A few weeks ago we had an unannounced health check at our school by the Ministry of Health in cooperation with the Ministry of Education.
It was the first one in years! I think the last one was more than 5 years ago.
They documented height, weight and other things.
We got the results three weeks ago.
The problem is that over 40% of the children are overweight. No big surprise, but still a shitty result.
So the school board got together and presented the results to the parents and had an evening event. The parents were upset! That's basically bodyshaming! That's playing with the mental health of the kids to call them fat!
The very next week, the school board decided to order a snack machine for our children at our school. There was a vote. These are the results of the teacher vote: 32 in favor, one abstained, two against. Me and a colleague.
The argument in favor of a vending machine: parents find it too difficult to prepare breakfast for their children in the morning.
This week on Wednesday the vending machine arrived and was installed.
There are only two sugar free times in this machine: Water and sparkling water. (65 and 66 in the photo)
Since Wednesday, the kids are late for class and have to use the bathroom exponentially (to get to the vending machine during class).
That's our solution to the obesity problem? Sugary items and not telling the kids that they might have a problem based on their diet and behavior?
Fuck this fiat system!
I still tell my kids to exercise every day, eat healthy, and do something about their extra weight!
Proof of work is what I teach them every day and will continue to do so!
Fight the fiat monster wherever you can!
Look at the others notes: #765129 #766430 #768174
Yikes.
I remember many years ago I fat shamed my ex wife’s cousin while at a bbq/pool party. Her cousin was a jokester and we were friendly and always joking with each other so I didn’t think much of it as I did it in a joking manner. But he seemed hurt by it and I felt bad about it after. Plus my ex got super pissed at me.
I saw him a year later at a UFC event and he looked jacked.
Sometimes the truth hurts but is the best medicine to get people to make improvements in their lives. Not saying kids should be fat shamed but pretending there isn’t a problem isn’t a good solution either.
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I do not shame my children. I just tell them the truth right to their face. The truth hurts, but it is their responsibility to change things. I am willing to help and provide knowledge on how to change. But the work is on them. That's why it's called proof of work.
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40 sats \ 2 replies \ @bren 15 Nov
I had a similar experience oddly enough.
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Someone fat shamed you or you fat shamed someone else
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Some people need to be told they can, some people need to be told they can't. (sound warning)
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @DJGuy 16 Nov
Talking about the kids being overweight is bad for their mental health, so the solution was to buy a snack machine and make the kids fatter? Stuff like this is why I homeschool.
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Exactly! It's the worst solution there is. But if you look at it, it is a government-run school and a government-run education system, so it is no big surprise that the solution to the problem is far worse than the problem itself.
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @DJGuy 21h
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I love that one!
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Interesting story, par for the course.
In the interactions I've had in a public school recently (judging a debate tournament) there were mounds and mounds of trashy food around. I think it was meant to be a reward for judging the tournament.
And it was INSANE, the type of food that was available. It was mostly bags of bulk candy (the "good" kind, too, nothing cheap), and salty snacks like fancier chips (gourmet, not budget chips) and then bins of the mega muffins and croissants from Costco.
It was appalling. The only thing I would have eaten there were the mozzarella sticks.
And that's the trash what kids are surrounded by, especially for any party, after-school or club events, or anything where school admins want to "reward" the kids.
We recently had a friend visiting with an 18 year old daughter. Sweet girl but she seemed depressed and down, was really chunky, and always on her phone. She believes red meat is unhealthy, fruit and veggies are the most healthy food, drinks red bull to stay awake, and in general has very unhealthy beliefs about food. I think, unfortunately, that most kids her age are similar.
I talked a lot about carnivore (I can't shut up about how great it is), hopefully I wasn't too annoying.
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