Question
August 5, 2014
Ask most any kid: Birthdays are synonymous with cupcakes. But families in Edmonds School District, a suburb of Seattle, have been told they can no longer bring birthday treats to school. Instead, parents are encouraged to distribute appropriate alternatives, like stickers and pencils.
That's right, pencils.
To be expected, some are poking fun at the cupcake ban and blaming first lady Michelle Obama’s healthy eating initiatives for messing with a harmless tradition. Yet many Edmonds parents applaud the new rule—because it's healthier for kids, and because it lets parents avoid the stress of being expected to provide dessert for the whole class.
Erin Ornes, an Edmonds parent of two boys, remembers when her oldest, now 11, was in first grade and she couldn't afford a birthday party: The classroom celebration was very important to her son.
She understands that childhood obesity is a major problem. But she worries that encouraging parents to substitute crafty birthday alternatives for cupcakes will only fuel the social media "mommy wars."
“It’s bad enough to see who made the best cupcakes or who just stopped by the grocery store,” says Ornes. “But now to see who makes the best non-food celebration? Low-income families and single moms that really don’t have time to think or deal with this will have the hardest time.”
…
Bans on homemade treats bring peace of mind to parents of children with allergies. Melissa Dobrich, who has a daughter who is severely allergic to peanuts and will start school in several years, says she wasn’t previously aware of all the precautions a parent must take when a child is highly sensitive to an allergen. “I don’t want to spoil everyone’s fun,” says Dobrich. “I just want a safe place for my daughter to learn.”
Edmonds parent Deandra MacMillan supports the school’s cupcake ban because her 12-year-old son has a weight problem that keeps him from cardio activity. “More than once my kid has come home after eating two birthday treats a day,” says MacMillan. “It’s frustrating to try to retain some control and realize it’s a losing battle.”
…
While parents may scoff and kids may mourn the lack of sweet treats, experts say food at school does make a difference.
“People need to understand that the entire food environment of the school matters,” says Marlene Schwartz, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, whose children’s Connecticut school district has prohibited birthday treats to make schools healthier for a while.
“It’s not fair to say to the food service providers that they are not allowed to sell candy and soda but then say it’s perfectly fine for 30 parents to bring in cupcakes for the whole class 30 times a year.”
Rather than fight the changes at school, she says parents should back them up at home. “It’s important to be consistent about nutritional values and for everyone to give students the same message about healthy eating,” says Schwartz. “Children are being exposed to multiple sources of empty calories. It all adds up and makes a real difference.”
________________________________________________________
Emily's Smart New Clothes
by Zareh MacPherson Artinian
“Tonight’s party will be a ripper,” Danielle whispered into Emily’s ear as the two walked together through the crowded school hallway.
Emily almost dropped her e-book at the word “ripper.” Rippers were dangerous. They were illegal.
It was too late to ask Danielle any more questions—the reader in the doorway of their next classroom was already scanning them, recording their presence.
…
After school, Emily stopped by Veritables department store to buy Danielle a gift. As she passed the shelves and racks, readers scanned her chip, and the disembodied voices of the e-hawkers began vying for her attention.
“Emily, I’m sure juggling your schoolwork, soccer practice, and a social life is stressing you out. I’ve got something that can help you organize . . .”
Emily walked past them. She disliked algorithms telling her what she was supposed to like, but they annoyed her even more when their suggestions were right on target as if they could see right through her, straight into her heart.
She removed a pair of jeans from a shelf and headed for the lone gift purchase terminal by the exit. If she were buying the pants for herself, she could just walk out the door and let the chip reader in the store’s doorway scan her and the pants. The reader would send a message to update the government’s central database, Emily’s bank would deduct money from her debit account, and the garment’s manufacturer would update its records to show that Emily owned the pants. But these pants were not for her.
At the gift terminal, she stated, “Gift.” The terminal quickly responded, “Thanks, Emily. I’ve processed the pants as a gift purchase. Please remind the lucky recipient to register them at her earliest convenience.”
Later that night, Emily arrived at Danielle’s. The reader-greeter at Danielle’s house announced that Emily was carrying one pair of unregistered blue jeans, ruining any possibility of surprising Danielle with the gift.
Danielle greeted Emily and led her into the basement. Three other friends were standing around, talking. One of them, Thomas, held a pair of old scissors spotted with rust.
“Where’d you get those?” Emily asked.
“My grandmother had them in her knitting basket,” Thomas answered.
“She knits?”
“Yeah, she’s always been kind of a rebel.”
“They’re really chip-free?” Emily asked.
“That’s right. No one can track what you cut with them.”
“Let’s get started,” Danielle said eagerly, as she unwrapped the pants. She picked up a hand-held reader and passed it along the length of the pants. When it reached the waistband, a red light went on.
“The chip’s here,” Danielle announced, handing the pants to Thomas.
He took the pants and cut into the waistband with the scissors. Immediately, microscopic spinnerets in the garment sprang into action, weaving strong fibers to repair the cut.
“Well,” said Thomas, “we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Now what?”
As they were thinking about what to do next, they heard the muffled sound of the reader-greeter upstairs. “The police have arrived. Everyone please remain calm.”
The friends all looked at Danielle, still holding the hand-held reader. “I thought it was offline. It shouldn’t have set off an alert.”
“Of course!” said Thomas. “The hand-held reader’s tagged, too. One of the other readers in the house must have scanned it when we used it.”
The door at the top of the stairs burst open. Police in riot control gear scrambled down the stairs. Emily now wished that she were transparent. She knew that if she could shed her chip-laced clothes, she could run through the streets undetected by the readers that stood sentinel, guarding every doorway and intersection in town. She imagined herself running, running past the eyes that never shut.
Read Less ▲
Multiple Choice Question
Where do the passages “Cupcake Ban: Schools Crack Down on Sweets” and “Emily's Smart New Clothes” agree or disagree in their underlying messages?
A.
Both “Cupcake Ban” and “Emily's Smart New Clothes” provide examples to show how kids benefit from social interaction while being at school.
B.
“Cupcake Ban” provides personal accounts of how organizational regulations can be beneficial while “Emily's Smart New Clothes” uses a narrative to show how people prefer freedom over regulation and oversight.
C.
“Cupcake Ban” provides reasons both for and against dietary restrictions while “Emily's Smart New Clothes” illustrates how food choice is not a major concern for children, but clothes are.
D.
Both “Cupcake Ban” and “Emily's Smart New Clothes” provide reasons to support the use of government oversight to insure the safety of its citizens.
Ask most any kid: Birthdays are synonymous with cupcakes. But families in Edmonds School District, a suburb of Seattle, have been told they can no longer bring birthday treats to school. Instead, parents are encouraged to distribute appropriate alternatives, like stickers and pencils.
That's right, pencils.
To be expected, some are poking fun at the cupcake ban and blaming first lady Michelle Obama’s healthy eating initiatives for messing with a harmless tradition. Yet many Edmonds parents applaud the new rule—because it's healthier for kids, and because it lets parents avoid the stress of being expected to provide dessert for the whole class.
Erin Ornes, an Edmonds parent of two boys, remembers when her oldest, now 11, was in first grade and she couldn't afford a birthday party: The classroom celebration was very important to her son.
She understands that childhood obesity is a major problem. But she worries that encouraging parents to substitute crafty birthday alternatives for cupcakes will only fuel the social media "mommy wars."
“It’s bad enough to see who made the best cupcakes or who just stopped by the grocery store,” says Ornes. “But now to see who makes the best non-food celebration? Low-income families and single moms that really don’t have time to think or deal with this will have the hardest time.”
…
Bans on homemade treats bring peace of mind to parents of children with allergies. Melissa Dobrich, who has a daughter who is severely allergic to peanuts and will start school in several years, says she wasn’t previously aware of all the precautions a parent must take when a child is highly sensitive to an allergen. “I don’t want to spoil everyone’s fun,” says Dobrich. “I just want a safe place for my daughter to learn.”
Edmonds parent Deandra MacMillan supports the school’s cupcake ban because her 12-year-old son has a weight problem that keeps him from cardio activity. “More than once my kid has come home after eating two birthday treats a day,” says MacMillan. “It’s frustrating to try to retain some control and realize it’s a losing battle.”
…
While parents may scoff and kids may mourn the lack of sweet treats, experts say food at school does make a difference.
“People need to understand that the entire food environment of the school matters,” says Marlene Schwartz, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, whose children’s Connecticut school district has prohibited birthday treats to make schools healthier for a while.
“It’s not fair to say to the food service providers that they are not allowed to sell candy and soda but then say it’s perfectly fine for 30 parents to bring in cupcakes for the whole class 30 times a year.”
Rather than fight the changes at school, she says parents should back them up at home. “It’s important to be consistent about nutritional values and for everyone to give students the same message about healthy eating,” says Schwartz. “Children are being exposed to multiple sources of empty calories. It all adds up and makes a real difference.”
________________________________________________________
Emily's Smart New Clothes
by Zareh MacPherson Artinian
“Tonight’s party will be a ripper,” Danielle whispered into Emily’s ear as the two walked together through the crowded school hallway.
Emily almost dropped her e-book at the word “ripper.” Rippers were dangerous. They were illegal.
It was too late to ask Danielle any more questions—the reader in the doorway of their next classroom was already scanning them, recording their presence.
…
After school, Emily stopped by Veritables department store to buy Danielle a gift. As she passed the shelves and racks, readers scanned her chip, and the disembodied voices of the e-hawkers began vying for her attention.
“Emily, I’m sure juggling your schoolwork, soccer practice, and a social life is stressing you out. I’ve got something that can help you organize . . .”
Emily walked past them. She disliked algorithms telling her what she was supposed to like, but they annoyed her even more when their suggestions were right on target as if they could see right through her, straight into her heart.
She removed a pair of jeans from a shelf and headed for the lone gift purchase terminal by the exit. If she were buying the pants for herself, she could just walk out the door and let the chip reader in the store’s doorway scan her and the pants. The reader would send a message to update the government’s central database, Emily’s bank would deduct money from her debit account, and the garment’s manufacturer would update its records to show that Emily owned the pants. But these pants were not for her.
At the gift terminal, she stated, “Gift.” The terminal quickly responded, “Thanks, Emily. I’ve processed the pants as a gift purchase. Please remind the lucky recipient to register them at her earliest convenience.”
Later that night, Emily arrived at Danielle’s. The reader-greeter at Danielle’s house announced that Emily was carrying one pair of unregistered blue jeans, ruining any possibility of surprising Danielle with the gift.
Danielle greeted Emily and led her into the basement. Three other friends were standing around, talking. One of them, Thomas, held a pair of old scissors spotted with rust.
“Where’d you get those?” Emily asked.
“My grandmother had them in her knitting basket,” Thomas answered.
“She knits?”
“Yeah, she’s always been kind of a rebel.”
“They’re really chip-free?” Emily asked.
“That’s right. No one can track what you cut with them.”
“Let’s get started,” Danielle said eagerly, as she unwrapped the pants. She picked up a hand-held reader and passed it along the length of the pants. When it reached the waistband, a red light went on.
“The chip’s here,” Danielle announced, handing the pants to Thomas.
He took the pants and cut into the waistband with the scissors. Immediately, microscopic spinnerets in the garment sprang into action, weaving strong fibers to repair the cut.
“Well,” said Thomas, “we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Now what?”
As they were thinking about what to do next, they heard the muffled sound of the reader-greeter upstairs. “The police have arrived. Everyone please remain calm.”
The friends all looked at Danielle, still holding the hand-held reader. “I thought it was offline. It shouldn’t have set off an alert.”
“Of course!” said Thomas. “The hand-held reader’s tagged, too. One of the other readers in the house must have scanned it when we used it.”
The door at the top of the stairs burst open. Police in riot control gear scrambled down the stairs. Emily now wished that she were transparent. She knew that if she could shed her chip-laced clothes, she could run through the streets undetected by the readers that stood sentinel, guarding every doorway and intersection in town. She imagined herself running, running past the eyes that never shut.
Read Less ▲
Multiple Choice Question
Where do the passages “Cupcake Ban: Schools Crack Down on Sweets” and “Emily's Smart New Clothes” agree or disagree in their underlying messages?
A.
Both “Cupcake Ban” and “Emily's Smart New Clothes” provide examples to show how kids benefit from social interaction while being at school.
B.
“Cupcake Ban” provides personal accounts of how organizational regulations can be beneficial while “Emily's Smart New Clothes” uses a narrative to show how people prefer freedom over regulation and oversight.
C.
“Cupcake Ban” provides reasons both for and against dietary restrictions while “Emily's Smart New Clothes” illustrates how food choice is not a major concern for children, but clothes are.
D.
Both “Cupcake Ban” and “Emily's Smart New Clothes” provide reasons to support the use of government oversight to insure the safety of its citizens.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The correct answer is:
B. “Cupcake Ban” provides personal accounts of how organizational regulations can be beneficial while “Emily's Smart New Clothes” uses a narrative to show how people prefer freedom over regulation and oversight.
Explanation: The "Cupcake Ban" discusses how regulations (such as the ban on birthday treats) can benefit children's health and safety, along with some parents' views supporting this change. In contrast, "Emily's Smart New Clothes" depicts a scenario where characters are trying to evade regulation (their chips that track their purchases) because they prefer the freedom to act without oversight. This highlights a tension between government oversight and personal freedom in different contexts.
B. “Cupcake Ban” provides personal accounts of how organizational regulations can be beneficial while “Emily's Smart New Clothes” uses a narrative to show how people prefer freedom over regulation and oversight.
Explanation: The "Cupcake Ban" discusses how regulations (such as the ban on birthday treats) can benefit children's health and safety, along with some parents' views supporting this change. In contrast, "Emily's Smart New Clothes" depicts a scenario where characters are trying to evade regulation (their chips that track their purchases) because they prefer the freedom to act without oversight. This highlights a tension between government oversight and personal freedom in different contexts.