The amount of students who do not eat enough at home are growing everyday. Seventeen percent of American children, twenty-two percent of African-American children and twenty percent of Latino children are living in "food insecure" households. This type of household is unable to feed each member of the household because of lack of resources. Like I said, these numbers are sadly growing everyday. So does it become the schools responsibility when these students are only eating at school? Or what if the lack of nourishment is affecting their performance in school? When does the school get involved? There are so many questions regarding this issue, and I believe that schools need to do something about it.
Students that are not being completely nourished may seem very tired and cranky, and are unable to concentrate. These students miss school more than others, and may be hospitalized often. These students may be quickly labeled as "problem" students because of their irritability and instances of acting out, when they are really just hungry.
Well, many schools offer free and reduced lunches for qualifying students and many teachers often keep plenty of snacks in their classroom to ensure that students are eating during the day. However, there is more that can be done. Teachers and school administrators should make the forms for free or reduced lunches more readily available, and there should be information on how to fill out the forms for families who are unaware. Also, teachers who notice behaviors in their students that may point to hunger, should report the information to the principal or other appropriate staff member.
http://www.edutopia.org/student-hunger-nutrition-food-banks
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