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Jordan’s Tour Update: Metro Christian School in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Jordan Rubin was all set to speak at a couple of assemblies at Metro Christian Academy in Tulsa recently when news swept the campus that an 11th-grade student had died in a tragic car accident. Suddenly, there were more important things for the administration to deal with. Following the sad news, Metro Christian Headmaster Tom Cameron told the Tulsa World that Lauren Crawley, 16, was “devoted to her church doing missions work.”
As you would expect, her death cast a pall over the school. Instead of speaking at the school assemblies, the school invited any interested parents and teachers to meet a couple of days later with Jordan regarding the Metro Health Initiative, which is a 12-week pilot program based on Perfect Weight America. Around 50 showed up that morning, and Jordan spoke for 20 minutes and then took some questions. A handful of schoolchildren were there, too.
You have to hand it to Headmaster Tom Cameron and Dody Patrock, the Health and Safety Director, for spearheading the Metro Health Initiative at their school. They are trying to make some headway in conducting a “whole paradigm shift”—as Dody called it—in what students eat and how much they exercise. Three years ago, they started a “Respect Your Body” week to start the education process with the students, who, during puberty and rapid growth spurts, are getting interested in their bodies, wanting to get bigger and stronger . . . or thinner. The Metro Health Initiative does more than focus on the five meals that kids eat at school each week; they’re trying to get parents and children to focus on the 16 meals a week they eat at home.
Toward that end, the school is taking some active steps. The cafeteria asked the catering company that provides the midday lunch meal for the students and the staff to use whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat tortillas, and whole-wheat pasta. Spinach and other deep-greens are added to salads that are made predominantly with “head lettuce,” which is not so green and thus less nutritious. Fries are now served once a week; baked potato wedges on the other days. No more soda pop or boxed “fruit juice” drinks. Instead, the students and staff enjoy baked tilapia, whole-wheat lasagna, healthy soups, and delicious wraps. “If the kids want junk food, they have to bring it to school,” said Dody.
Metro Christian’s vending machines got a makeover as well. Banished were soft drinks; in were bottled water and bottles of 100-percent fruit juice. During Jordan’s trip, he saw that some of the vending machines were selling healthy items like Clif bars, 100-percent fruit leathers, and healthy granola bars without hydrogenated oils, which prompted Jordan to donate a couple of boxes of Garden of Life Living Foods bars and Rainforest Cacao Chocolate.
Headmaster Tom Cameron said that vending machines that sell junk food are a significant source of revenue at many schools these days. Jordan wrote about this trend in his book, The Great Physician’s Rx for Children’s Health. The money—which school districts use to purchase sports equipment or sponsor field trips—lures school administrators into allowing vending machines that dispense chips, unhealthy snacks, and caffeinated soft drinks that can deliver a caffeine punch of 92 milligrams per twenty-ounce drink—the equivalent of a five-ounce up of brewed coffee. Caffeine causes nervousness, irritability, restlessness, and fidgetiness, which means that teachers must contend with caffeine-hopping kids in their classrooms. This is just like selling out our kids’ long-term health for short-term gain.
Fortunately, the pendulum is starting to swing the other way as school administrators are becoming more informed and concerned about students’ health. We can all salute Metro Christian for being pro-active with their vending machines and the meals being served in school cafeteria at lunchtime. It’s making a difference.
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