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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am curious to hear responses primarily from parents, but also other adults (and teachers).

A teacher threw away my lunch as a kid because it looked funny. But it was actually perfectly fine. I was confused. My parents were livid.

I’ve never thrown away a lunch, but I find a lot of lunch boxes after my afternoon classes. Most seem to have complete meals. If the food looks like it will stink overnight, I put it in the main office.

[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.

Oh get over yourself. They both knew they shouldn't be eating in class. It was a bag of chips, not "lunch".

Teach your kid some respect for rules.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]Im a student and at lunch i brought hot Cheetos a sandwich yogurt and a granola bar and the teachers announced the same day as i had hot cheetos were now not aloud to have them and they said if we had them they would take them away so the next day i was late to school and everyone in the office was talking and saying what they should do if we had them one said " If we see someone with them we should take them away and eat them in front of them and then post on face book who wants hot cheetos now" another said "we should throw them away" they were say this while my mother was standing there my mom was confused and was about to say something but long story short i think shouldnt be able to do any of that for no reason but if there making a mess they should just take it away and give it back. also this was all happening in lunch which these teachers make no sense.[/quote]

Holy crap!! Put your Cheetos away. Go learn some punctuation.

[Anonymous]

The only time I have ever thrown out a student's food was if they brought nuts to a nut free school. I've thrown out granola bars, cracker sandwiches, pesto, and many varieties of candy.

[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 he didn't respond or comply to me telling him to put it away, I wouldn't throw it away. We are taught deescalation techniques and throwing someone's food away would not be a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Generally it’s not okay, but in the extreme example you gave, yes it was appropriate. Maybe next time specifically say that any food being eaten or played with or brought out during class time will be thrown away. Then nobody could complain.

Kids who are starving don’t choose to waste their food.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes kids cannot eat at the designated times (lunch time, snack time) due to their medication schedule which makes them feel sick to their stomach or just not hungry. If that is the case doesn't it make sense to allow them to have a snack when they are hungry later? Why not give them the benefit of the doubt if you don't know the reason why they are hungry?

I not only don't throw away kids food but sometimes I save non eaten stuff like a piece of fruit, a cheese stick, a pack of crackers, a carton of milk, etc and put it in my little fridge in the classroom in case someone forgets their snack or needs a snack.

Kids often throw away perfectly good food at lunch but I try to get them to not throw away what is left in their lunch that was packed from home so their parents can see what they did not eat and modify packed lunches accordingly. Some kids just dump the uneaten food in the trash and their parents must think they ate it all.

Kids and food at school is a nuanced topic, there are many sides to it, and I find that it is best to be kind and assume the best about the kids.

[Anonymous]

I would take it away until later, but not toss.

I found it interesting this year (grade 8) that my daughter's teacher added a quick snack time about 15 minutes into the start of the day.

[Anonymous]

My teacher threw my pepsi drink in the bin i didn't know it wasnt allowed i asked for it back she ignored me and threw it in the bin

[Anonymous]

No and it's fairly abusive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My teacher threw my pepsi drink in the bin i didn't know it wasnt allowed i asked for it back she ignored me and threw it in the bin

How old are you? Dcurban mom is not for kids. Please go away!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My teacher threw my pepsi drink in the bin i didn't know it wasnt allowed i asked for it back she ignored me and threw it in the bin

If you are really a child or student I really hope you dont spend time on this horrible website full of bitter old people. It's a sad place and someone with a bright future should not waste your time here! It's like the island of failed dreams... stay far away!

[Anonymous]

I brought a 6 pack of pudding for a field trip in 6th grade when I was a kid. Teacher took it from me and let me go hungry so i dumped pencil shaving dust in here coffee pot the following week. I considered us even

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My teacher threw my pepsi drink in the bin i didn't know it wasnt allowed i asked for it back she ignored me and threw it in the bin

If you are really a child or student I really hope you dont spend time on this horrible website full of bitter old people. It's a sad place and someone with a bright future should not waste your time here! It's like the island of failed dreams... stay far away!

Nobody that writes like that has a bright future.

[Anonymous]

I taught high school and had a rule that students couldn't eat in class. However, one student wanted to bring his school provided breakfast burrito into class with him. I said he had to throw it away and he told me it was the first food he'd had since Friday but still wanted to be on time. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, changed my rule and allowed him to come to class with the burrito.

I'm so glad I gave him the benefit of the doubt; he wasn't exaggerating. A few weeks later, I met his family and saw where they were living.

I really hate food in class because the kids don't clean up after themselves and our floors are not regularly cleaned. However, based on that one experience I'd never throw a kid's food away.