Once I spoke to my professor, Bree Picower, I felt much better about my next action steps. She suggested that I take pictures of student lunches and use that as my conversation starter. I started off the discussion by showing the following pictures:
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| School Breakfast - Friday |
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| School Lunch - Friday |
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| School Breakfast- Monday |
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| School Lunch - Monday |
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I then asked the students what was missing and the conversation completely took off ... "No fruits or vegetables!", "No wait there is one,
but it looks the same.", "I don't eat it, it is
boring." "Always the same food
over and over again.", "We always get carrots, or apples or oranges.", "But sometimes they are
not fresh. I see them they
come in boxes or cans. They are not fresh!". Whew! I didn't expect them so have such powerful reactions. But I have to admit they are right. I wasn't until I started taking pictures that I realized how
brown and bland their lunch really is. The only color in their lunch is artificial. After our discussion, I wanted to ask them so badly what our actions steps should be, but I refrained. I have scheduled Ms. W, cafeteria staff, to be a guest speaker. Before we decide on our action steps I want them to interview Ms. W to further investigate where their lunch food comes from. I think that once they are aware of where their food comes from and who gets to choose what they eat, they will be armed with the information they need to then take action.
Above & Below: Students are enjoying a orange for snack during NJASK test prep.
I have been bringing in different types of fruits and vegetables for them to sample.
Below: Students try peanut butter and celery. They all liked it
and went up for seconds and thirds!!! I had one student that was
allergic to peanut butter, he was brave enough to try the celery all on
its own. He said "it's not that bad. It's crunchy, like a chip but
healthier". My goal is to expose my students to a variety of fruits and
vegetables on a weekly basis. I am thinking about writing a letter to
supermarkets in our area to see if we can get donations.
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| Their smiles say it all!!! |
After thought: Trying to incorporate a Social Action Project during NJASK is extremely challenging. I highly recommend generating a topic at the beginning of the school year and incorporating it into your daily schedule. Currently, I am teaching Social Action once maybe twice a week and I notice that I spend at least 10 minutes reviewing what we did last time. Also, I am feeling the time crunch. The end of the year is approaching and between talent shows, graduations, make up testing, district and grade level trips it's becoming harder to schedule time for this project. But
"there is no time like the present".
