Monday 6 April 2015

Nine out of ten teachers don't think energy drinks contribute to poor pupil performance

****

I've never drunk a whole one of those energy drinks. I had a sip of a Red Bull once and can safely say 'never again' - it made Coca Cola (which I detest) seem appealing. But I understand that they're popular with a lot of people (popular enough for the leading brand to splash millions on racing cars), which has - as night follows day - led to calls for action. For the children of course:

Children are using energy drinks as “legal highs”, making them hyperactive in class, teachers have warned as they called for more restrictions on the drinks.

The NASUWT teaching union is working with the drug charity Swanswell to examine the consumption of drinks such as Red Bull, Monster and Relentless. 

We have here an example of 'teachers say' as justification for a ban or other form of control. The NASUWT research is a poll of teacher opinion not an assessment of fact (nothing wrong with this of course but it does result in 'teachers say' being put on the same footing as 'a properly constructed scientific study has found'). And the worst thing about the reporting is that the researched opinion of teachers is different from what the NASUWT and their 'drugs charity' partner are saying - 87% of teachers do not hold the opinion that children are using energy drinks as "legal highs".

A survey by the NASUWT of around 3,500 teachers found that 13 per cent thought that the excess consumption of caffeine was contributing to poor pupil performance.

There are a whole bunch of reasons why children perform badly at school but most teachers don't see Red Bull as one of them. 

....

1 comment:

asquith said...

Mercifully I've never actually liked fizzy drinks, so I'm never tempted to have something that I'm certain I'd be better off without.

Those wishing to actually have energy from a drink rather than ersatz and vile-tasting caffeinated stuff should seek out 100plus, which is drunk by all the athletes in Singapore and can be found in some oriental supermarkets.