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Weight Grade on Report Cards Angers Parents (Wyoming School District Uses BMI to Grade)
ABC News ^ | May 8, 2007 | JOHN DONVAN and KATIE HINMAN

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 ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: health; healthnazis; healthypeople2010; leftistagenda; nannystate; publiceducation; publikskoolz; unitednationsagenda
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The nanny state oversteps again.
1 posted on 05/10/2007 3:00:58 PM PDT by Baladas
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To: Baladas

OMG! what about their SELF-ESTEEM!!


2 posted on 05/10/2007 3:03:11 PM PDT by Mr. K (Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help)
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To: Mr. K

How do they justify this I wonder? Do they consider this a type of health screening? Schools have screened children for hearing and vision problems for a long time, and require certain immunizations as a health matter.


3 posted on 05/10/2007 3:07:44 PM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Baladas
Ya know, if they did this correctly, I wouldn’t think it such a bad thing.

They should put the kids through physical training, the same sort the military goes through, then grade ‘em on performance. The goal, of course, would be to train them up to military physical standards and better.

It would be good for the kids and good for the country.

4 posted on 05/10/2007 3:10:05 PM PDT by Little Ray (Rudy Guiliani: if his wives can't trust him, why should we?)
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To: Baladas

I’m fine with it — as long as students are allowed to formally rate and document teachers on their own physical characteristics.


5 posted on 05/10/2007 3:11:26 PM PDT by SteveMcKing
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To: Baladas

My husband, who taught for many years at a religious school, had to give a grade on the report card for “religious conduct.”

He always left that blank, saying “I’ll let G-D fill in that grade.”


6 posted on 05/10/2007 3:12:50 PM PDT by Alouette (Learned Mother of Zion)
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To: Baladas

One more example of the public schools attempting to take over the role of parent.


7 posted on 05/10/2007 3:12:51 PM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: SteveMcKing
as long as students are allowed to formally rate and document teachers on their own physical characteristics.

They've been doing it informally since the advent of schools.

8 posted on 05/10/2007 3:13:15 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (Peace Begins in the Womb)
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To: SteveMcKing
LOL! The teachers should also have to retain healthy BMIs to retain their jobs.
9 posted on 05/10/2007 3:14:06 PM PDT by keats5 (tolerance of intolerant people is cultural suicide)
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To: Mr. K
That doesn’t apply to the chubettes, only to the homo’s....get with the program.

Schools need to focus on academics.

10 posted on 05/10/2007 3:19:17 PM PDT by ThisLittleLightofMine
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To: Little Ray
Ya know, if they did this correctly, I wouldn’t think it such a bad thing.

I don't trust the BMI thing. There are just too many body types out there. I realize the issue is to deal with childhood obesity but I think there is too much lack of common sense in our schools to carry such a program out.

Two examples: I had a friend who was 6' 4" and really an "Amazon" type woman in regard to bone structure etc. She joined weight watchers (which I support btw) but their scale of appropriate weight for her was totally ridiculus and out of whack for her body type. Second: I have a nephew is looks perfectly normal in regard to weight and heighth. But you try to pick the kid up and he is as heavy as an anvil. I guess he is just really dense. And just for fun a third: It never fails that when I tell people what I weigh they say, "no way!". I've always downed myself because of my weight until finally a Dr. told me they don't consider me overweight...even though on their "scale" I don't fall in the weight range for my age etc.

11 posted on 05/10/2007 3:20:02 PM PDT by TXBubba ( Democrats: If they don't abort you then they will tax you to death.)
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To: Baladas

They’re trying to cut the wrong fat from education.


12 posted on 05/10/2007 3:20:13 PM PDT by InvisibleChurch (Forty on the highway, forty in the driveway.)
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To: Baladas

Well, I guess if you’re of Samoan or Tongan ethnicity, you may as well give up.


13 posted on 05/10/2007 3:20:16 PM PDT by This Just In
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To: Baladas

This should a warning about how much our society is piling on the schools. Health Education is one thing, but evaluation of body type in a child just adds the hassles that the schools have to deal with in addition to testing and NCLB.
Classrooms used to a more fun, creative places, with a lot of leeway to accomodate parents and the latest teaching techniques. Now they are testing centers, and palaces to politically correct micromanagement.


14 posted on 05/10/2007 3:24:07 PM PDT by Wiseghy ("You want to break this army? Then break your word to it.")
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To: TXBubba

I’m sure I don’t want BMI measured - I want military type physical training and grading based on performance. I think physical performance is more important that weight, BMI, etc.


15 posted on 05/10/2007 3:26:55 PM PDT by Little Ray (Rudy Guiliani: if his wives can't trust him, why should we?)
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To: Baladas

Not that I think the BMI index is particularly accurate, but you have to be pretty heavy to get a 32. BMI = ( Weight in Pounds / ( Height in inches ) x ( Height in inches ) ) x 703. Let’s say the 12 YO was 5’ 2” tall. To get a BMI of 32, he’d be around 175 pounds.


16 posted on 05/10/2007 3:27:28 PM PDT by LexBaird (98% satisfaction guaranteed. There's just no pleasing some people.)
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To: Baladas

This man's BMI is over 40 in this picture. According to the ninnies at this school, he would receive a bad grade in fitness. In this pic, his body fat is somewhere less than 5%.

17 posted on 05/10/2007 3:34:17 PM PDT by Little Pig (Is it time for "Cowboys and Muslims" yet?)
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To: Little Pig

according to Bull**** the BMI was devloped by a 19th stastican and is irrelevant to actual fitness. I say we aim to change fitness programs in school to heavily focus on weight traning to mess up the socialist sissy’s grading.


18 posted on 05/10/2007 3:38:36 PM PDT by John Will
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To: Baladas

There should be a grade that the parents can report back with in regards to “How do you rate the education of your child”?


19 posted on 05/10/2007 3:38:55 PM PDT by taxesareforever (Never forget Matt Maupin)
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To: Baladas

all my kids get pudgy right before a growth spurt.

They get tub around their bellies, and then BOOM! they stretch and become thin again.

I wonder how that would affect their gpa?


20 posted on 05/10/2007 3:44:19 PM PDT by Scotswife
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