What this teacher did was not good but did she need to be arrested?

[pqr]

My (soon to be ex) husbands father taught him to fight too - and with bright red hair and freckles, he has lots of experience under his belt.

 

Perhaps, that is why when asked a simple question in december he picked up a vacuum and started to throw it at me? Because, "fighting" with your hands and violence is the answer to it all?

 

Something like this would mess up my middle child for WEEKS and MONTHS.

 

No child should be bullied. Period.

 

1. I have seen no one on this board advocating bullying. Period.

 

2. If your husband hit you it is not because he was taught to fight by his father, but rather because his father did not teach him WHEN to fight.

[Barb_]

In short, children should be raised to be tough, not weak. They should be treated with respect and it should not be assumed that they will fold at every challenge.

 

You know...reading your posts reminds me of the reasons people say we shouldn't be homeschooling in the first place. Strength comes from security and a strong foundation. A 9 or 10 yo should be expected not to fold...I agree. But a 5yo is developmentally still very much a baby and heavily impressionable. A 5yo needs (and deserves!) more protection than an older child past the age of reason.

 

I think you are flat out wrong.

 

Barb

[AuntPol]

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/news_wtnh_bridgeport_teacher_forces_student_200903181700_rev1

 

Bridgeport (WTNH) - Officials in the Bridgeport School System are speaking out after a teacher was arrested for allegedly forcing a student to eat his lunch from a garbage can.

The Superintendent of Bridgeport schools addressed the issue today before cameras.

Superintendent John Ramos said the incident was reported last Thursday at Park City Magnet School. The teacher, 67-year old Anne O'Donnell, of Fairfield, was concerned her kindergarten student did not eat lunch. So, she took steps to try to make sure the student had something to eat.

The Department of Children and Families was informed and chose not to take the case feeling there was no abuse of the child. Ramos repeated the facts of what happened last week.

"The teacher went into the garbage can and took the banana out of the garbage can and then asked, or requested, the student to eat the banana," said Ramos. "That's the extent of this; that's not to make light of it, but I think the story is taking on other ramifications."

The parent of the child requested that her child be transferred out of O'Donnell's class and that request has been granted.

O'Donnell was charged with risk of injury to a minor. The internal investigation is still ongoing at the school.

 

 

 

It was a banana -banana has peels and thus once peels are removed shoud not be affected by germs etc.

It sounds like a big deal is being made out of it and likely stems from some other issues going on between parent and teacher.

[pqr]

Hmmm,

 

over reaction, loss of perspective, gross stupidity (by the parents and cops)? As I stated, what is this world coming to?

 

Now can we agree that the idiot cop should be fired?

[jamnkats]

As someone who was bullied, and quite a bit worse than this, I am in a position to say "suck it up."

 

Using your logic...

 

As someone who was raped at 11, I am in a position to say to the child rape victims, "suck it up".

 

Yeah. That makes perfect sense and moreover, raising a child with this mentality provides for a nation of people who know how to treat others with respect.

 

(/sarcasm)

[pqr]

Using your logic...

 

As someone who was raped at 11, I am in a position to say to the child rape victims, "suck it up".

 

Yeah. That makes perfect sense and moreover, raising a child with this mentality provides for a nation of people who know how to treat others with respect.

 

(/sarcasm)

 

 

No, but you are in a position to say that it is survivable, and that does make perfect sense. (No sarcasm needed nor intended)

 

Anyway comparing child rape to what happened to this kid is akin to comparing..... well if you stopped being so sarcastic you might see that there really is no comparison and certainly no logic.

[mrsdash]

My initial reaction to the article? "good, let's see if he throws his food away again."

Did she cross a line? I don't know...maybe a little but I won't say "yes". If that boy was "damaged" in any way from this, he doesn't stand a chance.

 

pqr- you may be my new favorite person.

[Karen sn]

What the teacher did last year to that Kindergarten child by leading the kids to vote him out of the classroom was emotional abuse too. That teacher was not arrested by my recollection.

 

.

 

I have to disagree. I lived in the county where this occured.

I say if your bratty kid is not controlled by the teacher OR the principal (who clearly failed here) than what's wrong with letting him know that his behavior is unacceptable?

 

THE OTHER CHILDREN could not learn because he was such a continuous disruption. THEY are the ones who paid for his disobedience THE ENTIRE school year!

 

I think a little peer pressure to behave is fine. My childhood friend is a teacher in the same district and said the only thing this teacher ever did wrong was to not join the union (or whatever it's called for teachers). Had she belonged, they would have backed her and had the lawyers to do it. Now that teacher can't find a job. And that little boy is taught his lesson - it's ok to do whatever you want to do. Break the rules, it's fine. This kind of parenting SUCKS.

 

Emotional abuse is a term we use quite loosely today.

 

Back to the op - I don't know that I would have dug his food out of the trash - but I do cringe when I see how many children waste food and how little their parents care. I think it's disgusting that parents don't teach their kids the value and respect of the food we are lucky enough to eat.

[Tutor]

Given that it seems the banana was the item removed and offered back to the child, I don't have as big of a problem with it. Not sure if the nuggets were offered, though. I think that our society is overly germophobic, but I think offering the banana and not the nuggets is a good compromise.

 

The article states that the child didn't eat his school lunch. If he wasn't hungry, he shouldn't have bought a lunch. Throwing it out after buying it is just wasting food and money. Our elementary/ middle school had a trash monitor, and if you bought food, you had to have eaten at least some of it before they would allow you to throw it away and kindly suggest that you may not want to buy as much food next time.

 

The teacher is probably in a ****ed if you do/ ****ed if you don't situation. If she lets him throw away his lunch, and he goes hungry, a parent could get upset that the child didn't eat. If she forces him to eat it, she gets in trouble for emotional abuse or manipulation.

 

I am tending to lean towards agreeing with pqr's view of this, but I think that it is tenuous choosing a position without knowing all the facts. In any case, she should not have been arrested. The child was moved out of the classroom and an internal school investigation is going on. I think that is sufficient.

[Karen sn]

...and we wonder why we are raising a nation of namby-pamby whimps.

 

What happened to the days when boys would have just shaken something like this off??? Oh yes those were the days before we arrested teachers for things like this.

 

Treat a child like a mental and emotional weakling and he will fall you your expectations. Tell him to keep a stiff upper lip and he will rise to them.

 

:iagree:

[Karen sn]

This is outrageous and a gross overreaction.

 

Only one person should be fired and that is the idiot cop who arrested her.

 

Yes. The cop - I wonder what he thought about all this?

Was she a grandmotherly, soft looking woman? Or was she one of those mean old ladies with wrinkles in all the wrong and mean places?

[Karen sn]

Two things come to my mind:

1 - Reading all these posts, everyone is disgusted by the germs. Yet we put bacteria and fungus INTO OUR FOOD ON PURPOSE (GM) and we gladly eat it.

2 - There are children STARVING TO DEATH who would GLADLY eat out of the trash can.

 

No one can tell me that this isn't the most bizzare planet in the entire universe and that humans are smart.

[mrsdash]

Two things come to my mind:

1 - Reading all these posts, everyone is disgusted by the germs. Yet we put bacteria and fungus INTO OUR FOOD ON PURPOSE (GM) and we gladly eat it.

2 - There are children STARVING TO DEATH who would GLADLY eat out of the trash can.

 

No one can tell me that this isn't the most bizzare planet in the entire universe and that humans are smart.

 

 

:iagree: and I :banghead: DAILY!!!

[Miss Sherry]

I haven't read all of the responses, but my thoughts are that all the teacher should have done was said something to the child like "Now I will have to call your parents and tell them you did not eat your lunch " and make a call to the parents. If the child smart mouthed her or any such thing it seems she should have sent the child to the Principals office. If he threw his lunch in the garbage in defiance of her she should have contacted the Principal and let him/her decide on the disciplone then and there rather than handling it the way she did.

I don't think she should have been arressted but I do think the Principal should have called her in,which he may have, and instructed her not to do that again. But not in a way that the children knew she was being reprimanded by the Principal.

 

But I think her being arressted over this is over the top.

I don't think his parents should make a big deal over this. If it were my child I would have wanted to know if my child threw away the food in defiance of the teacher or not. If they did, I would be upset with my child's actions. I would say that the teacher should not be having students eat lunches retrieved from the garbage but it is not that big of a deal. Just get over it and don't give the teacher a hard time. They will make mistakes at times. But if this teacher did it again I would be wondering what was up with her.

 

Edited March 19, 2009 by Miss Sherry

[mrsdash]

I haven't read all of the responses, but my thoughts are that all the teacher should have done was said something to the child like "Now I will have to call your parents and tell them you did not eat your lunch " and make a call to the parents. If the child smart mouthed her or any such thing it seems she should have sent the child to the Principals office. If he through his lunch in the garbage in defiance of her she should have contacted the Principal and let him/her decide on the disciplone then and there rather than handling it the way she did.

I don't think she should have been arressted but I do think the Principal should have called her in,which he may have, and instructed her not to do that again.

 

The days of "wait till your father gets home" and "I'm telling your parents" are over. The majority of kids know that means nothing today.

[Perry]

I say if your bratty kid is not controlled by the teacher OR the principal (who clearly failed here) than what's wrong with letting him know that his behavior is unacceptable?

 

He wasn't a brat, he's autistic.

[Karen sn]

He wasn't a brat, he's autistic.

 

I wonder why that diagnosis was made at the end of the year AFTER this incident, and yet no one thought about it before.............

[Perry]

1 - Reading all these posts, everyone is disgusted by the germs. Yet we put bacteria and fungus INTO OUR FOOD ON PURPOSE (GM) and we gladly eat it.

 

 

There is a difference between pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria. Lots of foods require bacteria or yeast- bread, alcohol, yogurt, cheese. The bacteria in a garbage can is likely to be of the non-helpful variety.

[Miss Sherry]

The days of "wait till your father gets home" and "I'm telling your parents" are over. The majority of kids know that means nothing today.

School policy should not be based on the lowest denominator in a society. Parents are still parents and should be called on when it is necessary, regardless of how many previous parents have dropped the ball.

There are always some bad apples in the bunch but that doesn't mean all parents are irresponsible.

[mrsdash]

School policy should not be based on the lowest denominator in a society. Parents are still parents and should be called on when it is necessary, regardless of how many previous parents have dropped the ball.

There are always some bad apples in the bunch but that doesn't mean all parents are irresponsible.

 

No, not all parents are irresponsible but everything else seems to be based on the lowest denominator in society....excuses up the rear. Badly behaved kids all have some form of ADHD, ABCD or some other group of letters or they have food issues or their sensitive to something somehow. The bad apples have taken over the barrel.

[Blessedfamily]

I can't resist saying this, though it's slightly off topic. I bet kids eat out of the trash at school all the time. Cafeteria managers (at least here) are responsible for keeping costs down. They get angry when kids throw things like bananas and milk away without consuming them, and fish them out of the trash after the kids leave to re-serve.

 

A friend at church informed me of this after she took a part-time job at a local elementary school cafeteria. She reported it and quit, but I bet it happens all the time in many places.

 

Anyway, I think the teacher should have just let his parents know.

[Karen sn]

There is a difference between pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria. Lots of foods require bacteria or yeast- bread, alcohol, yogurt, cheese. The bacteria in a garbage can is likely to be of the non-helpful variety.

 

Ever hear of Morgellon's?

One scientist claims thge DNA is related to fungus used in GM and another found DNA from GM bacteria. They affect eukaryotic cells - cells that replicate identical cells (i.e. skin cells).

 

Also - I get the whole bacteria thing - which is why I don't use triclosan, I like a little friendly bacteria on my hands.

 

GM bacteria - not helpful or friendly!

 

http://www.naturalnews.com/023004.html

 

http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?p=599

 

 

 

In the meantime, a research team from Oklahoma State University lead by Dr. Randy Wymore, studied some of the fibers sent to them by Morgellons patients. They discovered that fibers from different people looked remarkably similar to each other and yet seemed to match no common environmental fibers.

 

Ahmed Kilani, a specialist in infectious disease detection, claimed to have broken down two fiber samples and extracted their DNA. He found that they belonged to a fungus.

 

In an even more provocative finding, Vitaly Citovsky, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook University in New York, discovered that the fibers contained the substance Agrobacterium, a genus of gram-negative bacteria capable of genetically transforming not only plants, but also other eukaryotic species, including human cells.

 

Anonymous samples were provided to Professor Citovsky by the Morgellons Research Foundation to use in investigating the potential presence of Agrobacterium in biopsies from Morgellons patients. Control reactions included samples provided by healthy donors. Only Morgellons, not healthy subjects, tested positive in these studies.

Edited March 19, 2009 by Karen sn

[Perry]

I wonder why that diagnosis was made at the end of the year AFTER this incident, and yet no one thought about it before.............

 

They DID think of it.

 

Barton said her son is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism. Alex began the testing process in February at the suggestion of Morningside Principal Marcia Cully.

 

[Karen sn]

They DID think of it.

 

So they knew and did what for him?

[Peri]

Yeah ... I do think the arrest was nessecary. Think of the emotional stress the child went through. I mean usualy the punishment for a child that does not eat will suffer consequences of being hungry later. he doesn't need to be bullied ... yes I said bullied ... into eating something he doesn't want, is probably not even healthy, and is now probably filthy. Children should be encouraged to eat and not forced. It is the act of a bully that would force a child to eat something they found yucky. The child has the right to consider it to be yucky and has the right to not eat it. If the teacher thinks it is a waste of food then maybe she should have eaten it.

[Peri]

...and we wonder why we are raising a nation of namby-pamby whimps.

 

What happened to the days when boys would have just shaken something like this off??? Oh yes those were the days before we arrested teachers for things like this.

 

Treat a child like a mental and emotional weakling and he will fall you your expectations. Tell him to keep a stiff upper lip and he will rise to them.

 

For a 5 year old? That's a little too harsh for a 5 year old. Maybe she should have tried it on a 17 year old. I bet the kid would not have had to keep a stiff upper lip but he might have given the teacher a stiff uppr lip. Which brings to light, she did it to a 5 year old because she knew she could get away with it ... or at least she thought she could get away with it. I'm sorry but if some teacher bullied my kid into eating out of the trash, I'd be the bully and the teacher would be the victim. That's my stiff upper lip.

[dtb1999]

I don't think we know enough about this situation to say it was abuse. Do we know that the student was humiliated, that the teacher was mean, or anything? Do we know that the food was buried and contaminated, or was it right on top? Do we know that she hadn't just told him he needed a bit more and he defied her and threw it away anyway? At my elementary school, there were teachers standing by the trash can to ensure that we finished our milk and had eaten enough of our food. Is this abusive?

I don't think it was her place to "make" him eat the trashed lunch, but do we know that it was really a big deal, or did he just do it with a little urging?

 

The specifics do. not. matter. It was W-R-O-N-G. Period. No excuses. If you think it's okay, then you eat tonight's dinner from the trash. :)

[Peri]

What kind of man would let something like this bother him?

 

As I said we wonder why we have a nation of whimps.

 

You are confusing a child with an adult and although we do not want a nation of wimps, we also don't want a nation of Hitlers either.

[dtb1999]

I have to disagree. I lived in the county where this occured.

I say if your bratty kid is not controlled by the teacher OR the principal (who clearly failed here) than what's wrong with letting him know that his behavior is unacceptable?

 

THE OTHER CHILDREN could not learn because he was such a continuous disruption. THEY are the ones who paid for his disobedience THE ENTIRE school year!

 

I think a little peer pressure to behave is fine.

 

 

OMG, are you serious? That little boy in that incident was autistic! Do you know anything about autism? The kids voted him out of the class because he was different. :(

[dtb1999]

Two things come to my mind:

1 - Reading all these posts, everyone is disgusted by the germs. Yet we put bacteria and fungus INTO OUR FOOD ON PURPOSE (GM) and we gladly eat it.

2 - There are children STARVING TO DEATH who would GLADLY eat out of the trash can.

 

No one can tell me that this isn't the most bizzare planet in the entire universe and that humans are smart.

 

 

It's not about the germs, imho. It's the degrading act of it. It is disrespectful, and emotionally abusive. Period.

[dtb1999]

Yeah ... I do think the arrest was nessecary. Think of the emotional stress the child went through. I mean usualy the punishment for a child that does not eat will suffer consequences of being hungry later. he doesn't need to be bullied ... yes I said bullied ... into eating something he doesn't want, is probably not even healthy, and is now probably filthy. Children should be encouraged to eat and not forced. It is the act of a bully that would force a child to eat something they found yucky. The child has the right to consider it to be yucky and has the right to not eat it. If the teacher thinks it is a waste of food then maybe she should have eaten it.

 

:iagree:

[Perry]

Ever hear of Morgellon's?

One scientist claims thge DNA is related to fungus used in GM and another found DNA from GM bacteria. They affect eukaryotic cells - cells that replicate identical cells (i.e. skin cells).

 

Also - I get the whole bacteria thing - which is why I don't use triclosan, I like a little friendly bacteria on my hands.

 

GM bacteria - not helpful or friendly!

 

http://www.naturalnews.com/023004.html

 

http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?p=599

 

 

 

In the meantime, a research team from Oklahoma State University lead by Dr. Randy Wymore, studied some of the fibers sent to them by Morgellons patients. They discovered that fibers from different people looked remarkably similar to each other and yet seemed to match no common environmental fibers.

 

Ahmed Kilani, a specialist in infectious disease detection, claimed to have broken down two fiber samples and extracted their DNA. He found that they belonged to a fungus.

 

In an even more provocative finding, Vitaly Citovsky, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook University in New York, discovered that the fibers contained the substance Agrobacterium, a genus of gram-negative bacteria capable of genetically transforming not only plants, but also other eukaryotic species, including human cells.

 

Anonymous samples were provided to Professor Citovsky by the Morgellons Research Foundation to use in investigating the potential presence of Agrobacterium in biopsies from Morgellons patients. Control reactions included samples provided by healthy donors. Only Morgellons, not healthy subjects, tested positive in these studies.

 

 

Yes, I'm familiar with Morgellon's, and I find the "evidence" completely unconvincing.

 

GM foods cause delusions

 

Morgellons disease: the mystery unfolds

 

 

The first paper written on Morgellons was by Raphael Stricker. It's difficult to take his work seriously. From

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not93-177.html

 

Raphael B. Stricker, M.D., University of California at San Francisco. An investigation conducted by the University found that Dr. Stricker falsified data for a manuscript and a PHS-supported publication reporting research on AIDS. In the manuscript, Dr. Stricker selectively suppressed data that did not support his hypothesis, and reported consistently positive data whereas only one of four experiments had produced positive results. In the publication, Dr. Stricker reported that an antibody was found in 29 of 30 homosexuals, but not found in non-homosexuals. However, Dr. Stricker’s control data, which he suppressed, showed the antibody in 33 of 65 non-homosexuals.

 

The falsified data was used as the basis for a grant application to the National Institutes of Health. The ORI concurred in the University’s finding. Dr. Stricker executed a Voluntary Exclusion and Settlement Agreement in which he has agreed not to apply for Federal grant or contract funds and will not serve on PHS advisory committees, boards or peer review groups for a three year period beginning April 1, 1993. The publication “Target platelet antigen in homosexual men with immune thrombocytopenia” in the New England Journal of Medicine, 313: 1315-1380, 1985 has been retracted (New England Journal of Medicine, 325: 1487,1991).

 

And Citovsky has made it clear that his results do not imply causation. The Agrobacterium could just as easily come from the fingernails of those scratching at their skin. Obviously, the control subjects wouldn't be scratching, since they didn't have sores.

Clarification from Vitaly Citovsky

 

 

 

I would like to clarify the involvement of my research group in the Morgellons studies. We are biochemists and cell and molecular biologists who study fundamental and diverse biological processes, such as genetic transformation, intercellular transport, and chromatin remodeling, using plants as experimental systems. Because one of our model organisms, Agrobacterium, is capable of genetically transforming not only plants, but also other eukaryotic species, including human cells, we were contacted by Dr. Stricker and MRF to investigate potential presence of Agrobacterium in biopsies from Morgellons patients. A limited number of anonymous samples provided by Dr. Stricker were tested by PCR for the presence of different families of Agrobacterium genes. Control reactions included samples from healthy donors provided by us. Only Morgellons, but not healthy subjects tested positive in these studies. This observation does not imply that Agrobacterium causes Morgellons or that Morgellons is indeed an infectious disease. However, it does encourage future studies to determine (i) statistical significance of our data, (ii) whether or not Agrobacterium is not only present extracellularly, but also causes genetic transformation of the infected tissues, and (iii) whether or not infection of laboratory animals with Agrobacterium can recreate at least some symptoms of Morgellons. These are the immediate goals which may or may not be pursued, depending on the available research funding which is currently non-existent for Morgellons.

 

Vitaly Citovsky, Ph.D.

 

Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

 

Anyway, it's really beside the point. I'm no fan of GMOs. But this comment

Reading all these posts, everyone is disgusted by the germs. Yet we put bacteria and fungus INTO OUR FOOD ON PURPOSE (GM) and we gladly eat it.

implies that you feel negatively about GMOs because they are microbes. Thus my comments.

[peachskittles]

I've gotta say, it was a banana...A lil ol' banana...And really, you can't FORCE a 5 year old to eat if he doesn't want to...My son, if he didn't want it, would have made it a point to tell the teacher "No"...He wouldn't care that it was a teacher or even me...If he didn't want it, he wouldn't have ate it...

 

It doesn't sound like she opened up the banana, shoved it down his throat and held his nose so he'd chew it up...She requested he eat the banana...He did (I think)...End of story...

 

Like someone mentioned, my elementary school had a habit of trash digging for reusable food...Eventually a parent got upset so the trash cans were monitored...Your plate was scanned for reusable items (apples, bananas, milk, etc.) and put into a lil bin to go back to the kitchen for the next meal...Once I hit junior/senior high school, there were monitors again, but this time they watched to see how much you ate...If you didn't touch your food, they got concerned...

 

Also, this reminds me of a friend of mine in Virginia...He sent me a message the other day joyous over the food his friend had brought him...Of course I thought he was nuts over food, but in reality, it was all food that they got from the dumpster...He said he got like 30lbs of meat and some really nice apples and bananas for free...His friend got more meat that she took home for her family to eat...It was all thrown out by the store that night because of the expiration date...I've seen it on tv but this is the first time anyone ever told me that they had been a participant in it LOL...

 

Maybe I'm just odd...I grabbed sandwiches that I had tossed at the end of my shift and took them home to my family when I was younger...*shrug* It didn't seem odd...It was good food, just had a date on it that required that the cameras seen someone throwing it away...

[dtb1999]

 

Also, this reminds me of a friend of mine in Virginia...He sent me a message the other day joyous over the food his friend had brought him...Of course I thought he was nuts over food, but in reality, it was all food that they got from the dumpster...He said he got like 30lbs of meat and some really nice apples and bananas for free...His friend got more meat that she took home for her family to eat...It was all thrown out by the store that night because of the expiration date...I've seen it on tv but this is the first time anyone ever told me that they had been a participant in it LOL...

 

Maybe I'm just odd...I grabbed sandwiches that I had tossed at the end of my shift and took them home to my family when I was younger...*shrug* It didn't seem odd...It was good food, just had a date on it that required that the cameras seen someone throwing it away...

 

These incidents were all voluntary. No one demanded that you do it, you chose to do it. Like I said before, it's not so much the issue of germs, but the act of telling a 5 year old child to eat from the trash bin. It's just not okay. And for the people who think it was no big deal, then I challenge you all to toss tonight's leftovers in the trash, invite all your friends and neighbors over, and proceed to eat the leftovers from the trash. Demand that your friends join in.

[stripe]

2 - There are children STARVING TO DEATH who would GLADLY eat out of the trash can.

 

Just because someone in a desperate state is willing to do something, doesn't mean that should become the gold standard of behavior. Was that her motivation -- to feed a starving child? Or was she trying to humiliate a "misbehaving" child (and I am somewhat amused that now not eating your lunch is considered naughty and in need of "punishment").

[Karen sn]

OMG, are you serious? That little boy in that incident was autistic! Do you know anything about autism? The kids voted him out of the class because he was different. :(

 

They did not vote him out because he was different - they voted him out because the teacher could not teach as he was a CONSTANT disruption and the principal had just seen him in his office that very day. (Which was the pattern!).

 

If his autism is so bad - WHY was he in this class?

 

I'm not dissing his autism - but should the entire class suffer because of it?

[Karen sn]

duplicate

[peachskittles]

These incidents were all voluntary. No one demanded that you do it, you chose to do it. Like I said before, it's not so much the issue of germs, but the act of telling a 5 year old child to eat from the trash bin. It's just not okay. And for the people who think it was no big deal, then I challenge you all to toss tonight's leftovers in the trash, invite all your friends and neighbors over, and proceed to eat the leftovers from the trash. Demand that your friends join in.

 

My lil one would gladly take you up on your request to remove a banana from the trash and eat it...Silly lil guy...Like he grabbed his half eaten apple the other day...He's alive still...I didn't freak out...I don't see the entire issue with this banana thing...It might be different, if let's say, she found the rest of his meal and forced him to eat it...

 

And again...Back to original story...He's 5 and I don't know many 5 year olds that will just be like "Oh teacher, yes, you are right, I'm so hungry, let me eat that banana," and then gladly eat it up...It doesn't sound as forceful as everyone is making it...That's just my whole issue with it...I'd just be thankful that my son's teacher was looking out for his well being...

[Karen sn]

Anyway, it's really beside the point. I'm no fan of GMOs. But this comment

implies that you feel negatively about GMOs because they are microbes. Thus my comments.

 

Just those that are artificially injected into the DNA of my food. And then NOT labelled as such if it is packaged food. I like to choose my "germs" if you will.

 

All microbes are not alike.

Obviously, as a woman, I especially like acidophillus.