Walking along the street, it could be easily observed that youngsters tend to visit fast food stalls selling burgers and soft drinks or street stalls selling curry fishballs. They simply prefer them to traditional meals or even healthy meals. Besides the low nutrition value and lack of fibres from green vegetables, vast amounts of fat, particularly trans fat, starts alarming the public. In response to the government’s promotion on healthy diet, our tuck shop has been told not to sell ‘junk food’. However, parents, teachers and students take on quite different views and, consequently, they seem not to have reached any compromises yet.
走在街上,很容易看到年轻人倾向于光顾卖汉堡和软饮料的快餐店或卖咖喱鱼丸的街边小摊。他们只是更喜欢这些食物,而不是传统的食物,甚至是健康的食物。除了绿色蔬菜的低营养价值和纤维的缺乏,大量的脂肪,特别是反式脂肪,开始引起公众的担忧。为了回应政府对健康饮食的宣传,我们的小吃店被告知不要出售“垃圾食品”。然而,家长、老师和学生的观点截然不同,因此,他们似乎还没有达成任何妥协。
Although parents and teachers seem to be on the same side, their interrelational effects are quite subtle. Teachers are indeed caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, they have the responsibility to take care of their students’ health as professional educators. On the other hand, they could be in trouble if some students accused them for ignoring students’ right to choose. Balancing the pros and cons, of course the school put the students’ welfare first. This can also be seen as a boon to the society because improving the health standard of students today means relieving society’s medical burden in future. Last, but not least, schools are committed to providing students with the right value instead of fulfilling their every request.
虽然家长和老师似乎是站在同一战线上的,但他们之间的相互影响是相当微妙的。教师们确实进退两难。一方面,作为专业的教育工作者,他们有责任照顾学生的健康。另一方面,如果一些学生指责他们忽视学生选择的权利,他们可能会陷入麻烦。权衡利弊,学校当然把学生的福利放在第一位。这也可以被看作是对社会的一种恩惠,因为提高今天学生的健康水平意味着减轻社会未来的医疗负担。最后,但同样重要的是,学校致力于为学生提供正确的价值,而不是满足他们的每一个要求。
From parents’ viewpoint, the opinions could be quite divided. The majority would consider the ban on junk food at school as a blessing. Some may be misled by the shocking adverse effects greatly exaggerated by the media. Despite the fact that cancer, heart attack, coronary disease and obesity are developed if – and only if – one takes in food with high fat content and low nutrition value constantly over a long time in vast amounts, parents often receive a distorted view: they think not only junk food, but other unhealthy snacks should be banned. They think the school has not yet got the job done. Some may think the reason they send their kids to school is to ‘enjoy’ school life, but not to ‘suffer’. They are the ones who put kids’ happiness at the first place. These polarized views could slow down the discussion considerably. Ignorant parents may even think schools should solely shoulder the responsibility.
从父母的角度来看,意见可能有很大的分歧。大多数人认为在学校禁止垃圾食品是一件好事。一些人可能被媒体夸大的令人震惊的负面影响所误导。尽管癌症、心脏病、冠状动脉疾病和肥胖是发达,当且仅当,需要在食品高脂肪含量和低营养价值不断在很长一段时间内大量,父母经常收到一种扭曲的观点:他们认为不仅是垃圾食品,但是其他应该禁止不健康的零食。他们认为学校还没有完成任务。有些人可能认为他们送孩子上学的原因是“享受”学校生活,而不是“受苦”。他们把孩子的幸福放在第一位。这些两极分化的观点可能会大大拖延讨论。无知的家长甚至认为学校应该独自承担责任。
Students are the recipients of the service. They are of course the major critics of the idea. No matter what their views towards junk food are, they would not welcome the idea of having their choices reduced. For the junk food supporters, obviously they are the major victims, since they will not stop consuming junk food even if they are asked to. The lack of students’ support puts students and teachers in different ends and they lack mutual understanding.
学生是这项服务的接受者。他们当然是这一观点的主要批评者。不管他们对垃圾食品的看法如何,他们都不欢迎减少他们的选择。对于垃圾食品的支持者来说,他们显然是主要的受害者,因为他们不会停止消费垃圾食品,即使他们被要求。缺乏学生的支持使学生和教师处于不同的目的,他们缺乏相互理解。
Concerning this issue, parents should understand the school’s standpoint and act as a bridge between the school and students. Parents could start the practice at home and make sure the students understand the meaning of the policy. Students should be made willing to support the school, instead of being forced to. The school should explicitly point out the dark side of junk food so that the students can understand why they should not eat it, instead of restricting them. This may be a counterproductive way because the students may even take in more junk food in their leisure time. Never will the school succeed if she works alone. It is high time the school allied with parents to give the students a healthy future.
关于这个问题,家长应该理解学校的立场,并充当学校和学生之间的桥梁。家长可以在家里开始实践,确保学生理解政策的含义。应该让学生自愿支持学校,而不是被迫这样做。学校应该明确指出垃圾食品的黑暗面,让学生明白为什么他们不应该吃垃圾食品,而不是限制他们。这可能是适得其反的方式,因为学生甚至可能在闲暇时间吃更多的垃圾食品。如果她一个人学习,学校永远不会成功。现在是学校和家长联合给学生一个健康未来的时候了。