Is it ever acceptable for a teacher to throw out a student's food?

[Anonymous]

I think the bigger question for the OP is why is his/her child acting out in class trying to attract negative attention from the teacher?. Solve this and then the question about throwing out the food is no longer necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With a middle schooler who knew he/she was breaking the rule? Teacher absolutely should have thrown out food to make a point. You should be upset with your child for being so disrespectful in school.

Thanks. I am OP and actually the teacher in the scenario. I threw out food twice this week (only times it's happened this whole school year).

Student 1 has a history of eating in many classes, knows it's not permitted, does no classwork, gets detention, no interventions have helped.

Student 2 has not done it before but knows it's against the rules, and has had other regular disrespectful behavior/ challenging me in the classroom.

No, I don't have any large scale classroom management issues. Thankfully, this week was an anomaly. At least one of the times was after lunch, and I wouldn't have done it if it was a hunger situation or lunch food (they were small bags of chips).

[Anonymous]

Teacher here. I guess it depends on a few factors. Did the student miss lunch? Does the students have a medical reason to eat in class?

[Anonymous]

High school teacher. I allow them to snack in class if it does not cause a distraction. I've thrown out food when it is left partially eaten in the classroom after they have left. I have not forcefully taken food from a student.

I have asked students to put their food away a few times. It has rarely been a distraction in class but more than once I've had students bring in shelled peanuts and I worry about allergies. They are always apologetic and willing to clean after I give them some cleaning supplies.

[Anonymous]

I have a middle school DD and I'd support any teacher who made my DD throw away her chips as a consequence for sneak eating in class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Middle schooler eating during class, clearly trying to hide food.

Curious what others think, and if it would change your opinion if it had been done before, student reprimanded, etc.

It still depends, why is the kid eating in class? Is he genuinely hungry, like missed breakfast, or doesnt get breakfast at home?

Or is he jsut being obnoxious and eating candy or chips in class because he thinks he can get away with it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With a middle schooler who knew he/she was breaking the rule? Teacher absolutely should have thrown out food to make a point. You should be upset with your child for being so disrespectful in school.

Thanks. I am OP and actually the teacher in the scenario. I threw out food twice this week (only times it's happened this whole school year).

Student 1 has a history of eating in many classes, knows it's not permitted, does no classwork, gets detention, no interventions have helped.

Student 2 has not done it before but knows it's against the rules, and has had other regular disrespectful behavior/ challenging me in the classroom.

No, I don't have any large scale classroom management issues. Thankfully, this week was an anomaly. At least one of the times was after lunch, and I wouldn't have done it if it was a hunger situation or lunch food (they were small bags of chips).

I am the above PP, sorry I didnt read this first.
Then I would support you throwing the food away.
Have you spoken to the parents of student 1 about eating in class already? and student 2's behavior?

[Anonymous]

Eh! I remember way back in school also eating sometimes during class. It was not allowed, so I'd sneak it in. I was hungry!!!! Super hungry! Kids get through growth spurts, especially in middle school. If the teacher threw food away because student was eating at not allocated time, I would be angry. He / she did not earn, prepare or pack that food to throw it away. I did. Tell the student to put it away, call parents or whatever, but don't throw away my money and labor.

[Anonymous]

OP here. The student who has done this repeatedly is in a nontraditional living situation and outreach has not been effective.

The other students parents I've just talked to at conferences. She can be very confrontational and emotional. I have been trying to build a relationship with her instead of "getting in trouble" but I should have spoken with them long ago. Honestly, I am intimidated because of the student's behavior, but I need to get over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The student who has done this repeatedly is in a nontraditional living situation and outreach has not been effective.

The other students parents I've just talked to at conferences. She can be very confrontational and emotional. I have been trying to build a relationship with her instead of "getting in trouble" but I should have spoken with them long ago. Honestly, I am intimidated because of the student's behavior, but I need to get over it.

Pp above here who sometimes ate in class. Just read the details about the two incidents. I still think it is wrong for you to throw other people's food away and as a parent I would be angry if a teacher throws my child's food away, that is in perfectly good condition. You did not pay for that food, prepare it or pack it. The parent did. You could have just taken it from the kids and put it somewhere aside, and given it back to them at end of class. Throwing away just shows frustration and unwillingness to address any underlying issues. You flexed your muscle as an authority figure in a way that frankly closes door to any dialogue or reaching out to parents. In the kid's and in parent's (especially the one who did it one time) eyes you're the crazy b----- who threw his/ her lunch away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The student who has done this repeatedly is in a nontraditional living situation and outreach has not been effective.

The other students parents I've just talked to at conferences. She can be very confrontational and emotional. I have been trying to build a relationship with her instead of "getting in trouble" but I should have spoken with them long ago. Honestly, I am intimidated because of the student's behavior, but I need to get over it.

Pp above here who sometimes ate in class. Just read the details about the two incidents. I still think it is wrong for you to throw other people's food away and as a parent I would be angry if a teacher throws my child's food away, that is in perfectly good condition. You did not pay for that food, prepare it or pack it. The parent did. You could have just taken it from the kids and put it somewhere aside, and given it back to them at end of class. Throwing away just shows frustration and unwillingness to address any underlying issues. You flexed your muscle as an authority figure in a way that frankly closes door to any dialogue or reaching out to parents. In the kid's and in parent's (especially the one who did it one time) eyes you're the crazy b----- who threw his/ her lunch away.

I totally agree with the teacher--especially with a kid who has done it repeatedly. He was eating chips--after lunch. There is another issue here that has not been brought up--
clean up and bugs and rodents.
To PP who ate the food--you need to look at this from another point of view. It is against the rules, the child knows it is against the rules, it was after lunch--I would think he had the ability to eat the chips when he was at lunch. It is also distracting and rude. It is doubtful that this was a health issue.

I was a teacher many, many moons ago. I taught small children. I don't recall this being an issue--I'm sure it happened from time to time, but I don't recall any major incidents. My principal had a rule: teachers did not eat in the classroom in front of kids either. Her rule was based on good manners--you don't eat in front of others in your home without offering some. You don't do it in the classroom either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Middle schooler eating during class, clearly trying to hide food.

Curious what others think, and if it would change your opinion if it had been done before, student reprimanded, etc.

If a MSer knows they aren't supposed to eat in class, and they are caught, then throwing out the food is ok if it's snack food. If it's real food like a sandwich, and the kid seems poor, then I'd hesitate. I'd want to know more about why they're eating real food st that time. If they'd done it before, then yes, throw it away no matter what. Unless they're diabetic, in which case the nurse needs to get involved and an accommodation reached.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The student who has done this repeatedly is in a nontraditional living situation and outreach has not been effective.

The other students parents I've just talked to at conferences. She can be very confrontational and emotional. I have been trying to build a relationship with her instead of "getting in trouble" but I should have spoken with them long ago. Honestly, I am intimidated because of the student's behavior, but I need to get over it.

Pp above here who sometimes ate in class. Just read the details about the two incidents. I still think it is wrong for you to throw other people's food away and as a parent I would be angry if a teacher throws my child's food away, that is in perfectly good condition. You did not pay for that food, prepare it or pack it. The parent did. You could have just taken it from the kids and put it somewhere aside, and given it back to them at end of class. Throwing away just shows frustration and unwillingness to address any underlying issues. You flexed your muscle as an authority figure in a way that frankly closes door to any dialogue or reaching out to parents. In the kid's and in parent's (especially the one who did it one time) eyes you're the crazy b----- who threw his/ her lunch away.

I strongly disagree with this. First, a teacher showed in my view do what is reasonable not only for the miss behaving student but also the rest of the class. If a student is eating, the teacher should not waste everyone's time figuring out what exactly the food is, whether it can be preserved or not, whether it will make a mess and spread crumbs if it is put away now that it is opened, or anything else. The teachers priority should be to end the eating and to return the class to the subject at hand. If my child takes out food to eat at a time that it is not allowed, I fully expect that he or she will be asked to throw it out. That is not a teacher wasting my time and labor, that is my child knowingly deciding to do so.

[Anonymous]

Middle school teacher here. Over the years, I have had several instances of kids eating or drinking in class when they were not supposed to be doing so. Each time this has happened, I have just asked them to put it away (I try to do this somewhat quietly/privately so as not to draw other students' attention to the issue as I have found a lot of times the kid breaking the rule is just seeking attention) and tell them that if I see them eating again, I will take their food away. Out of the probably 5 times this has happened, only once did I have to follow through on taking the food away. In that case, I told the student to hand the food over to me and I sealed it (a bag of chips) and put it away in my desk drawer and told the student he could have it back at the end of the school day (didn't want him to get it right after class and then take it out again and get in trouble w/ it again in another class).

If the student had tried to argue with me about the food or refused to hand it over when I asked, I would have simply written him up and sent him to the dean's office. I would not ever try to forcefully take food away from a student and I also would not throw their food away because I feel that would make the student angry with me, which would then make the student less likely to want to follow directions/rules in my classroom. I don't need to create tension in interactions with students and as much as I may like to just throw their food in the trash can when they are deliberately breaking a rule like that, I think that kind of action is going to create tension/a power struggle between teacher and student, which is typically not a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Middle schooler eating during class, clearly trying to hide food.

Curious what others think, and if it would change your opinion if it had been done before, student reprimanded, etc.

My middle school son eats regularly at home, and I know that having a late lunch this year has been hard. It would help him to concentrate so much if he could eat a snack during the day. I wish schools could be more understanding or at least not schedule lunch so late. He's a healthy weight, plays multiple sports, and seems to be getting taller every day. I'd want to find out more about the situation before deciding how to react.