jumping doris

I was rushing out so I couldn't elaborate. At middle school my youngest has done 4 languages (chinese,german, french and spanish) They only did French in the UK. I think I would rather do one well but she has had the chance to do all four and she is better at French so that is the one she is doing more of. She also does cookery and woodshop every week which they did very rarely at home.
The older ones have less choice in the arts but have more languages...eldest is doing Japanese. Lots more sports here....the girls can do ballet in school and they have a weight room, which amazes me. Sadly none of them are sporty.
The subjects are broken down more and that is why they had such a hard time with Maths when they first came. None of us had a clue what calculus was, and then there is Algebra 1,2,3,and so on. Cognitive algebra...what?

However the thing that they like the best....the school has it's own Starbucks.

Molly Malone

I suppose it doesn't matter, if the kids are old enough to get to school by themselves, whether driving or taking public transport (not the school bus obviously) then they are old enough to decide whether or not to stop for coffee on the way to school (!!!). But I personally think that is a very bad idea - a bunch of high schoolers jumped up on caffeine all day! My brother is in his senior year of HS and is addicted to it. He drinks those big cans of energy drinks all day long, then he stays up all night and is late for school the next day. His schoolwork is being affected by it. He is also very irritable and probably shows a lot of effects from the high amounts of caffeine he ingests.

I don't think schools should encourage teens to drink coffee, especially espresso and things, but I also don't think they should put pop machines in schools either and I know most schools have them, and get lots of extra funding from Pepsi or Coke for letting them set them there.

And this is a bit of a hijacking, but it really surprised me. Sorry!!

jumping doris

They can't buy coffee all day. It is only open at certain times. They have all the usual machines also but then they do in the UK. No Starbucks in schools there though.
The amount of soda everyone drinks here has surprised me.I see elderly people drinking cola here and I never saw that at home. We only ever had fizzy drinks on birthdays and christmas. My kids drink a bit more here but generally prefer water or milk.
I don't think there is anything wrong with soda or coffee in school or anywhere else. Everyone at some point has to learn to be responsible about what they eat or drink. A little bit of what you fancy does you good

Molly Malone

Okay. I agree, everything in moderation. That goes for everything in life. I mean, a small cup of coffee in the morning, maybe a cigarette, how about a joint after school with some friends? As long as you don't do it ALL the time, it's fine!
I actually agree with the above statement, i.e. it's not totally sarcastic. Of course responsible adults should have the option of choosing what to put in their bodies. My issue with this is that these aren't adults -they're impressionable teenagers (assuming your kids are in a high school) and probably between the ages of 14-18 years old. 14 year olds should not have an espresso under any circumstances, in my own opinion. Caffeine is a drug, like nicotine and alcohol. It does things to your body that may not be good for it. It is highly addictive besides. It has no place being sponsored by a high school!

I think it's great that your kids don't drink soda very often. It is really bad in many ways, and my daughter is only allowed to have maybe one root beer or Sprite a month (no caffeine, she's only 8!!). I think putting soda machines in schools is terrible and I really support the counter-measures the American Dairy Farmers are taking by putting milk alternatives next to the Pepsi machines. In a perfect world, kids wouldn't be advertised to at all while they are in school!! I think Starbucks is going way too far though. One cup of coffee is said to contain around 100 mg of caffeine. After doing some online research (http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database/), I found that Starbucks drinks' caffeine content varies pretty widely, with 12 oz lattes and mochas at the 60mg mark and 16 oz around 120, while the regular black Starbucks coffee packs an unbelieveable 279 mg in 12 oz, and 372 in 16 oz.

I drink between two to four 8 oz cups of Tetley every morning, and they are 40 mg of caffeine per bag, for a maximum total of 160 mg. After three cups I am noticeably wired. After four I break out into cold sweats.

I suppose the caffeine debate could take up a whole new thread, and apologies for stealing the thread from the OP! Just wanted to share my humble opinion, because I feel very strongly about this!

Englishmum

I agree with your comments. How ironic that every few weeks there are news reports commenting on the dangers of overweight children (eg. prone to diabetes and heart disease when they are older) yet they can buy high-calorie fizzy drinks at school! (If they must do so, why not have Diet drinks only?).

Don't even get me started on corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup in so many food items here ranging from breakfast cereals to tomato ketchup to drinks; FFS on the can of 'Snapple' ice lemon tea in our fridge, labelled "Made from the best stuff on Earth" and 'all natural' has corn syrup on the list of ingredients...

Incidentally I once went to a school fete at the Singapore American School. In the school canteen there was a Taco Bell, Burger King and a Starbucks....lovely healthy stuff, eh?

I remember reading about a primary school in England where the Headteacher banned all junk food and fizzy drinks. There was a marked improvement in behaviour and concentration from the pupils (and this was before Jamie Oliver began his school dinners campaign):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2404169.stm

and a link from that page led to a report about a plan to ban fizzy drinks in schools in Los Angeles - was this ever implemented?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2218636.stm


Here is an interesting article onthe latest regs for school meals in UK State schools:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/food_matte...oolmeals.shtml


I wonder how many kids in the schools here in the USA could be taken off medication for ADHD if they were put on a decent diet instead.....?

Silly Sod

Imagine my horror when I married Molly Malone and discovered her opinion on my (relatively small I thought) use of 7 to 10 grams of cocaine a day!!! You can imagine the pressure I am under

Deedee13

my girls came here from a private school in germany, they dont start school in germany until they are 7!!! we had friends in the Uk and I was getting quite worried their 6 year old was coming to visit and could read and write and my kids were still in kindergarten! Then the kids started school from 7.45 till 11.15 until they went to 5 grade!! How the hell they learn to read and write I have no idea! But by the age of 10 they were on the same level as their UK counterparts.

Here in the USA they have it a little easier, its not as tough, and some things they have already done. But the difference here is its good to want to achieve. Your encouraged to be good, to get good grades. In Europe it was either sink or swim. And here I have more control. I dont need to wait for reports twice a year. I can go online everyday and see where they messed up for the day or they did good. And where they need a little more help.

Cocaine, starbucks. Jeez my kids are 12. and 14 and never tasted coffee in thier lives. Its still cocoa and milk for mine. School meals are crap tho, so they are now on packed lunches.

Silly Sod

You may well be hearing from Starbucks lawyers any day now. Closely followed by lawyers for the Medellin cartel, the body of which may say, in legalise: Wou' ju like to meet my li-ul fwend!!!

Deedee13

lmfao! You have been breathing in toooo much snow.

Silly Sod

LMFAO!?!!? That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me on here in six months. In fact, that is the nicest than anyone has said since my wife said - erm.....what now?......oh....I guess - at Kalamazoo County Court last October ha ha.

Bob

Aye, luck of the draw...my old high school back in blighty had those facilities and did those languages and Japanese....but out where MIL teaches, they do french and german only, because they couldn't get anyone else to do spanish, which would be more handy...and the facilities are pretty mediocre, but then the school funding comes from local taxes, and the local area is a tad poor, well most of maine above portland is a tad tight on money....so it's just one of those things

Mallory

I agree with everything you said, that children shouldn't be fed so much rubbish. it's a disaster.

the only thing is, everying you quoted is happening in the UK too. which is sad. high fructose corn syrup is called glucose/fructose in the UK, and it's in everything from Ribena and Cadbury's, to sweetened cereals in the UK. the British are becoming fatter every year, obesity is rampant. about 400,000 kids are on ADHD meds.

I don't know what the answer is. i wish they would ban glucose/fructose, along with trans fat. we were better off before we ever heard of it.

Hugh Handbag

I know there is a British School in Chicago, don't know anyone who sends their kids there though sorry.

jumping doris

[QUOTE] Just wanted to share my humble opinion, because I feel very strongly about this![/QUOTE
You obviously do!
Myself, I'm a bit more laid back.
For me personally there are far more things in the world to worry about than a Starbucks franchise in a high school.
We are all different and that's what makes the world and BE such an interesting place.

jumping doris

My school in the UK did Greek and Russian along with all the usual languages when I was there many centuries ago. It doesn't anymore though.