What is going on in our schools?

The first article that I want to write about this week is one entitled "School Lunches Too Fatty and Sugary, Critics Say." I found this article in the Yahoo News today. I think it sends an important message. The article is discussing how recent studies have found that our nation's school cafeterias are not doing everything that they can to improve the health of students. The lunches still contain too many fats, saturated fats, and sodium. Even the new president's chef, Sam Kass from Chicago, has stated that "the national shortcomings in school lunches are due in part to the use of donated surplus agricultural commodities that result from government subsidies." Mary Ford, a registered dietitian and professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, and author of the journal editorial, urged another action.

"We need to explore other ways of making change, which could include items such as providing more training and technical assistance to schools, providing more funding for nutrition education," she said. "It also may be worth considering more laws or regulations to limit the availability of certain types of food, such as whole or 2 percent milk."

I completely agree with Mary Ford on this fact. Providing more funding for better food in schools could help as well. Basically, our schools have the standards that they need, they just have to implement actions to meet those standards, otherwise the standards are pointless. I believe that President Obama has the right agenda in regard to our nation's youth. He has spoken many times about children needing to be more active and I hope that he and his cabinet will follow through with this agenda.

The second article that I found interesting was an article about the mixed reviews that Obama received from his speech about education last week. This article listed that:

President Barack Obama said he wants the United States to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020 and asked every American to complete a year or more of college or career training.

It also stated that Obama said that federal stimulus dollars will expand educational opportunities for preschoolers and college students who need financial help. Many were disappointed that Obama did not mention the fact that so many of our nation's schools are failing, while others commended him highly for acknowledging the importance of everyone attending college or training school in order for our country to succeed. I personally think that these expectations are a little high, but am excited that he is not limiting his goals. Setting high goals only means that success has to be made in some way or another.

Finally, I found an article that interested me was one that stated that the Environmental Protection Agency will be testing the air in schools across the nation. They are testing the air for toxic chemicals because questions on the air quality around some school have been raised, and the EPA has implemented a $2.25 million program. This program will set up monitors will focus on toxic chemicals that are known to cause cancer, respiratory and neurological problems — especially in children, who are more susceptible than adults because they are still growing. They are still unsure what can be done once they or if they find any toxic chemicals in the air, but the fact that they are spending so much time and money to keep students safe is important to me.