Cigarettes, French Fries, and the Kids are Alright

It was an interesting dynamic. A retired fighter pilot turned substitute teacher, Okaloosa County middle school kids, and a rhetorical question—”If the government can make laws to stop smoking in restaurants, why shouldn’t they make laws to ban french fries in school lunches?”

Perhaps we should start from the beginning. Why would anyone want to substitute teach? To be honest, some folks (the infamous “they”) say substitute teaching is a good way to see if you would like to become a “real” teacher.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Substituting part-time to see if you want to teach full-time is like babysitting any age kid(s) greater than 10 months old on a Saturday afternoon to see if you want to be a parent for the rest of your life! There is just no comparison.

Real teaching, like real parenting, is a calling…and the calling usually involves somebody wanting you to get them something, clean something, tell them something, bring them something, or make them something.
Substituting in Okaloosa County, however, does provide an excellent opportunity to interact with kids other than your own across all three levels of schools and sometimes see if our students can think outside the FCAT box.

The discussion on smoking and french fries started with a current events article dealing with money the government spends on anti-smoking and dangers of secondhand smoke education. After reading the article, I asked all the classes, a simple yes/no question, “Was smoking/secondhand smoke bad for you? They all answered in semi-unison with a resounding “Yes, it is BAD for you!”

Next question: “Should the government spend as much money telling you why you should not smoke, as the tobacco companies spend trying to convince you to smoke? Again, a resounding “Yes!” Which led me to ask the all-too-obvious question. “But if all of you already know by age 12 that smoking and secondhand smoke is bad for you, why should the government spend money telling you something you already know?”

Puzzled looks all around—for a moment or two.

But redemption was at hand. Next question. “So, we know for sure smoking is bad for our health, who is responsible if we decide to smoke anyway? Light bulbs above the heads, lights in the eyes, satisfaction for the (substitute) teacher. “It is OUR responsibility!”

Progress.

I wanted to keep the momentum going. The kids agreed if something like secondhand smoke was bad for you, it was a good thing for the government to make laws to stop people from smoking in public places.

“So,” says Mr. Substitute, “by that logic, schools should ban french fries from the lunch menu. They are not good for you; if you eat too many of them, you could get really overweight, and they could, over time, cause other problems, like a heart attack.”

Howls of protest. “But we like french fries. They are the only good thing on the menu. You can’t make french fries against the law because….!” And so it continued for the rest of the period.

It was a spirited discussion, with many good counter-points from the kids.

And it was not on the FCAT.

But it was on their minds.

And at least for that day, I knew the kids are alright.

John “Jazz” Jannazo is a former Okaloosa County Commissioner, current Freeport resident, and retired U.S. Air Force Pilot.

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