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walkingalongthestreet,itcouldbeeasilyobservedthatyoungsterstendtovisitfastfoodstallssellingburgersandsoftdrinksorstreetstallssellingcurryfishballs. theysimplypreferthemtotraditionalmealsorevenhealthymeals. besidesthelownutritionvalueandlackoffibresfromgreenvegetables,vastamountsoffat,particularlytransfat,startsalarmingthepublic. inresponsetothegovernment’spromotiononhealthydiet,ourtuckshophasbeentoldnottosell‘junkfood’. however,parents,teachersandstudentstakeonquitedifferentviewsand,consequently,theyseemnottohavereachedanypromisesyet.
althoughparentsandteachersseemtobeonthesameside,theirinterrelationaleffectsarequitesubtle. teachersareindeedcaughtinadilemma. ontheonehand,theyhavetheresponsibilitytotakecareoftheirstudents’healthasprofessionaleducators. ontheotherhand,theycouldbeintroubleifsomestudentsausedthemforignoringstudents’righttochoose. balancingtheprosandcons,ofcoursetheschoolputthestudents’welfarefirst. thiscanalsobeseenasaboontothesocietybecauseimprovingthehealthstandardofstudentstodaymeansrelievingsociety’smedicalburdeninfuture. last,butnotleast,schoolsaremittedtoprovidingstudentswiththerightvalueinsteadoffulfillingtheireveryrequest.
fromparents’viewpoint,theopinionscouldbequitedivided. themajoritywouldconsiderthebanonjunkfoodatschoolasablessing. somemaybemisledbytheshockingadverseeffectsgreatlyexaggeratedbythemedia. despitethefactthatcancer,heartattack,coronarydiseaseandobesityaredevelopedif–andonlyif–oakesinfoodwithhighfatcontentandlownutritionvalueconstantlyoveralongtimeinvastamounts,parentsoftenreceiveadistortedview:theythinknotonlyjunkfood,butotherunhealthysnacksshouldbebanned. theythinktheschoolhasnotyetgotthejobdone. somemaythinkthereasontheysendtheirkidstoschoolisto‘enjoy’schoollife,butnotto‘suffer’. theyaretheoneswhoputkids’happinessatthefirstplace. thesepolarizedviewscouldslowdownthediscussionconsiderably. ignorantparentsmayeventhinkschoolsshouldsolelyshouldertheresponsibility.
studentsaretherecipientsoftheservice. theyareofcoursethemajorcriticsoftheidea. nomatterwhattheirviewstowardsjunkfoodare,theywouldnotweletheideaofhavingtheirchoicesreduced. forthejunkfoodsupporters,obviouslytheyarethemajorvictims,sincetheywillnotstopconsumingjunkfoodeveniftheyareaskedto. thelackofstudents’supportputsstudentsandteachersindifferentendsandtheylackmutualunderstanding.
concerningthisissue,parentsshouldunderstandtheschool’sstandpointandactasabridgebetweentheschoolandstudents. parentscouldstartthepracticeathomeandmakesurethestudentsunderstandthemeaningofthepolicy. studentsshouldbemadewillingtosupporttheschool,insteadofbeingforcedto. theschoolshouldexplicitlypointoutthedarksideofjunkfoodsothatthestudentscanunderstandwhytheyshouldnoteatit,insteadofrestrictingthem.thismaybeacounterproductivewaybecausethestudentsmayeventakeinmorejunkfoodintheirleisuretime.neverwilltheschoolsueedifsheworksalone.itishightimetheschoolalliedwithparentstogivethestudentsahealthyfuture.