Food in the Classroom

Based on conversations with my students and my own experience it seems that students at student teaching site do not receive adequate nutrition during school if any at all. While it appears that the food they do consume is not healthy, some food or snacks may be better than nothing at all. During my AP Euro class students are always snacking on something. I have seen students with juice, cake, candy, chips, and cookies. At the beginning of class one student will pull something out of there book bag, others will notice and ask to share, then the person with the snack will go around and share their food. This has even happened mid-class. It is not uncommon for a student to get up during my classroom mentor's lecture and go pour their chips into another student’s palms or even walk across the room to dump their trash. I have asked the students if they eat during lunch and most have said they do not, why this is I am not particularly sure. For this class it seems that they have built community through food. Although it is slightly disruptive at times my classroom mentor allows it. Nonetheless, food plays out differently with my ninth grade world history class.

The unspoken rule seems to be that they are not allowed to eat in class unless the teacher (my other classroom mentor or myself) provides it to them. As of late I have been using candy as an incentive for my students to participate. The first day I tried it out students were very surprised and much more inclined to raise their hands. Students even raised their hands before I could ask my questions. Since then I’ve been very selective about when and for what reason’s I give candy. The students have noticed and questioned this. In addition, if a student participates they feel entitled to candy and will say “Ms. Fuller you owe me.” For one question there may be five people that raise their hands to participate and I have to make the decision of who to call on and whether or not they will receive candy. My experiment with food/snacks incentives and rewards has left me with questions about what I am communicating to my students. I wonder if my students see my decisions as equitable and what I am non-verbally telling them about power. It also seems that a student might deduct that verbal participation is privileged over other forms. Finally, I wonder if students received all the food they needed during lunchtime or throughout the day if they would be so excited for the starburst or chocolate I give to them.

I recognize that sharing food together can be a way of building community but if not shared with everyone it can also be a space of competition. In the article “Beyond Bribes and Threats: How Not to Get Control of the Classroom,” Alfie Kohn explains that the use of any bribe/incentive is negative and undermines students value for the inherent reward in education. But perhaps these students do not see/have not witnessed the positive effects of education. Perhaps they have already begun to deconstruct the misnomer that if you do well in school alone you will be successful. So engaging for an immediate yet temporary reward may seem more sensible. I will continue to observe the way in which food can be used in the classroom and use these experiences to inform how I will set-up my own my classroom.