An alert FrontBurnervian points us to this survey, which says: “Based on a health and wellness self-assessment survey, 74 percent of [DISD] employees are at risk for high blood pressure, 74 percent at risk for obesity, 67 percent do not get enough exercise, and more than 48 percent have four or more risk factors” (see item No. 16). In short, the people who work for DISD are not a healthy bunch. That’s not good for the teachers (obviously). But it’s also not good for students (lost productivity due to teacher absenteeism as a result of illness, bad examples being set), and it’s not good for taxpayers (we’re paying for part of their healthcare).
I would think that an incentive program could easily be designed to make a huge impact on teacher health. Set a target BMI and then reward teachers for making progress toward that goal. Give them paid days off. Free lesson-planning periods. Hell, even cash. It would pay for itself in saved health-care costs. Even better, you can enlist the kids as a the support group, turn the thing into a class project of sorts. Get all of Mrs. Smith’s students invested in improving her health (and, by extension, the class’s health).
17 comments
Damn Tim, stick your hand in the snake pit why don’t you?
1. We’re in Texas where we want to treat our students like products and schools like factories because everyone knows that business is better and smarter than government.
2. No smart business person would suggest rewarding people for what they should be doing in the first place.
3. The idea that students should become involved with their teachers as people is total insanity, see 1.
Isn’t DISD facing a $38 million budget shortfall, closing campuses and planning layoffs? Incentivizing adult employees to make better choices in their personal lives with cash or paid time off with public funds while closing schools… oh, nevermind. Just nevermind… You’re probably being sarcastic in your post. I can’t tell anymore.
Your interest in the students having a healthier environment is commendable, but I still think that without the parents on board changing their families’ lifestyles and eating habits, examples set by “healthier” teachers wouldn’t be enough.
It is time for parents to be responsible for their own kids instead of expecting teachers/school/state/government/etc. to raise them.
…and that makes me sad…
Are you dumb? I am beginning to think that this is all some elaborate joke that D Magazine is playing on smart and rational people.
Teachers aren’t healthy because they’re overworked and freaking POOR. Why don’t you go talk to DISD about giving them a pay raise, or to the state legislature about class size or other stuff that’s stressing them out and making them unhealthy. It’s awfully easy for you to talk about these poor, fat-assed teachers from your comfy editor’s chair.
Whenever you’re spending 8 hours a day in the classroom, 1-2 hours after grading papers or coaching and extra-curricular, then coming home and grading more papers, lesson planning, and spending time with your own family – tell me THEN about how excited you are to make quinoa and kale for dinner.
Sounds like they are pretty close to the Texas averages. What’s the story?
@amy: Honestly, you confuse me. Because it sounds like you and I agree.
@Jer: No, not quite. The DISD survey found that 74 percent are at risk for obesity. Which is a bit vague. What does being “at RISK for obesity” mean? There are guidelines for measuring this stuff. Seems you’re either obese or you’re not. In any case, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, “only” about 25 percent of Texans are obese. Looks to me like the DISD teacher population far exceeds the state average.
Tim you have really lost your mind on this one.
For many teachers, any extra $10 they have left over at the end of the week goes to buying the school supplies for the kids that the state refuses to pay for. Nothing left for that pricey health club membership.
@Julie
So the only way to lose weight is in a gym? My wife and I are losing weight together. Mostly it revolves around better eating choices, for our workout together we put a pair of old wooden boxes on the floor and set an old metronome on the hearth. Then we step on and off the box in time to the metronome while watching TV together. Or we go on long walks together, etc. No need for a fancy health club.
Aw, Tim, Tim, Tim, Tim! Yes, your idea of providing incentives to change DISD employees’ behavior is logical. But, I believe, it misses a cogent point. The “problem” of obesity is not isolated to DISD. It is a problem that has been identified as a “national problem.” It is the cause célèbre of the First Lady, who is in town today to promote “healthy eating” So…let’s just translate your DISD plan to the national level. All the fatties in the nation get tax credits, or cash payments–even an autographed photo of Walt Disney’s Goofy (he was skinny)–for every pound they lose.
An even more cogent point is this: When did we stop being responsible for ourselves, our health and our futures in this country? When did we stop being responsible for our behavior? How is it that we must now be “incentivised” to “help” us behave responsibly?
Isn’t a logical response to stupidity merely an extension of that stupidity?
If your kid’s teacher is fat, (and, otherwise, not stupid) tell your kid that, while you don’t want that kid to grow up looking like that teacher, you sure do want him/her growing up to think like that teacher thinks.
Tim, the report to which you linked accompanied this Unfair Park item about the Star Employee Commission, which offered the doc to the Dallas ISD trustees last month. Among its members: co-founder of the Container Store, Garrett Boone. From the item:
Far as Boone’s concerned, “the most shocking” thing about the report is Item No. 16, which says “74 percent of employees are at risk for high blood pressure, 67 percent do not get enough exercise, and more than 48 percent have four or more risk factors.” The report suggests creating “wellness incentives” for DISD employees.
But till that happens, said Boone, “It’s disturbing. … To run a school system, to be effective … you have to have energy and be healthy.” Far as he’s concerned, this revelation is “cause for five-alarm bells.”
It must be a slow day at D if you are attempting to solve DISD health issues. I am looking forward to your Monday post “Eradicating AIDS is as easy as 1-2-3″
And by the way, any one that pays attention to fitness and physical health knows BMI is not an accurate portrayal of one’s well being.
@CraigT Kudos to you and your wife–way to be creative and I hope you are close to your goal. However, you say a health club membership is too much to ask. I say owning a metronome is just as lofty a dream.
@Mike: I agree with everything you wrote. And I want to be clear about this: an obese teacher can inspire a child to be a lifelong learner. I’m not making any judgments about the effectiveness of our teachers based on their weight. A fat teacher can teach geometry. As long as long his weight doesn’t, say, cause a heart attack and kill him.
As far as those incentives for behaving responsibly? They are everywhere. And disincentives, too. Tickets for speeders. Taxes on cigarettes. Lower insurance rates for careful drivers. People respond to incentives.
I’m not thinking about it on moral terms. Just economic ones. If DISD’s health-care costs could be driven down by giving teachers money to lose weight (and if the costs were driven down more than the value of the incentives), then we should do it.
So, is this a hot topic at the country club this week?
Wa-wa-wa. Obscenely stupid commentary, Tim. Pathetic (perhaps purposeful??) attempt to distract from Michelle Obama’s efforts to raise childrens’ awareness of obesity and better nutritional choices that foster optimal health. I can hardly wait to see how you will make a Santorium-like leap of the first lady’s awareness campaign to the French Revolution and the re-emergence of the guillotine.
And an incentive program for teachers?! Isn’t DISD hemorrhaging money?
The DISD teachers with HIGH BMI don’t need a health club membership. They need to walk around the school track or parking lot a few times before and after work, avoid the school cafeterias, and exercise during their summer vacations. But then I guess these DISD obese numbers are about the same for the general US population also.
We are just a fat nation.
@jnm
I bought the metronome at a garage sale for $2. It was harder to get a solid box of the right height. Just about any smart phone will have a fee app available, or if you have access to a computer and internet http://www.metronomeonline.com