Andrew Gelman reacts to one Chicago school's decision to ban lunches brought from home:
If I had read this two years ago, I'd be at one with J. Justin Wilson and the outraged kids and parents. But last year we spent a sabbatical in Paris, where . . . kids aren't allowed to bring lunches to school. The kids who don't go home for lunch have to eat what's supplied by the lunch ladies in the cafeteria. And it's just fine. Actually, it was more than fine because we didn't have to prepare the kids' lunches every day.
A commenter, Igor Carron, offers an interesting explanation:
In France, the meal is paid for through the mayor's office. … If the kids don't eat right, the mayor gets to hear about it very fast and she/he wants to make sure that she/he is not seen as "starving the children". In Texas, the whole school (educators, canteen,…) are all dependent on one administration (the school district). If the food is not good, then someone on the school board may hear about it and then drown the problem and point the fingers to the "inefficient" school's administration. But there are so many issues at the school level that I don't think you can loose an election on the school board based on that one particular item.
(Photo from NPR's slideshow of school lunches from around the world.)
The Dish 