Education

Goodbye, Mr. Chips. So long, soda pop.

January 01, 1990 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

But school superintendent Ken Maurer, a selfproclaimed “every-other-day, three-mile slow jogger,’' saw his effort to restrict student consumption of empty calories as a logical offshoot of a district campaign to encourage healthy living.

“We had kids going through the line and getting three Twinkies, and that was their lunch,’' says Maurer. “They weren’t making wise choices.’' So in place of such contraband confections, the cafeteria crowd was offered nutritious treats like fruit, carrot sticks, and salad.

In the face of such cruelty, the students responded with a brown-bag boycott.

All this whetted the Peorian appetite for public controversy. Robert Roth, a DJ for Peoria’s WMBD, picked up on the story and took the kids’ side. “First, they take away their skateboards, then they take away their Twinkies,’' an outraged Roth proclaimed to shocked listeners.

At Roth’s encouragement, the folks at the Continental Baking Co. shipped a truckload of their Hostess Twinkies off to the school and distributed them free of charge to the deprived denizens of Metamora High.

Not to be outdone was WMBD morning man John Williams, who sided with school administrators. Williams encouraged a local apple grower to contribute a shipment of free apples.

Finally, it all came down to a one-mile race, pitting the Cupcake Heads--who hoped to prove that Suzy Q’s and Ho Hos would not weigh them down--against the defenders of apples and such things.

Although the Cupcakes crossed the finish line well ahead of the Apple team, the policy stands. In any event, the boycott had begun to peter out as the administration beefed up the menu with entrees like pizza and lasagna, which are popular among students--and nutritious. “Everything’s pretty much died down,’' says the crafty Ken Maurer. “We fought the food war with food.’'

A version of this article appeared in the January 01, 1990 edition of Teacher Magazine as Goodbye, Mr. Chips. So long, soda pop.

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read