I work in a state that began offering free breakfast and lunch to every student in the midst of the distance-learning period. Our nutrition department would put together meals that were more-or-less shelf-stable for students and offered them for pick up in school parking lots.

My site had grocery bags for pick-up and students could get a weeks worth of meals on a Monday – no need to come more than one time per week.

When students returned to campus, we continued to offer the service to all students: one breakfast and one lunch for free. You didn’t even need to qualify for a free-and-reduced-lunch package.

Come one, come all – we will feed your kids 2x a day at school.

It was remarkable. Our food service numbers increased by a factor of THREE, and kids seemed happy. Until they weren’t.

Our campus security personnel would find students returning from McDonald’s at the end of lunch, still munching away on their contraband fries (we have a closed campus). Asking them about their food choice always resulted in the same answer: I don’t like the food at school.

Reporting that information back to district nutrition was tough, but resulted in new changes and better/fresher options from the cafeteria and snack lines. Kids were happy again. Until they weren’t and started to order from food delivery services.

Me: “Why am I finding you coming back from McDonald’s again?”

Stu: “I wanted something different for lunch today. Not the same chicken sandwich or pizza from the line.”

Me: “What do have in the bag?”

Stu: “Fries and nuggets.”

Me: “Hmm. That doesn’t sound far off from the chicken in the sandwich…”

Stu: “I know. I just didn’t want school lunch.”

And so we made our way to the office for the customary backpack check and detention assignment for being off campus.

At the end of the day, students just want something different – and an opportunity to break away from the confinement of school rules. In this context, McDonald’s is a not a cookie-cutter food option, it is a momentary assertion of individuality and a symbol of teenage determination to define their own rules.

Which I LOVE.

A compliant student is one who can’t think outside of the box. A compliant student is one who has been beaten down so hard by the educational system that they just follow along without question. I’ll shake that kid’s hand as they cross the stage, but it’s a limp and/or clammy handshake that comes in response to my firmer grip.

It’s age appropriate for students to question authority and set themselves apart from the generations that came before. Don’t want free lunch? I get it.

I’ll have fries with that, too.