Serving To The Elementary 1

Serving To The Elementary

Danielle Hansen
Dr. East
19 April 2014











Abstract
Serving To The Elementary 2

Whether or not schools should provide breakfast in the classroom after the morning bell
includes a very opinionated conversation. Breakfast is proven to be the most important meal of
the day. In many areas people are unable to afford a healthy breakfast for them or their kids, this
is why the Breakfast In The Classroom program has been created in low-income areas. This
program is government funded and provides simple, nutritious breakfasts to all students. Based
on the information below, one can realize I have researched students, teachers, and parents; the
three main groups of people closely affected by this program.













Food poverty is at an all time high with one in seven children leaving for school hungry.
The research done by cereal maker, Kelloggs, found per one child going to school hungry once
a week for the duration of their primary school life, loses 8.4 weeks of learning time do to lack of
motivation and attention span (Sayid, 2013). The USDA (United States Department of
Agriculture) regarding food and nutrition, has made a strong point on how breakfast is one of the
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most important meals of the day. Due to the amount of children coming to school lacking their
morning nutrition, the NSLP has been used to target childrens health regarding malnutrition
(Martin, 2012). The NSLP is the National School Lunch Program, a federal law signed into
place by Harry S. Truman in 1946 (Why Offer School Breakfast Free to All Children?). The
USDA and NSLP got together and created a program called Breakfast in the Classroom, trying
to get more low-income students to eat breakfast. With this program, breakfast is completely
funded by the government and is brought to the students in class after the morning bell (Martin,
2012). That way, students dont have to come in early just to eat, and they arent rushing to get
to class causing them to skip breakfast on the way. With teachers doing the work of setting up
the meal, we will take a look at their opinion first.
Making sure students are getting a nutritious breakfast has shown positive changes in
their participation during classroom activities as well as better attendance, and a 40% decrease in
tardies (Caron, 2013). Before the students arrive, their classroom teacher has already placed
each childs breakfast on their desk. Breakfast normally consists of an apple or banana, cereal,
milk, and string cheese with hot meals 1-2 times a week. Teachers have observed that serving
breakfast in the classroom brings the class closer together, provides structure outside the home,
and is a good way of showing them that they care. Marie Rice, a teacher from an elementary
school in Rochester, New York, believes starting off the day with breakfast in the classroom
creates a very calm and quiet mannered learning facility. Janice Tillmon from Detroits
Brewer Elementary-Middle School is able to sum it all up by saying, It benefits my kids in three
ways: nutritionally, socially, and emotionally (Caron, 2013). These statements from the
teachers indicate that most have a pretty large latitude of acceptance. With such positive
feedback, there is little room for rejection.
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One of the downsides to serving breakfast in the room is that it requires cleanup time for
both students and teachers. Cleanup includes, throwing away trash, scoping the floor for
dropped food, and wiping off all the desks. Another negative is that both eating and cleaning take
away from instruction time. The third thing teachers dont appreciate is the mess the food tends
to leave on the floor. With janitors normally cleaning the rooms every other day, food gets left
around which is attracting ants and other common pests. By cause of the wide range of positives
and negatives, some teachers are left unsure.
Due to the benefits school breakfast provides in the classroom most teachers are for the
program. I was only able to find such minute cons that they are unable to outway the pros.
Another stakeholder that is in a very similar situation as teachers are their students.
Studies have shown that eating breakfast helps students succeed in school. According to
the University of Tennessee Extension, skipping breakfast can make kids late for school,
irritable, more likely to visit the school nurse, and tired (Richards). Five-year-old Zacari
Spraggins proves this theory to be true when he says, It helps me keep awake during the day
(Caron, 2013). A lot of students dont eat a substantial amount or any breakfast at all before
leaving for the school bus; leaving them too hungry to focus on schoolwork before lunchtime.
With schools serving the morning meal, students are assured to eat something. I have found that
In many one on one interviews with elementary students have been recorded. In these
interviews, students are asked what they think about the new breakfast program. When asked
how she feels after eating breakfast at school, elementary school student Ja-Cariya pauses and
says, happy; the proceeds to say her favorite part is eating a meal with all my friends (Caron,
2013). Students have so far been loving the new program, when asked what they didnt like
about it they could only think of very little.
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The only downfall to eating breakfast in school is students are eating at a later time. If
breakfast wasnt served at schools not all students would be eating in the morning, and even if
they were it would be earlier in the day. When eating breakfast at school, kids are eating at least
an hour later than they would normally; leaving less time in between breakfast and lunch. This
results in many students not being hungry enough to finish their lunch. Jack Fredrickson says, I
get hungry after school if I dont eat all of my lunch; he is then asked why he doesnt finish his
lunch and replies with, I ate all my breakfast (Glazer, 2014). This is the only negative to
serving breakfast in schools but it is a big enough problem that it leaves some students unsure
which they prefer.
The only students that are not committed to the breakfast program would be kids that
would be fed breakfast by their parents at home.
From my analysis, I have gathered that each stakeholders opinions are formed for many
different reasons. By looking at the viewpoints of teachers, students, and parents, I have learned
that serving breakfast in schools is appreciated by the majority. I have used the social judgement
theory to determine how I came to this conclusion based on the values of each individual.
Based on the research I have done, I believe my three stakeholders could potentially find a
common ground. Throughout my presentation I will be focusing on inviting all of my
stakeholders in to understand all sides of the topic. If I present as well as Id like to, my
stakeholders will be able to agree that serving breakfast in schools is great opportunity in order to
benefit the children as much as possible.


Parents acceptance:
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As of now, the -------program has mainly appeared in low-income areas. Schools in these
areas are already offering free and/or price reduced schools meals. Principle Ralph Spezio from
school district number 17, says






xLow income families dont have the money to pay for the extra food it takes to prepare
breakfast
One less thing they have to worry about before sending their child off to school


Parents rejection:
will eat away at instructional minutes. She does a back of the napkin calculation: 20
minutes a day, everyday of the year, adds up to 10 full school days.
"We are all a little upset and skeptical of the whole program,"
Theyd personally like to prepare breakfast for their kids so they know what theyre
getting to eat
If eaten together, it can take away from family time


Parents non-commitment:



Writing Grading Rubric

Use of context HighX..Low
Paper as written does not fully meet the context of the assignment
Awareness of audience HighX..Low
Fair. Audience can roughly follow what you are trying to do. The
details get shaky.
Use of purpose throughout HighX..Low
Purpose is unclear until the conclusion.
Relevant compelling content HighX..Low

Use of illustrations HighX..Low
Good use of quotes.
Use of credible Sources and Evidence HighX..Low
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Use of Language & Control of Syntax and
Mechanics
HighX..Low
Total HighX..Low

30/50
Process HighX..Low
7.5/10
Memo HighX..Low
7.8/10