Posted on 05/10/2007 3:00:54 PM PDT by Baladas
Four times during the school year in Campbell County, Wyo., the school sends report cards home. Anxious parents and worried students are provided with the typical grading categories -- academic performance, attendance and a work ethic score.
But here in Gillette, there's an additional grade that has some families up in arms.
It's called the body mass index, or BMI, a calculation based on height and weight that indicates whether your kid is too fat. The school chooses the word "overweight." If your child scores too high, it's the fitness equivalent of a bad grade. When Taylor Barbour came home with a BMI score of 32, seven points over the "normal range," his mother, Rosie Barbour, was none too pleased. Her anger was directed not at her 12-year-old son but at the school.
"It just doesn't have any place in the school," said Barbour. "It's fine if you want to teach them how to eat healthy, and make better choices during health class, but I don't think giving them BMI on their report card" is the answer.
'The Strong Kids Club' On top of that, the school district sent a letter in the mail inviting Taylor -- and 172 other kids with high BMI scores -- to join an exercise program three times of week. It's called the Strong Kids Club and came free to his family, with a promise that "it will be fun."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Exactly!
I homeschooled. Plenty of time for exercise, and I supervised the kitchen. Also, there were no babysitters to pacify the kids with food and TV.
I suggest that parents who now at the point of deciding between government institutionalization for their kids, or the natural environment of their home, that they take a good long look at the fat kids waiting for the government school bus. Is this really, what you want for your child?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Homeschooling is superior. It doesn’t need to ride a “high horse”. Parents all over the nation, are choosing homeschooling for that reason.
Now that I have pointed out, my observation about the healthy fitness and weight of homeschoolers, perhaps others will take note as well.
By the way, I must leave the computer too. I will address each of your points when I get back tonight or possibly tomorrow.
Personally, I wouldn't care one way or the other if the school put my child's BMI on some sort of report and sent it home. First of all I already know it and secondly, I'd store up any other information with what I already know about her and make a determination about its validity. It's just information, not a life or death sentence, a proclamation from on high or a set path to follow forever. It's a number. If a parent doesn't like the number, then ignore it or change it, but shooting the messenger won't change the fact that the child may or may not be overweight.
In my child's case, her BMI places her on the very edge of normal/overweight. But since she is an athlete (and wears a size 6 or 8 pants) I'm just not too worried about that number. Athletes with their muscle mass aren't accurately represented on that scale. Like I said, it's a number, it's information, she and I can use it how we see fit
I won’t slam you, because I basically agree with you - however, my problem is with the use of the BMI and the change of the definition of the words “overweight” and “obese.”
That is why I object to the schools doing this.
USE of BMI winds up putting star athletes into the overweight and obese categories, when nothing could be further from the truth.
I live in a primarily agricultural community and many of the kids I know would be considered overweight or obese in an urban setting based on their BMI, but these kids are not sedentary and they are not living on junk food. These kids are tending chicken houses, small farmettes, and even larger farm fields. They eat hearty because they play and work hearty and many do so from a very young age.
Until some folks around here really got to know our family they wondered if I actually fed my 8yo daughter enough, because she’s a little bit of nothing........then when they got to know us all, they realized that is just the way she is because she will eat everything on her plate and go back for more. Her best friend is a very big girl and actually outweighs me by 10 pounds, which means she outweighs my daughter by 50-60#.
Yesterday afternoon they asked me if they could take a break from filling seed start pots - a very sedentary thing to be doing.........they then both proceeded to work on perfecting their cartwheels and somersaults in the side field. After that they raided the vegetable drawer in the fridge for carrots for a snack.
I find BMI to be a very deceptive form of determining if one is unfit, overweight or obese.
I remember all the kids when I was going to school 30 years ago were mostly skinny. One or two of them were "big boned." The parents of one of those kids owned a popular fast food joint (no surprise here).
Now I see a much higher percentage of kids waddling to school. And it is not funny.
Those parents that worry about damaging the self-worth of their fat kids are just kidding themselves.
The truth of the matter is the kid KNOWS he is fat. The kid already has extremely low self-esteem.
Cut your family tv viewing time. Cut the computer time. Cut the electronic games time. Go play catch in the park. Kick the soccer ball. BE with your children and SHOW them how to be active.
Kids are kids for a reason... they NEED adults that care about them to tell them what to do
I mean honestly... some people have convoluted ideas about what parenting is all about and just want to make it more complicated than it should be...
Now that I have pointed out, my observation about the healthy fitness and weight of non-homeschoolers, perhaps others will take note as well.
Homeschooling is superior. It doesn’t need to ride a “high horse”.
I was not speaking of homeschooling, I was speaking of YOUR attitude.............your reading comprehension is lacking.
Considering you have never done so in the past, I will not hold my breath waiting for such.
Something you may not know about Virginia and private schools - teachers do not have to be certified by the state to teach at a private school, nor do the private schools do SOL's. In fact, there are some schools that use "supervisory" teachers who are in charge of 4-6 other adults that direct the classroom education. The people actually delivering instruction are not required to have a college degree. One private school in my area proudly uses the ABeka curriculum. The kids sit in cubicles all day and do worksheet after worksheet for 6-7 hours a day, with a 'para-educator' passing out the sheets and walking up and down the aisles. That is one of the schools where the public school drop outs end up. Sounds great huh?
I hate BMI!!! I really do. I believe that some liberal money maker invented it so that he could live on this cash cow. Before BMI the country never talked about how many kids were overweight. President Bush is considered overweight according to BMI. I think it is ridiculous. Thank God I was not an overweight kid. We tortured the overweight kids like crazy in school. I can just imagine how worse it will be when they are pointed out by the teachers.
Actually, I agree with you there. BMI was never intended to be a "precise" measurement of body fat. You need to jump into a water vat or undergo analysis with a electronic device to get more detailed info. Which is outside the scope and budget of most schools.
But the truth of the matter is -- kids ARE getting fatter -- And their parents doesn't seem to be aware of it.
Either they don't care or they don't know what to do about it because the parents usually don't take good care of themselves. I suspect the latter.
And guess what? If these parents used a little bit of intelligence, they can go to Amazon.com and do a search. Find fat loss books that have lots of feedback and high ratings from readers. If your budget is low, buy the books used.
And yes, the fat loss industry is over-saturated and extremely confusing at best... You need to sift the wheat from the chaff. Because there are books and information sources out there that will give you EXACT good quality information to whip everyone in the household in great shape.
You see, we have a choice of how we want to be. That is the special thing about human beings -- we are the only living thing on the earth that can do this...
The Navy’s weight standards are:
under 40:
22 percent for men
33 percent for women
over 40
23 percent for men
34 percent for women
I’m happy when I can keep it down in the double digits ;-)
It’s not just that ... BMI is a flawed measuring system
I did not know that information - but from what I’ve heard of the private HS it does not surprise me. It’s pretty bad, to me anyway, when middle school honor students turn down full scholarships to the private school because of the drug and discipline problems they know to exist there.
I know one that did, and I know her parents. Her father is one of our trivia playing buddies and her mother was my daughter’s K-2 teacher.
OTOH, the elemtary school there does have some good programs and we lost a good 2nd grade teacher to the private school because it has a better program for her son who is not only autistic, but has severe diabetes.
But then, on the 3rd hand (lol) the discipline child in my daughter’s 3rd grade class who was expelled back in the fall is now attending either a private school or is being homeschooled - I don’t know which. I just know the child was expelled.
That’s some serious stuff that a 3rd grader is expelled from a public school. But it is a reason I like this district.
I have never met a fat homeschooler who has been homeschooled from the beginning. Never.
I have. Do I get a prize? That is one of the most stupid comments in the history of FREEPERS. Homeschoolers are not these perfect little angels. They have the same problems as other kids. My God and yes some even get FAT! Geesh. We got it. Homeschool is a good thing. Nobody is disputing it. I will still send my kids to Catholic School as always, but that is just me.
Well, mine turned down a scholarship, not because of drugs or a poor program, but just because the high school offered more of what she wanted. The school that wanted her truly is a great school. They are the one that has a Jefferson Scholar this year. Full ride to UVA - 1 per Freshman class. Pretty sweet. I know his mom and they are just busting their buttons proud and they should be. It’s an incredible honor and he worked hard for it.
While I understand what you are saying, I'm not sure I agree. Of course the fact that I have basically shunned an urban or even suburban lifestyle in favor of a rural one may have major bearing on my position.
My best friend is 25 and was a softball and basketball player in middle and highschool. I've seen pictures of her from 10 years ago, she was a big girl, but was without a doubt physically fit. Thanks to a state mandated medical "intervention" at 16 she is now grossly obese. She is not sedentary and tries hard to set a good example for her children about eating habits. She puts me to shame when taking a hoe to the weeds in a field. I'm 5'10" and 120#, but I'm also 22 years older than she.
You see, we have a choice of how we want to be. That is the special thing about human beings -- we are the only living thing on the earth that can do this...
I agree without question. That is why I have such an abject hatred of these government imposed "interventions."
I have to agree with the other posters on here. I have told you many times before that I have homeschooled since the beginning and have a chubby son. I also have a son who looks like we starve him, yet he eats more than anyone. If someone on this thread went by height and weight they might say obese, but the doctor said he was normal for his body type. All my children get the same amount of exercise and have different body types. Sometimes it’s just genetic. My bigger children are built like their father’s side (who are large people, but not obese). My twig is built like I was when I was a kid.
I think it may be a third option. The parents are so tired from long commutes and stresses that they come home and just want to go numb. I see friends of mine that wanted the big house and the three cars in the close-in suburbs to Wash DC and they are exhausted from what they put on themselves. Even my BIL and SIL (who have no kids) work these high powered jobs and then come home and do nothing but sit on the couch, watch TV, order take-out pizza and wonder why they are overweight.
It's as if this generation values things more than people.
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