Hey Tappsters!
Welcome to the USA Teacher Tapp blog π Week FOURTEEN of tapping! Welcome to all who joined this week!
Share the app with your colleagues and help grow the community. The best link to spread the word is onelink.to/teachertapp β it takes them straight to the app store! π²β¨
Now let’s get into the data…
1. Healthy eating in school
We’re already over halfway through January, and possibly any ‘healthy-eating’ resolutions have started to waiver. But how much involvement should schools have in influencing the eating habits of the students in their schools?
According to official government data from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, about 1 in 6 (16%) children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 are overweight. The data also notes that “access to and ability to afford healthy foods” are contributing factors to weight gain.
Only 10% of teachers feel that whole lessons should be dedicated to healthy eating guidance, and 64% felt only occaisional guidance was appropriate. 27% felt it was NOT the role of teachers or the school to give guidance on diet or nutrition.
Into the canteen…
Of course, all the guidance over what a ‘healthy meal’ looks like is, to an extent, pointless if you have no healthy options. Arizona is looking at tackling that very problem…a new bill has been introduced in Arizona’s House of Representatives aiming to restrict the sale of popular ultra-processed foods containing specific ingredients.
Republican state Representative Leo Biasiucci has proposed HB 2164, which seeks to ban public schools from selling or serving ultra-processed foods during the school day.
However, parents would still have the freedom to include ultra-processed foods in their children’s packed lunches if they wish.
A third (33%) of teachers believe restricting ultra-processed foods would lead to healthier choices, but nearly the same amount of (32%) think students would just bring equally unhealthy food in from home.
We will have to wait and see whether or not this bill is voted through, or if other states follow suit – the jury is out on whether or not it will make a difference…
2. Leaky ceilings?
Heavy rain is predicted in many states next week, but some schools are more worried about the storms than others. In a HUGE 36% of schools, teachers report using a bucket to catch leaks in wet weather. This is in line with our England panel, where they too have lots of schools using buckets to catch drips (34%).
Whether or not a school must use a bucket to catch leaks is a useful question to gauge what sort of state the rest of the school is in. If repairs on the roof aren’t being prioritized, then this could be indicative that other areas are likely to be in need of repair or are in sub-optimal conditions for learning.
Worst weather for behaviour
Leaky ceilings aside, there are other reasons why some teachers might be keeping a close eye on their weather reports – student behaviour. Forget about children playing up when the moon is full – the weather can turn a classroom full of well behaved children into distracted monsters with just one flake of snow.
But what is the WORST weather for behaviour? According to Teacher Tappers – this is the order of weather-disruptors!
1οΈβ£ Snow 34% βοΈπ¨οΈ
2οΈβ£ Heat 25% π₯΅βοΈ
3οΈβ£ Rain 24% π§οΈβοΈ
4οΈβ£ Wind 4% π¨π
Have you got stories of times weather ruined your lessons? Or do you think you have the record for the number of buckets catching dripping water? Share with us by getting in touch via the contact us in your app.
3. Students running the school
Schools are for the students, and involving young people in the running of the school can help them feel engaged with their learning.
How successful are schools at giving students a voice in the running of their school? There appears to be a real split in experience:
πΌ 36% agree (strongly or slightly) that their students have a voice.
27% neither agree nor disagree.
π½ 38% disagree (strongly or slightly) that their students have a voice.
Student interview panel
Only 7% of teachers using the app were interviewed by students for their current job HOWEVER 13% work in a school where student panels have been in place in the last year π.
That 7% can be expected to increase over the next few years if this trend continues. In England, 23% of teachers were interviewed by pupils…keep your eyes peeled for more questions about the school interview process…
Daily Reads
We know lots of teachers on Teacher Tapp LOVE the daily reads, if you have ideas of reads we could feature, get in touch by emailing usa@teachertapp.com and we will check it out!
This week our most-read blog was about the changes to the policy to bar ICE raids in schools.