Sugar Coating

         Apparently, the first lady is targeting the wrong group regarding childhood obesity.

         My seventh grader told me today that the principle of the school went into their classroom to talk about the dreaded PAWS testing (Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students). She told them how important it was for them to do really well….so that the school would place first in the district. She told them to try not to get sick so that they could be at school for the entire 2 weeks of testing, and that they should get plenty of rest, eat well and be brilliant. She then gave them candy….and told them that she hoped the goodies would inspire them to care.  Ha!

         I understand the need for her to place additional pressure on the kids. After all, with the “No Teacher Left Caring”….I mean “No Child Left Behind” policy dictating the way in which the underpaid teachers teach, and the powerless school is run, she needs to bully, blackmail or bribe students so that her school will win the cash prize….to be used for rentals of vending machines that sell sugary drinks and Twinkies, or extra police that monitor and reprimand kids for innocently holding hands (no touching for more than 3 seconds allowed at our militaristic school) or for wearing bandanas (guess they’re trying to eliminate any sort of 70’s resurgence).

         In any case, the use of candy is rampant in our small town school. And although not all teachers participate in the assault, many give out sweets as rewards for homework well done, as bribes for being quiet in class, or as incentives for test taking. What the heck happened to those good ol’ gold stars?

         My daughter achieved the highest mark in her grade on a math test and as a reward she was told that she could go to the office and pick out two ‘prizes’. She came home with a bag of Skittles and a can of 7-Up….because she doesn’t like Tootsie Rolls or Mountain Dew…. What? Dyed sugar balls and carbonated corn syrup are prizes for getting a good math grade? Isn’t the grade good enough? Why not give the kid a movie pass? A pencil? A carrot….? Do they not know that my child will become nutty and unfocused due to the strange chemical reaction from sugar in her blood? What will they do when, in history class, she becomes hyperactive and unruly and disrupts the entire group? Will they then send her back to the office to get reprimanded for being adrenalized? And why does she need a reward anyway? Isn’t the satisfaction of doing well, enough? Do we really want to teach our children that doing something good is only worthy if there is a bonus waiting at the other end?

         And since my child doesn’t have a problem with obesity (she’s a twig) or diabetes (her blood and pancreas will be thankful she’s off to high school next year), an argument using the current alarming statistics don’t really suit my case. I did however voice my concern, and was told that no child is forced to take candy, and that my daughter doesn’t have to accept the dangling sugar stick if she doesn’t want it. But of course she does want it! It’s her reward…and she’s 13….and the dopamine-producing-addictive substance is put right under her nose! I just recently read a study that gave rats the choice between sugar and cocaine, and guess what? The other white drug, sugar, wins out every single time. Apparently, sugar is the drug of choice amongst rats…..and Americans…and those pushers in my kids’ school.

         Mrs. Obama, perhaps you should work on educating our educators so that they can reinforce your efforts in your righteous fight for a healthier society. Call me crazy, but when junk food, sugar drinks and lack of education are to blame for the problem, and yet our educational facilities are supplying and promoting these things, someone is not thinking straight.  It's laughable, which is why it's posted here.

         Maybe the teachers have their hands in that sugary cookie jar.