Second Graders Rebel Politely over Green Beans, Get Results

Cooking for hundreds of picky kids on a limited budget and with even more limited time is hard, but sometimes, the results just aren’t quite edible. The kids at William V. Wright Elementary School in Las Vegas, for example, couldn’t stand the green beans they got at lunch. Led by Constantine Christopulos, a second grader, they embarked on a very polite letter writing campaign asking the food-service department of the Clark County School District to change things. Apparently, asking politely still works because, with reporters in tow, the department sent staff to the school to let the kids pick something else.

Most adults have only vague, yet unpleasant, memories of school cafeteria food, and those who missed that probably ran across “cuisine” in the armed forces, at college or someplace also omitted from the Michelin Guide. Adults, however, have “learned to like” certain truly awful things like brussels sprouts, lima beans and squash (note: any vegetable that is also a verb doesn’t play well on the kids’ menu). Some scientists say kids have a more delicate sense of taste, some parents say kids are too fussy.

Whatever the reason, the green beans at Wright were getting tossed instead of eaten. After reading Frindle, Andrew Clements’ book about a boy who organizes a boycott of his school’s cafeteria, the kids at Wright opted for a less confrontational approach. They simply wrote letters addressing the food service department respectfully, but as little taxpayers-to-be, asking that the green beans go away. Zhong Lei wrote, “Dear Mrs. Duits, The food is so yummy and yummy. But there are one proplem [sic]. It is the green beans.” Viviann Palacios agreed, “We love the rest but we hate the green beans.”

As a result, on Monday, a couple dozen of the kids sat down in the cafeteria to a taste test. As Ryan Nakashima of the AP reported, “Because of cost restrictions, the children’s only real choices were among canned and frozen green beans, corn, cooked or raw carrots and cooked or cold peas.” The carrots were a hit, but “The cooked peas, it’s warm and all, but inside of it, it’s all soft and stuff and I don’t like it,” said MacKenzie Rangel. The verb rule proved again.

District Supervisor Sue Hoggan told Mr. Nakashima that the survey would help district dieticians “tweak” the menu. Replacing green beans with carrots is giving up a green veggie for a yellow one, but if the kid doesn’t eat it, it doesn’t matter what food group it’s from. And from time to time, green beans will still turn up (turnips, another verb rule food). But the whole episode proves that one catches more flies with sugar than vinegar.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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