pineda Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Texas lawmaker wants BMI on report cards!Associated Press, AustinTexas school districts would be required to include the body mass index of students as part of their regular report cards under a bill introduced Tuesday by a lawmaker seeking to link healthy minds with healthy bodies. When the measurement, which calculates body fat based on height and weight, indicates a student is overweight, the school would provide parents with information about links between increased body fat and health problems, said Democratic state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte. "We should be just as concerned with students' physical health and performance as we are with their academic performance," she said. More than a third of school-age children in Texas are overweight or obese, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture. Arkansas implemented a similar law during the 2003-2004 school year, although the information is sent to parents separately from report cards. Eric Allen, a spokesman for the Association for Texas Professional Educators, said most parents don't need to be told their child is overweight. "It doesn't have a place on a report card," he said. (Note from pineda:I have an elementary school-age child. The recess for this child has been cut to 15 minutes a day. What recess they do have is spent just milling around on the playground. Their P.E. class is once a week, for 20 minutes. Lately, since before Christmas and continuing even now, these children have not even had recess, since the teachers say they all need extra practice for the upcoming TAKS tests! I have only been a big supporter of public school education, but with all the stupid things coming out of the Texas Legislature lately and the No Child Left Behind crap, I'm beginning to have second thoughts on this "quality" education.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilson Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 As per usual, they have identified a sound problem and proposed a completely hair-brained way of solving it.Why is it calisthenics are no longer part of our school curriculums and PE consists of sitting around a gymnasium if we are so worried about the health of our children. It is no new found revelation that obesity is bad for you, not to mention the social and psychological effects it will have on a child when subjected to the tortures of other children.I am obese and I see absolutely nothing wrong with focusing time on our students health. I remember my days in school and looking back I am really disappointed at how little effort went into the health of our students."Progressives" want the inclusion of sex and drug education in our schools because it would help keep them safe and healthy, where are they when it comes to mandating physical activity as well?As far as TAKS and other standardized testing, it is a joke. School is no longer an education institution but rather a place where you are tutored what to remember for the majority of the year so that you can pass a standardized test to make sure school budgets don't get cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouCityGirl Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 my BMI is 19.2 (that puts me in the underweight catagory)..ok I'll shut up now! My body fat is 18.5% *whistles innocently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heights2Bastrop Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 My BMI is in a "to the power of" figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilson Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 my BMI is 19.2 (that puts me in the underweight catagory)..ok I'll shut up now! My body fat is 18.5% *whistles innocently <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm sure I could your BMI and body fat percentage into an equation that would eventually equal mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbaNerd Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 Aye, i can hear the jokes now: "Houston fattest city..also, the kids are failing, due to the fact that their Body Mass indexes are on their report cards"*crickets* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted January 20, 2005 Author Share Posted January 20, 2005 Democratic state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte says, "We should be just as concerned with students' physical health and performance as we are with their academic performance." I think we should be just as concerned with our STATE LEGISLATOR'S physical health and performance as we are with their LEGISLATIVE PERFORMANCE!" The State Senator van de Putty, who describes herself as "fat and fifty", might well look into what percentage of State Senator and Reps. are overweight and see if there's any corrollary between obesity and bone-headed propositions and bills coming out of Austin! Let's see a report on THEIR BMI's and the corresponding performance statistics. Who's with me on this one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowbrow Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 OMG yes Pineda!Tell me where to sign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilson Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 Hey dangit, Im obese and I have plenty of good ideas! So far my extra weight hasn't cut off circulation to my brain yet!eh, at least Im trying to lose weight, that and I haven't entered into public office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 I'm an O.K. weight, if I was nine feet tall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilson Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 hah! that was pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted January 20, 2005 Author Share Posted January 20, 2005 Does anyone know where the personal statistics of our Texas legislators might be stored? It would be interesting to calculate their respective BMI's and then compare those statistics to the number and types of bills proposed by these legislators. In essence, showing a relationship between their weight and their performance (good or bad), and then we could send them dietary information in their own "end-of-session" report cards if their BMI was in the obesity category. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, right? I feel so sorry for Senator van de kamp (I mean, Putte) for trying to throw up a smoke screen in the school finance debate with this retarded proposal. She's going down in flames! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssullivan Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 This is one of the dumbest ideas I've heard in a long time. Besides, you'd think a parent could tell if his or her kid was fat. It's not that hard to figure out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debmartin Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 parents of course know when their child has a weight problem and children, like adults do not have to be told they're fat. they live it, they hear it from other children. when you're an overweight adult, your peers, co-workers and even your children will usually refrain from calling it to your attention - children on the other hand can be cruel and get away with it. when i was a kid i used to beat kids up for teasing my younger brother for being the "fat kid". he grew up tall and slimmed down but i'm sure it was a rotten part of his childhood. these idiot lawmakers should watch their own weight, quit picking on our children and earn their pay. i'm with pineda on his idea that these fatheads in austin should get a report card of their own, one that includes their bmi - sign me up too!deb martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted January 21, 2005 Author Share Posted January 21, 2005 even the legislators know it's a silly bill! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted January 21, 2005 Author Share Posted January 21, 2005 Putty's background Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssullivan Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 You know, if the Legislature is so concerned about overweight kids, it would be a better plan for the state to really enforce the new standards for school lunches and vending machines on school campuses (which I personally believe should be totally outlawed everywhere on campus) that were passed a couple of years ago. That would have a much great impact on the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted January 21, 2005 Author Share Posted January 21, 2005 No Child Left Behind becomes No Child with a big Behind.... Just this year, the donuts finally left the cafeteria. They were 40 cents apiece, for stale old doughnuts, yet every kid who went through that line seemed to grab for one. I complained to the principal when I saw it, and was told it had been approved by the school board, because it was making a PROFIT for the school! When I asked why there were vending machines in the hallways where all the children passed by everyday to and from different places, I was told that these were "OFF-LIMITS" for the kids! When I asked why they were there at all, they said the teachers had requested them because there wasn't anymore room in the teacher's lounge to put anymore of them. (This turned out to be untrue.) When I took a peek into the teacher's lounge, there were already six other machines in there! Ye gods, how many vending machines do they need in there? If van de Putty wants to legislate something, here's something she might want to consider. The reasons I was given repeatedly for why the vending machines and donuts and soft drinks were being made available to the children in the first place was because the district NEEDED THE MONEY! If that's true, and I'm not saying it is, why not work on that issue; how to fund a decent education, not punish the children for falling into the traps the SCHOOLS set up for them in the first place! Here's something else they might consider; look into the amount of exercise they're getting per week. How about slacking off on some of those TAKS "Pep Rallies" and give the kids some supervised physical education opportunities. Of course, if van de Putty wants to make sure that she's never elected again, just keep up this asinine tirade about BMI's and it will definitely come true! Idiot... Hey, Pharmicist Phutty, HEAL THYSELF FIRST! High BMI linked to dementia! Of course, since van de Putty has declared herself, "fat and fifty", maybe the above shown link will explain her latest demented actions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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