I try not to read about government intrusions in to private citizens lives, because invariably, it raises my blood pressure. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but nonetheless, it is something that I try to avoid, for fear that one time I may not be able to calm myself down.
The Wall Street Journal helped increase my bp, temporarily, at least, when they published this article detailing how public schools in 32 states have decided to eliminate popular school fund raisers such as bake sales, candy bar sales, and good gravy! Girl Scout Cookie sales.
The reason behind this change is the 2010 federal law (spurred on by Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign) Hunger Free Kids Act.
Now I'm sure as is the case with with all onerous federal legislation, there was a good thought that began the process of this law coming in to being. In fact, there was a stellar one: youth obesity had quadrupled over the last 30 years. Unfortunately, legislators chose the easy path of regulating what food stuffs may be sold as fundraiser for various school needs.
The best (at least better) solution would have been much more complicated, and it would have upset certain segments of people. The real reason that there is more obese children in this nation now than there was in 1984, or 1994, or likely 2004 has nothing at all do with what types of foods children are eating, and everything to do with how much time they spend playing. Actual real, live playing, not electronic device playing.
There are many reasons that children play less: little to no time for recess, ditto physical education, less money for school sports, parents more fearful of the dangers that are presented in the world today, and on and on. There is some genuinely good reasons within that list, particularly if you're family happens to live in a high crime area.
The biggest reason, outside of schools refusing to lengthen their school day so that there is time for play is family. It is far easier for parents or guardians to encourage their children to play on their electronic devices than it is to go out in the yard and play with their children or take them to the park to do the same. That would take genuine effort, and let's be honest, there's simply no time for that in today's helter-skelter world. Parents have many things to do, including playing with their own electronic devices.
Listen: I have no problem at all with technological advances. I don't even have a huge problem with parents abandoning their children to these devices. In some instances, it's probably a step forward, parenting wise. The big problem that I have is government sticking its nose where it doesn't belong. It's not the government's responsibility to legislate what people can and cannot eat, or what (legal) food products may be sold, even at schools.
The government's job in situations such as these should be to provide opportunities for those that are most effected. In this instance, the solution is simple one that will prove difficult to implement. Short of lengthening the school day which many (not all) educators would be opposed to, schools can redistribute the time they are allotted. I'd immediately eliminate all 'study' sessions for high stakes testing. This would be easy to do, because two seconds before that, I'd eliminate all high stakes tests. As I've previously noted, they're absolutely useless in terms of educating students, and just as importantly, they're useless in assessing student learning.
Of course, government solutions are never common sense ones. Unless the government is able to interfere with people's lives, or steal more of the citizenry's money, it's a wasted day from their point of view.
