It was supposed to be another fall Friday at Bell Elementary. Teachers were ready to teach. Students were ready to learn. And Friday, of course, meant breakfast sandwiches to start the day. Until….

“They got an egg-and-cheese wrap,” said 3rd grade teacher Lauren Youngs.

And?

“It was chaos,” said Youngs.

“We didn’t know what was going on,” said 3rd grader Stella Irons.

“I was like, ‘Why?’ It doesn’t have any sausage or anything,” said 3rd grader Jaymes McCauley. 

But, beyond the meatless despair, the sans-sausage sorrow, there was a teachable moment. The students had just begun a persuasive writing unit. 

“We had to write about a shared experience,” said Youngs. 

So, students went from the brink of anarchy to activism. They put their arguments to paper and invited Food Service Director Andrea Hudock to class to make their case to return the breakfast sandwich to the menu.

 

 

“The students’ speeches were amazing. They spent so much time and effort making their cases on the basis of nutrition and the participation in our Friday Breakfast in the Classroom meal. The students even took my staff into account when they said they knew it is a lot of hard work from the food service staff and would like to see the breakfast sandwiches just once a month,” said Hudock. 

After hearing the students’ arguments, Hudock announced the breakfast sandwich would return in March. 

“The breakfast sandwich is a great option to bring back to the Breakfast in the Classroom rotation if the students truly enjoy it.  I absolutely love when I get feedback from students,” said Hudock.

“Everyone in our class was excited,” said McCauley.

“I thought there was a chance (it would return) but it was still exciting,” said Irons.

The students are continuing to use their writing skills to advocate for important causes. Some are writing to help dogs find homes, teach others to stand up for themselves, or assist the poor and homeless. 3rd grader Rocco Parmelee is writing to get more water fountains installed at Bell Elementary. His classmate Antonio Stanek is writing to have more math taught in class.

“You learn plus, minus, multiplying. 12 times 12 is 144. Math is really fun. You learn a lot of stuff with it,” said Stanek. 

No matter the cause, students have learned they can make a difference.

“They now see their writing can bring change,” said Youngs.