Part 3 of 3: School Dinners & Healthy Alternatives to Homeschooling

by Joanna Steven

Part III. The dreaded school menu, and healthy alternatives to home schooling.

The modern school system is not only flawed in the way it tries to educate our children, it is also flawed in how it feeds them. Many of us have watched, in shock and horror, Jamie Oliver’s attempts at reforming the school menus in the US. Not only are the schools resistant to change, many people don’t even understand where the problem is in the first place!

Curious, I took a look at the local elementary school’s menu. A banner at the top features “I love lunch” and “eat learn live” written on a black board. OK. Below, we can read: “Feeding our students high quality meals that are nutritious and delicious is our top priority. Chartwells’ menus are built to support the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and use recipes that taste great and are lower in fat, saturated fat, trans fats, cholesterol and sodium and provide whole grains, fruits, vegetables and appropriate portion sizes for age. We analyze our recipes for nutrient content and food component into nutrient standard or food-base menu planning that comply with child nutrition guidelines for the National School Breakfast & Lunch programs. Our Balanced Choices Meal Program is a guidance system to assist students in making the most nutritious parameters and is highlighted on the serving line.”

Shouldn’t it be “no trans fat” rather than “lower in trans fat”? But, it could have been for the sake of having a neatly written paragraph. Let’s look at the menu itself. For breakfast, children have, on various day, a choice of pancakes, breakfast taco, a muffin, French toast with syrup, ham & cheese biscuits, sausage patties and the like. Yes, I definitely want my children eating this every day (no, I don’t).

Let’s look at the lunch menu. Cheeseburger on bun. Ham & cheese wrap. Chicken nuggets. I see some “brocolli” (sic) is included. To bad it is misspelled. Turkey Corn Dogs. Beef A Roni. OK! I’ve seen enough. I don’t want my kids eating all this, that’s for sure! And what happened to the “delicious and nutritious”?

You might think: “if only there were schools for healthy vegetarians!” I certainly thought that, which brings me to my second point.

If you have not heard of Waldorf/Steiner schools, you’re in for a treat. While I never sent my children to one, I have heard very good things about them and, to my great surprise, found a Waldorf preschool in my town (nothing above the preschool level though, sadly). I will get back to Waldorf/Steiner schools later in the article. So, what is this preschool about?

According to their website, they are “structured to provide a gradual transition from the life of the home. With a media-free environment, a wide variety of work is found at the preschool that encourages a sense of care and responsibility. We grind our wheat berries, bake bread, cut vegetables, sweep the floor, wash our dishes together, care for the plants, gerbils and fish, and feed our outdoor birds and squirrels.” Children “are given ample opportunity to manipulate and give expression to their ideas with handmade dolls, felted animals, kitchen supplies, logs, boards, and items that change with the mood of the seasons.”

This sounded pretty good! I sent them an e-mail asking about the school’s menu, and I was told that it was all organic and vegetarian. To be honest, I almost fell off my chair reading this! Organic and vegetarian? Are you kidding? I still can’t believe it, but I am certainly grateful. The website explains: “Providing children with wholesome, warm food in a lovely atmosphere is valued as very important for their physical and emotional development. The snack table is set beautifully with placemats and napkin rings in place. After a verse of thanks for our food and friends everyone eats delicious organic food. After snack the children wash their own dishes in warm, soapy water. A sense of thankfulness, caring and responsibility is fostered through snack time.”

I wish there could be a Waldorf/Steiner school beyond preschool where I live, but there is not, and this is why I am preparing myself to home school my child. But, if you can’t home school and can find such an institution, you might want to inquire and see if it fits your child’s needs. The philosophy behind the Steiner system is simple. According to the Waldorf Answers website: “Steiner designed a curriculum responsive to the developmental phases in childhood and nurturing of children’s imaginations. He thought that schools should cater to the needs of children rather than the demands of the government or economic forces, so he developed schools that encourage creativity and free-thinking.” All the usual subjects are taught, such as math, geography, physics, chemistry grammar, poetry etc. but it’s the way they are taught that is different.

Of course, Steiner schools are still schools. They are run by human beings, and children still spend time away from their parents. It is up to you, as a parent, to always be vigilant when it comes to your kids. But, to me, when done well, Steiner education is a very good alternative to regular schools when homeschooling is not desired or possible.

I am confident that at least for the first years of my children’s life, homeschooling will be a great choice. I look at Shakaya’s children who seem to be wonderfully adjusted, and who themselves asked to be sent to school later on, and enjoyed both their earlier homeschooling years and their subsequent years in a regular school. I look at Kate Magic’s child, who started out being homeschooled and then attended a Steiner school when he needed a little more, and her other home schooled kids. I don’t see fearful, crushed children when I look at them. I see strong yet sensitive children who get very good grades without having lost their sense of wonder and magic.

I hope you have enjoyed this series of articles on home schooling, and I am now reaching out to you, Raw Mom readers. If you went to a regular school, did you enjoy it? If you homeschooled your kids, were they then able to attend a good university if they chose to pursue a higher education? Do you feel that your children were adequately socialized?

Joanna Steven is the co-author with Tonya Kay of the first ever Raw Nutritional Analysis eBooks, detailing Tonya Kay’s diet for an entire month. She is also the co-owner of the online raw food store, http://www.sirova.com, and writes about raw food related topics on her blog, http://joannasteven.blogspot.com. Her next book on raw food pregnancies will be available on the Raw Mom website this winter 2010.