promises," Marchese said.
Education ministers across Canada have said they want a national group to address health issues and promote health in schools. Canada lags behind many other industrialized countries in establishing so-called healthy school strategies.
Other provinces, including New Brunswick and Quebec, have taken steps to help school districts encourage good eating habits and offer nutritious foods.
Alberta's Ministry of Learning also has a program to teach students how to make healthy choices and increase their physical activity, but leaves decisions about what food is sold in schools to each school board.
British Columbia's Education Minister was skeptical that provincial guidelines would work and said he wouldn't ban junk food from vending machines in his province's schools.
"My experience so far has been that an edict from on high doesn't work terribly well," Tom Christensen said from Victoria.
"We're much better to look at the implications such an edict would mean to school districts so that we can work with them so we get something on the ground that actually makes a difference."
Cathy Dandy of the Toronto Parent Network suggested high schools were exempt from the ban because many are already tied to multimillion-dollar contracts with soft-drink companies such as Coke and Pepsi. She said the province should be more concerned for the health of its teenagers. |
This quote below flores me. Comparing junk food to sex and booze? What PC planet are these idiots on?
| quote: | | "We don't give our students choices around condoms, we don't give them choices around alcohol," Dandy said. "Schools have a duty of care. They have a duty to provide healthy environments and proper education for them." |
My solution? Let the gyms keep the snacks. Offer alternatives and make phys ed mandatory at least 3 times a week. |
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| Rodrico |
| Well, to force them into 3 times a week phys. ed. means less time doing real education. |
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| Jayx1 |
taking care of your body should be a very important part of your education. Another thing they never teach in school is how to do your taxes. I mean we can teach kid's quantum physics yet we don't teach them basic personal finances?
Wasssup widdat?
:) |
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| amb_ |
Hmm... I learnt how to do a personal income tax return in highschool...
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
Another thing they never teach in school is how to do your taxes. |
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| Rodrico |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
taking care of your body should be a very important part of your education. Another thing they never teach in school is how to do your taxes. I mean we can teach kid's quantum physics yet we don't teach them basic personal finances?
Wasssup widdat?
:) |
Kids play around all the time though, you dont need phys. ed. 3 times a week to get kids to keep fit with sports. Plus what are they gonna know about the body other than blood means "something bad just happened" and the opposite sex has "cooties". Its not a bad solution, I mean sometimes the freedom of choice gives the exploitation of addicting substances like junk food for kids, that will never realize how bad it is for them, only that it taste really good. I mean, I never had a vending machine in my elementary schools, and I grew up just...err, bad example. Reality is, this is really an issue that should be branded "who cares", kids really want it, let them go out of their way to get it, lets teach kids how to eat properly. Not work their bodies so they can continue to eat poorly. |
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| Nemireck |
| quote: | Originally posted by Rodrico
Well, to force them into 3 times a week phys. ed. means less time doing real education. |
YAY, lets become a nation of diabetic obese geniouses!
I'll pass thank you.
Learning how to take care of your physical well-being should be just as important as science, math and english. Unfortunately it isn't, and not long from now we'll be a nation of fat-asses just like the USA. Ideally Phys Ed. should be held once a day. |
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| Rodrico |
| Its elementary school people, they have recess three times a day so these kids can go out and play and move around. What in gods name did you guys do as kids, stay in class all day and suck on your thumbs? |
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| Nemireck |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
Yup those evil chips and pop will no longer be permitted. Up next i'm sure will be a move to ban kids from BRINGING these things to school from home followed by restricting kids from leaving the school at lunchtime so they cannot get said junk food off premise. |
Excuse me? No, the Government is filling in and doing what the schools should be doing themselves (but failing miserably at doing). Promoting a healthy lifestyle for their students. The food served at schools is almost primarily junk, and the "healthy" food isn't much better, a Salad with dressing has just as much saturated fat as a large fries with gravy. If those kids want to eat their crap, they are still 100% allowed to do so, but the school won't be supporting their habit.
| quote: | | This quote below flores me. Comparing junk food to sex and booze? What PC planet are these idiots on? |
I take it you haven't watched "Supersize Me". Maybe you should :) Eating too much junk-food can be just as harmful as smoking/drinking. But instead of cancer or liver failure you'll end up with diabetes... or a heart attack... or uh... liver failure :)
| quote: | | My solution? Let the gyms keep the snacks. Offer alternatives and make phys ed mandatory at least 3 times a week. |
Offering alternatives isn't a realistic option. Do you think these kids are going to suddenly start eating healthy just because the food is available? Junk food is generaly cheaper than healthy food. And let's face it, a Salad (no dressing) is not nearly as appealing to a teenager (or anybody for that matter) as a large box of french fries is. And they're still allowed (and always will be) to bring their own food from home. I agree 100% that Phys Ed should be mandatory right up to a students last year in high school, and I'd even suggest it being DAILY.
Our schools have generaly turned a blind eye to the fact that they are promoting an unhealthy lifestyle for their students all in the name of making a quick buck. |
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| Orko |
| quote: | Originally posted by Rodrico
Its elementary school people, they have recess three times a day so these kids can go out and play and move around. What in gods name did you guys do as kids, stay in class all day and suck on your thumbs? |
no other generations of kids (such as me, im 21) went out and played. But, its happening less frequently.
i hope they keep phys-ed in school. I know i had a ball during that time, and im very happy that they had it.
We also had "Canada Fitness" programs, where we tested our selves and compared against national standards. Do they do that anymore? It was a great idea, because that way you really got to see how you fit you were. We had the endurance run(1.6Km), 50m dash, push ups, sit ups, running long jump, standing long jump...just general fintess stuff.
i did pretty well in all the categories, except the 50m, so i knew where to improve, and i did.
let those fat ass kids run around and get sweaty! |
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| Nemireck |
| quote: | Originally posted by Rodrico
Its elementary school people, they have recess three times a day so these kids can go out and play and move around. What in gods name did you guys do as kids, stay in class all day and suck on your thumbs? |
They CAN... but many kids (especialy the out-of-shape ones) choose to sit around and "chill" during recess. During Phys Ed. students are required to participate. You seem to have pretty much 0 respect for kids in elementary school. Comments like "something bad is in the blood" and "the other gender has cooties" proves it. By the end of grade 2 most kids have grown out of the "cooties" stage and by grade 5 have the comprehension skills to be taught WHY junk food is bad for your body (we don't need anything TOO technical, but throughout school they hammer it into our heads that we should eat from the 4 food groups, but don't do anything to show that junk food is actually harmful, other than, "You get fat", that should change.) |
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| Orko |
| quote: | Originally posted by Nemireck
They CAN... but many kids (especialy the out-of-shape ones) choose to sit around and "chill" during recess. During Phys Ed. students are required to participate. |
I have a friend working in a high school for a uni co-op program, and one of her jobs is to help teach phs-ed. She said the number of kids (guys and girls) who try and get out of gym is rediculous.
'my stomach hurts', or 'my ankle is sore'
she hears it at least a once a day. I remember kids getting out of gym when i was young, but for the most part there were ligit reasons for it. we had the lazy kids, but just not as many as today |
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| Nemireck |
| quote: | Originally posted by Orko
I have a friend working in a high school for a uni co-op program, and one of her jobs is to help teach phs-ed. She said the number of kids (guys and girls) who try and get out of gym is rediculous.
'my stomach hurts', or 'my ankle is sore'
she hears it at least a once a day. I remember kids getting out of gym when i was young, but for the most part there were ligit reasons for it. we had the lazy kids, but just not as many as today |
Holy nice avatar :)
Part of the reason for that is kids are made lazy in elementary school with that whole 1 gym period a week bull. Other kids don't want to get changed (this rule is stupid too, what difference does it make if I wear shorts or jeans, as long as I can safely play, they should go themselves). Also, they should play dodgeball more often... take a break from basketball or football for the day and let them whip balls at eachother. That'll keep em in good spirits! |
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