Creativity and School Lunch

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Oregonian Newspaper online
"In the past academic year, for the first time in memory, a majority of kids in Oregon schools (50.2 percent, up from 46.1 percent just the year before) qualified for free or reduced price lunches. The number fit with another recent statistic, that one in five Oregon kids were in food-insecure families -- also an increase.">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The increase is partly due to the increase in the number of families using food stamps that automatically qualifies the kids for free lunch at school.  Last week was the deadline to apply at schools for free and reduced lunch.

How can teachers get the kids to pay attention if the only good meal they get is lunch?

We are asking schools to be social incubators, food banks and baby sitters; they must have winning sports teams and academic success; they must be free of drugs, hate and bullying; and they have to do it with less money than last year using an aging infrastructure and a failing organizational model.  And now we want them to teach creativity and innovation?

We are expecting too much from schools, giving them too little support for basic services and their parents can't find a job that pays well enough to put food on the table.