Free school meals are back in the news. Footballer Marcus Rashford's petition（请愿书）to extend free school meals provision（供给）into the school holidays has collected 1.1 million signatures, causing the government to change policy. It has restarted the debate over free school meals by figures forecasting that if the government ends as planned the current £20 top-up（附加款），another 200,000 children will slip into poverty.

The roots of the current school meals system lie in the mid-19th century. In Manchester, independent charities as well as official bodies started to provide free meals for children lacking in nutrition in the 1870s. When education became compulsory later, the extent of the issue became apparent. Proponents of feeding starving children pointed out that it was due to government order that children were in school, not working and contributing to the family food budget, so the government should pay.

Reception was mixed. Then, children rejected foods they weren't used to. Some children were put off brassicas（芥菜类）for life. Finding the balance between cheap and good proved hard. The chief medical officer talked about the lack in calorie value and elements of a well-balanced diet which a needy child does not get at home, such as milk, cheese, eggs, green vegetables, fruit and meat. In 1980, the British government, desperate to cut costs, made provision largely optional and abolished nutritional standards. Over the next 15 years, convenience and cost became the most important.

In the last year, we've seen all of the age-old debates repeated once more. How do we guarantee quality? Who decides what children eat? Who pays? Undemutrition does not just have physical effects, but also affects behavior and ability to learn. It has a lifelong impact. The arguments around free school meals seem never to end. But they are hugely important and, until poverty is ended, they will not and should not go away.

Do you remember your very first day at school? For most of us, it was so exciting to meet a teacher for the first time. It was great fun to have new classmates and a real desk to sit at.

For children this year, it’ll still feel thrilling for the students to be in a new environment. However, the students should wear a special uniform. It might also be a little scary to be sitting at a desk surrounded by strange plastic screens as a six-year-old.

There are two Florida teachers who have figured out a way to make those plastic dividers — installed on desks to keep a safe distance during the age of COVID-19 — less nerve-wracking, and more totally, joyfully brilliant.

First-grade teachers Patricia Dovi and Kim Martin, of St. Barnabas Episcopal School in DeLand, Florida have turned coronavirus dividers into the windshields and windows of, yes, Jeeps.

“Anything that we can do to add some silliness and some creativity to get them excited is going to be really important in the longevity of this school year,” Dovi told Insider.

The school supplied the plexiglass; Dovi and Martin paid for the decorations out of their own pockets. Martin estimates that the desks took about a week to complete. Wasn’t all that work worth it? Family and friends of these two inspiring teachers helped turn the desks into colorful Jeeps with personalized license plates.

Each student arrived just yesterday, to find their very own “car” waiting for them. “We cannot praise him too much, saying ‘Hey, purple Jeep, you’re getting out of your lane,” Martin joked. “I think it will be a smart way to keep the kids engaged. We have no doubt about that.”

Sure, it’s good to get along well with your teacher because it makes the time you spend in the classroom more pleasant.

And yes, it’s good to get along well with your teacher because, in general, it’s smart to learn how to get along well with the different types of people you’ll meet throughout your life.

In fact, kids who get along well with their teachers not only learn more, but they’re more comfortable with asking questions and getting extra help. This makes it easier for them to understand new materials and makes them do their best on tests. When you have this kind of relationship with a teacher, he or she can be someone to turn to with problems, such as problems with learning or school matters.

Here is a question: What if you don’t get along with your teachers? In fact, teachers want to get along well with you and enjoy seeing you learn. But teachers and students sometimes have personality clashes(个性冲突), which can happen between any two people. If you show your teacher that you want to make the situation better, he or she will probably do everything possible to make that happen. By dealing with a problem like this, you learn something about how to get along with people who are different from you.

However if, a certain teacher isn’t your favourite, you can still have a successful relationship with him or her especially ________. Here are some of those responsibilities(责任)：

Attend class ready to learn.

Be prepared for class with the right stationery, and completed assignments(作业).

Listen when your teacher is talking.

Do your best, whether it’s a classroom assignment, homework or a test.