Why Keep Soda In Schools?

I think there is a lot more wrong with the school system than whether the children become brand loyal to coca cola. Why not start with the simple fact that your tax dollars go to support a system that you basically must send your kids to. Why not allow Americans the choice of using their tax dollars to send their kids to any school they desire? At first religious schools would fare out well. But in the end the entrepreneurs would start many forms of private schools that would be better and cheaper than religious schools or private schools.

There is absolutely no way tax dollars, even if you paid no tax at all, would cover a private school tuition. Public school is so that every child gets a chance at getting an education. Taxes go to much more than schooling too (defense, welfare, roads, police, etc.)

The problem lies in the fact that most children go to public school and are exposed to these machines and advertisments. Instead of removing the machines, I would like to allow the kids to make thier own choice. Use some of that Soft Drink Company money to make health classes more in depth and required.

So a student can know what he is drinking and whether it is worth it or not. I also think these machines should only be allowed in high schools, maybe junior high, but definatley not elementary. High school and junior high (maybe) students would be able to make an informed decision, elementary students cannot.

I know when I was in public school I never was taught what was healthy and what wasn't other than the food pyramid (a lousy gauge anyway). No one taught me how sugar affected the body, the insulin response, what obesity caused, healthier options, why exercise is good, etc. All I learned was "Don't smoke, don't do drugs, eat like the pyramid, practice safe sex". That was it.

Jim, thanks for the mention of www.SugarShockBlog.com. Appreciate it!!

I'm also glad you're getting more discussion going about soda in the schools. This is an important issue!

A couple of the arguments that I find particularly irksome are:

1) schools need money from the soda sales -- I'm mystified by this response. (They're not creative enough to come up with some alternate ways to make money?! absurd);

2) that children should be able to learn to choose and removing the junk removes their choice. (Oh, give me a break. How can they choose right when the education system is bombarding them with junk from all corners)? Why allow temptation to abound?

3) Oh, and the argument that there's no scientific basis I find puzzling -- especially since this is a favorite one. There is ample scientific basis -- I just spend 3 years researching all the connections!

By the way, Commercial Alert is a great organization that's working on this junk-food-in-the-schools problem.

Connie
Author, SUGAR SHOCK! (Upcoming)
www.SugarShockBlog.com

When I was a kid there was no soda in school. When my childred were kids there was no soda in school until high school. In the fifties we got soda only on a road trip. It was coke and it was in those little glass bottles and gas stations would keep it so cold it was icy. To me part of vacation was getting a coke. I like to remember it that way. Mass marketing shoved it in our faces. It's no longer a special treat, it is a habit. You probably can't get it out of schools.

There is an organic healthier soda available to schools. Check out STEAZ...it is an organic green tea soda that tastes great that I tried and my kids love it. This would be a great alternative to the "bad" sodas served in schools. I checked out their website and it is something that my kids drink all the time. www.steaz.com. It comes in a lot of diffrent flavors and I am glad that these people came up with such a great idea.

I do not think worrying about soday sales in schools is the biggest problem we are facing today. Things are all in moderation. My children get soda every once in a while as a treat. They exercise, play sports and even it junk food. People need to stop blaming others for things they should be teaching their children at home. Just because you eat healthy does not mean you will not be obese or sickly. Exercise is very important. Children are bringing guns to school, doing drugs and having unprotected sex at an early age. These are the things we should be worried about not selling soda is schools. Those vending machines bring lots of money to the school districts that normally they would not have. That extra money brings afterschool programs, extra reading teachers, transportation for field trips. They keep cutting the budget and taking classes such as gym away from the kids. Those are the things they should definitely not be taking aware. The districts are not going to put that money back that they are losing by taking the machines out. Let's concentrate on the real issues at school.

soad should be in schools because ppl fall asleep in school like me if i dont have soda i will fall asleep eveyday

I am a teacher in a city high school. I am sick and tierd of dealing with the behaviors that results from kids drinking 80+ grams of sugar. Kids are constantly being diagnosed with ADHD, sometimes based only on thier teachers comments based on thier behavior in the class. So I get dozens of kids on meds for hyper-activity, Can ANYBODY explain to me how any reason can justify why I have to manage behviors that are in many respects due to thier sugar high?? We should be thinking of ways to help our kids become "learners" rather than consumers.

John, I agree with you 100%. Doesn't matter how much money the school districts make off soda if it means the kids won't learn a thing.

John,
as a teacher it is your responsibility to be able to handle and teach your students. If you are incapable of that, something which your grammar and spelling apears to concur with, do not blame it on your students nor soda. If you are looking for students who are more interested and suited for learning your answer would be to teach higher level courses such as honors or AP. If you are inqualified to teach them then it is your lack of learning that is the problem. I would also like to inform you of information posted in an article by the National Institute of Mental Health about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (found on http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm#symptoms). The following passages are taken from the site:
"A more recent study on the effect of sugar on children, using sugar one day and a sugar substitute on alternate days, without parents, staff, or children knowing which substance was being used, showed no significant effects of the sugar on behavior or learning."
("Wolraich M, Milich R, Stumbo P, Schultz F. The effects of sucrose ingestion on the behavior of hyperactive boys. Pediatrics, 1985; 106; 657-682.")

"In another study, children whose mothers felt they were sugar-sensitive were given aspartame as a substitute for sugar. Half the mothers were told their children were given sugar, half that their children were given aspartame. The mothers who thought their children had received sugar rated them as more hyperactive than the other children and were more critical of their behavior."
("Hoover DW, Milich R. Effects of sugar ingestion expectancies on mother-child interaction. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 1994; 22; 501-515.")
These studies seem to show little correlation between sugar and ADHD. So i tend to disagree with your points about ADHD.
As a student in a high school where soda is not allowed I watch students come and privately sell soda. They go through cases everyday, because it is in high demand. This shows schools could make money on soda. This money could be put towards things "to help our kids become "learners"," if that is your main priority. Such things could include new technology, equipment, new books, or better teachers.
Thank you,
A concerned student

I apologize for the way i entered the link, the correct link is http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm#ref04.

I think we should keep the soda machines cause some people dont drink milk so they need something else to drink thats why we should keep soda machines!And I go to Alexis I middle School.

Not selling soda in schools? What are we comming to? If the world is worried about child obesity then why not start with McDonald's? This is ridiculous.

The only reason schools are letting pop be sold is because they need the money and they know that there students will buy it.

Soda should not be sold at school because it makes kids lazy, and they don't want to do their classwork. So STOP selling soda at schools!!!!

I think that if it will help the school make more money they should have one. It doesnt matter if they do or not, because the kids are going to go to the store to buy soda. so either way the kids are spending money where ever to get sugar or to get soda. soda gives them energy to stay awake during classes and also to give them a caffeine buzz......

I've been around the united states chcking on school districts and the student sugar intake. In my Study i've noticed That California and Missouri school districts rated the highest in sugar products consumed. In both states the majority percentage of regular soda is 47.2 percent and the percentage of diet was an amazing 57.1 percent

I think we should keep pop in school because the teachers get pop so why can't we it's not fair. plus it would keep us up in class so we pay more atteion in class more

sarah huyga

At my school soda is heathlier than the juices they provide so i dont see y they dont allow it lol.

soda should be allowed in school because i say so and if i say it, it has to be done

I have a comment. Whether brand loyalty is a concern or not, it is understandable that health IS a conern. However, at my highschool (this was about 7 years ago) they decided to add a "healthy" snack machine and a "healthy" drink machine. Now, granted, the food in the healthy snack machine were good, i enjoyed power bars and granola as alternatives to the chocolatey and sugary candybars, but the fruit juices in what was supposed to be the "healthy" drink machine were so full of sugar, that they were still pretty UN-healthy. So i chose the alternative "unhealthy" diet coke with zero calories. I think schools should have the healthy and unhealthy choices for students because forcing the healthy alternative alone can cause an uproar and can also create even more of an aversion to healthy alternatives simply because children are so stubborn and opposed to change all at once.

I think we should have soda because every day students get up and ask to get a drink. Why do that when they can buy soda instead of getting up and getting a drink every day.

Soda we all crave it, we all worship it, and most of all we love it. But these teachers in the Danville Middle School say "We can not drink soda in school". All the time when we walk in what dothey have? Yep you got it they have a soda. They allways drink soda in front of us, teasing us, and taunting us every day. What we should do is to take the soda from the teachers and give them to the teachers untill they stop teasing us EVERY day. Soda for the students not for the teachers.

dont get ride of pop it would kill us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pop kills all

Why sodas' should be sold in school? I myself disagree with soda being sold in school, but there are some reasons why soda is an option, whether to be sold in schools or not. First of all, Sodas' sold in school helps raise money for the schools; students are attracted to the taste of high sugar. Second, is an option for students, whether they choose to be healthy or not. And if you wonder why sodas' should'nt be sold in school, there are many reasons. Here are the following reasons:

1)Soda is high of sugar and is definately not heathly for your body. It will affect you physically.

2)Due to the grams of sugar in soda, it might effect your performance in tests. For example drinking a can about 30-45 minutes before taking a test, can cause lazyness and stress.

And sorry people My time is up if you have any questions please email me at kyuubi408@yahoo.com I'd love to reply back to your answers

I dont know much about soda. But it is bad for you. It can be painful if you drink soda. soda is bad. it beats up your cells. if you drink soda you am not heathly
do not drink soda ok?

i go to mayville high school and at the begginning of the year our princible and all the other important people had a meeting and decided to not have a contract with the coca cola company because the united states was complaining out the human obicity and now we have these nast flavored waters called vitmen water and soo nast tasting and im allso doing a perswasive essay on this and allot of people are mad because we are allout to drink it. but the school wont sell it but the teachers loung has a pop meshien and the teachers are allout to buy it. ita rediculis.

Maybe the school system will make a deal with the students. Learn to spell and you can have soda. It's worth a try. Just an idea.

Im also doing a persuasive essay and so far it looks like we shouldnt

i think it should be allowed in school because kids should be able to make there own choice

My favorite drink is SOODDAA it is my favorite favorite I am talking like this because I have a sugar rush from all the soda that I drank in school.

Having been a journalist for our school newspaper, in a school where this very issue was debated and soda machines were removed, I believe I had a unique chance to experience this very issue.

My response to the arguments given above:

Soda sales (along with any vending machine sales) give enormous revenue to schools. Having co-written an article for our school newspaper, we concluded that the school would not function nearly as well without the revenue from these machines.

Children DO need to learn how to choose. If they don't learn that lesson young, what are they to do when they're older? By removing machines, you remove a learning experience that is vital to their well-being.

The problem IS complex, though I believe we can agree that extra sode calories likely do not help.

Schools should be controlled by the principal - each school district is different and should be regulated accordingly by the person who can do so best - the principal.

Excersize IS really the solution. I had 2 friends in school. They were somewhat overweight their whole lives until about 10th/11th grade when they started to excersize. They didn't change their soda consumption (roughly 2 cans a day), they just excersized. They brought their weight down greatly and are to this day well within a normal weight range (and they still drink sodas!).

Parents ARE really the problem. It is the parent's responsability to regulate, and teach children that it is OK to drink soda, so long as it is not done in excess and proper physical activity is maintained.

Students WILL go outside schools to buy soda's. When the soda machines in my school were removed, I subsequently brought a pepsi to school everyday, as did the majority of my friends - we were on the varsity football team and in quite good shape despite them.

Soda companies are fairly reluctant to take responsability. If they have, I haven't heard about it.

There is no such thing as a good soda. All soda is bad for you be it regular or diet. It is not the sugar in soda as much as the "bubbly" that causes tooth decay and the degeneration of bones. In the high school athletic programs, bone breaks and fractures have quadrupled in the past 20 years. Between 40% to 60% of peak bone mass is built during the teenage years. Consumption of soft drinks affects both boys and girls. The acidic nature of the phosphoric acid in the drink causes the body to pull calcium out of the bones to buffer the acid. To learn about aspartame in diet drinks read ASPARTAME: WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN HURT YOU. Any parent that still gives a child even one soda is an uneducated, lazy parent. The options for liquid consumption are vast. Do a little home work.

Personally, I don't really like pop and I'm aware of its harmful effects on my health. but my civics teacher gave me a homework to make a paragraph about this issue. the topic he gave me is "why should pop be allowed in schools". it's so hard to answer because i disagree with it but then i have to do it to get good marks....i am not satisfied with any of the arguments stated above...i don't know what to do....

sodas just 4 the money it causes tooth decay and cancer!!!^_-

Kids can have all the soda they want if they want to stay unhealthy it's their choice and the parents choice why do other people care? plus sometimes I dont feel like drinking juice or milk were in middle school not kindergarten the only thing I would get is powerade or Gatorade but they dont sell much of that dont take sodas
away PLEASE one more thing for parents who dont care it and people who take sodas out of the school if you take out the machines kids bring it to school for lunch and stuff. I see a whole bunch of kids eating chips,cookies and other stuff
for lunch.

The danger of so many healthy new sodas is a health hazard for our children. Today some sodas are organic, but still loaded with sugars hidden by the ingredient list as organic evaported cane juice. The hazards are avirtually the same - diabetes, heart disease, cancer. Our schools need to set a standard for allowable sugars. Carbonation is never good for children.

soda's in school are a good thing it gives kids that boost of energy they need to get through the day. if we give kids soda's at lunch they will have enough energy to get through recess too. Soda's are just good for kids we can limt soda use to one or two a day in school because some children get to wild. i know as an 8th grader that i would want soda's in school.

rachel said:
soda's in school are a good thing it gives kids that boost of energy they need to get through the day. if we give kids soda's at lunch they will have enough energy to get through recess too. Soda's are just good for kids we can limt soda use to one or two a day in school because some children get to wild. i know as an 8th grader that i would want s[...]