Most parents of school-aged children in Jakarta are probably aware that there is a growing trend in childhood obesity, the state when a child is significantly overweight for his or her age, to the point where it affects a child’s health. This is an expanding problem that governments across the world are recognizing as perhaps the 21st century’s bane of bad health. Obesity is a leading cause of illness and death of children under the age of 18. It is a worldwide health problem, not just associated to wealthy or developed nations.

Recent news reports from the USA suggest that Mrs. Michelle Obama, wife of the President of the USA, has made a personal and long-range commitment to turn this trend around. There are articles being published daily to make sure everyone is aware of the dangers of overeating and not exercising enough.

When I first became a teacher (mid-1960s), I learned many things very quickly, as all new teachers do. One very important concept I adopted in these early years of handling classrooms full of students was making the home visit. My first (and perhaps, best) principal insisted that I go and meet students in their homes, to really find out what kind of lives students in my community led. Those were powerful experiences for me, then, much like those experienced by teacher extraordinaire Ron Clark [cf. the recent film, The Ron Clark Story, based on a book by teacher Ron Clark].