CNN has a disturbing story about a New Jersey elementary school which is selling naming rights to just about every thing you can think of. The library is the “Flowers Library and Media Center” and the gym is the “ShopRite of Brooklawn Center.” What I find especially disturbing is this quote:
The sponsorship deals have been ridiculed on talk radio and in other media. But Bruce Darrow, school board president, said he is not deterred by bad publicity.
Darrow has some other ideas, such as placing ads on the sport teams’ jerseys or company logos in the basketball court’s free-throw lanes. He doesn’t like the idea of requiring school uniforms, though if ads could be put on them, he’ll listen.
commercialisation
We’ve had similar concerns raised that our school might indeed fall prey to a similar scheme. Several schools in this province (including ours) were built under a foolhardy scheme known locally as “P-3” (stands for Public Private Partnership). Basically, private companies (whom I’m sure had SOME gov’t money) built these pretty new schools (some of them looking amazingly like shopping malls–ours isn’t tooooo bad) stocked them with furniture/technology and then, they rent them to the area schoolboard. So basically, the gov’t is renting the buildings. It was supposed to save money…but given what I’ve heard the rents are? I don’t see how! This program has since been discontinued.
However, there have been some concerns that the bldg owners could decide to do something with sponsorship. I honestly don’t know if there are provisions within the rental contract for that or not. I think most of our staff would be against it. But it is a worrisome trend, to my mind.
Although if they wanted the Coca Cola Library–I might be persauded (as long as free product for me is included!)…;)
s/
Re:commercialisation
Our metro council and school board are considering a proposal to place ads on school buses. The local news agencies are refering to them as moving billboards. I wish that I could find an article about it but suffice to say the district is looking for anything to off-set the budget cuts they are being asked to make. I think that with budgets shrinking, schools will look just about anywhere to find funding. Even if it means “selling out” their school to big business.
Universities do it…..
Colleges and universities do it, so why not elementary and high schools? I like the idea of high school gyms and stadiums doing it.
Re:Universities do it…..
Yessiree…It’ll go even faster and more efficiently if we privatize them. Why stop at highschools? Let’s get the little kiddies, too.
I say
As long as it improves the quality of education on that school from the additional income, go for it! The main conditions being that the school reaps the benefits (not the school board, or the school principal alone). I’m talking improved wages for teachers, new facility/room improvements, decent computers, etc.
In this day and age of slashing budgets on public schools, how else can things improve? Everywhere I look we seem to be putting our future in last place (being the key area of education of our future leaders) in favour of the quick gain for today.
Let the private sector make up for where our politicians seem not to care anymore.
Re:Universities do it…..
even faster and more efficiently if we privatize them.
That is a very good idea because the private schools are more efficient and tend to give children a better education. I would like to spread this wealth by allowing low-income families this opportunity to get a private school education. That is why I support school choice vouchers.
what others say on school advertising:
The advertiser gets a group of kids who cannot go to the
bathroom, who cannot change the station, who cannot listen
to their mother yell in the background, who cannot be
playing Nintendo, who cannot have their headsets on.
— Joel Babbit, former company president, on the advantages
of Channel One for advertisers.
If you own this child at an early age,
you can own this child for years to come.
Companies are saying, ‘Hey, I want to own
the kid younger and younger.’
— Mike Searles, former president of Kids-R-Us,
a major children’s clothing store, on the
business of marketing to kids.
Because physical education is required for high school students,
over 70 percent of students see GymBoards every week.
— promotional material of YouthStream Media Networks,
makers of school locker-room advertising boards.
Teens will get your message when they see your logo … … In addition,
within the materials.
Depending upon your product, sampling and couponing can
often be incorporated into the program.
we are able to gather demographic information about the
school and market.
— promotional material of West Glen, a company that
distributes corporate-sponsored “teaching” materials
to schools.
These are culled from my quote of the day list, and are just a few off-hand. The studies are interesting. School advertising directly conflicts with some school goals (ie: Georgia (iirc) has mandatory daily gym classes, in order to indoctrinate it’s youth into more healthy living styles). Advertising increases obesity, increases consumerism, and increases poverty (or lack of cash) among students. But hey, we all need money, right?
— Ender, Duke_of_URL
K-12 whoremongering
Please explain how you think that selling parts of the public schools off to the highest corporate bidders is going to do one thing to make schools “more efficient” and “give children a better education”?
We are not talking about private schools here, but public ones that are apparently falling all over themselves to render themselves beholden to big business in the same way that we have seen the mainstream media do. I predict that this sellout will lead to a similar proscription of thought and expression.
Re:what others say on school advertising:
Thank you for these chilling nuggets, Ender.
Allowing school advertising on the scale we are talking about (corporate sponsorship, in which the advertiser essentially OWNS a piece of the school) is mind-bogglingly short-sighted, with the potential for devastating long-term consequences.
Re:K-12 whoremongering
Calm down there little fella, I was responding to this post.
Yessiree…It’ll go even faster and more efficiently if we privatize them. Why stop at highschools? Let’s get the little kiddies, too.
Re:commercialisation
One concern that was raised in a discussion I was involved in at some point (it was a while ago, and I have a great memory, but it’s short), was that the company that owns our bldg could say–we’re getting sponsorship from Company X, so there’s gonna be a big sign on the classroom, and we want John Smith to be the teacher, and there’s gonna be product placement all over–or you’re not gonna get your money.
Could it happen? Maybe. Although I think the teacher’s union might have some say in it, through contract rules, but it’s hard to say.
Just some of the concerns we’ve had.
s/
Re:K-12 whoremongering
>>Please explain how you think that selling parts of the public schools off to the highest corporate bidders is going to do one thing to make schools “more efficient” and “give children a better education”?
I doubt if this extra revenue will make any public school more efficient. We agree here. If we want efficiency as you say, then it follows we should also want accountability. This we don’t have. What we do have is a PAC guised as a labor union that balks at any change to their status quo monopoly of public education.
Consider the following from the NEA website:
NEA’s position on vouchers:
Teachers, parents and the general public have long been opposed to private school tuition vouchers—especially when funds for vouchers compete with funds for overall improvements in America’s public schools. NEA and its affiliates have been leaders in the fight to improve public schools—and oppose alternatives that divert attention, energy and resources from efforts to reduce class size, enhance teacher quality and provide every student with books, computers and safe and orderly schools.
Let’s be honest here. Public education is considered inferior to private, general speaking. Al Gore took a lot of NEA money but sent his children to private school. So did Clinton, Kennedy, and likely every other liberal politcian in DC. FWIW I shell out nearly $3000 a year for my daughter’s private education. Why the hypocrisy here from the left? Why shouldn’t poorer folks be allowed to choose for their children as well?
Ads on overdues…
At first I was horrified. Especially the idea of uniforms just to display ads!
But, think of this. Ads on overdue notices. We would never sell our patrons to a marketer (right?!) but we can let them know how many overdues we send out to our well educated readers who didn’t get their books back on time. Fine money can become a real revenue source!
And for those who don’t like ads, all they have to do is return or renew their books.
I’m joking. I think.
a couple other things to consider
>>FWIW I shell out nearly $3000 a year for my daughter’s private education.
In my state, the average instructional expenditure for each pupil is $4800 and average operating cost per puil is $8000. A staggering four times what I pay however students at my daughter’s school consistently score higher than the state average on ACT tests and other standard achievement tests. Accountability and no NEA.
If interested, the average salary for a public school teacher in my state is $51,600 and the average salary for an administrator is $91,100. As with the per pupil expenditures, these averages are higher than the averages of my daughter’s school.
Re:what others say on school advertising:
If someone offered you money to wear a shirt (be it a “t” or a sweatshirt), once a week for a whole month, with a Micro$oft logo on the back and a “Where do you want to go today?” slogan on the front how much would money would it take before caved in and wore it? $100? $1,000? $10,000?
Would then write in permenant felt marker some fine print that reads “I don’t endorse this product, they paid me to wear it”?.
We see advertising like this every day. Some people shave their favourite sports teams on the back of their heads. Tatoo the likes of what they like on thier bodies. Aside from the passion of the wearer on these products, how does it make it any different from advertising?
You see advertising on the web pages we visit. On the Television shows we watch. At the beginning of movies in the movie theatre. On the sides of busses, billboards, buildings. Big companies pay big money to have the likes of the next teen idol or pop superstar to wear their stuff in their next video or be in their next commercial.
It is up to us as the teachers of our children to make them aware of what the actual aim of these products are, what benefits they behold (if any), and how these corperations benifit the community around us.
ya know…
I actually kinda like this idea.
You need to be careful that they overdue notice is the primary thing seen, ie: no advertising on the envelope. Inserts might be a problem… so only advertising on the back of the notice.
I’d limit it to non-profit/announcements of city services, kinda like come in my water-bill. But of course, do charge them an in-kind amount, to pay for the postage, etc.
— Ender, Duke_of_URL
Devil’s Advocate
>It is up to us as the teachers of our children
>to make them aware of what the actual aim of
>these products are, what benefits they behold
As a marketteer, I heartily applaud your stance. It is a personal responsibility of the parents. I of course, shall market to your children from the time the bus pulls up to their stop, thru their morning announcements, into their textbooks and lessons, their gym clothes, billboards on their walls, and extensively thru lunch, if I can’t co-opt the cafeteria into a food court allowing me to start selling at that point. Plus vending machines, and the like. So from at least 7:AM-2/3:PM, I shall have them, and possibily after school and on weekends for sports and other ‘school’ activities. You can have them to educate from ~6:PM until ~9:PM after you get off work until they go to bed – if you’re not too tired. Of course that’s only if I don’t get them via TV (ads and product placement during shows), the internet, or print media and/or dinner time if you eat at a restraunt, or take-out. Good luck on your campaign, I’ve got numbers on my side 🙂
— Ender, Duke_of_URL
oh, almost forgot.
I’ll be happy to wage my campaign while kids are pre-literate with logos and such – any recognition is good recognition. You can discuss corporate politics and community with your 1st grader, while I show them snazzy video ads, of neat characters with catchy music.
— Ender, Duke_of_URL
Re:commercialisation
Yeah, the union might have a couple choice words about that. In some areas where teachers have civil service protecttion, I imagine that there will be rules about what can and can’t happen.
Re:K-12 whoremongering
” So did Clinton, Kennedy, and likely every other liberal politcian in DC.”
We probably could open that statement up a bit and say pretty much every politican in DC has sent their kids to private school at one time or another. In some social circles it’s a point of competition to see whose kid can get into the better school, which are usually private. Also, talk about a networking opportunity! Imagine those PTA meetings.
Re:K-12 whoremongering
We probably could open that statement up a bit and say pretty much every politican in DC has sent their kids to private school at one time or another. In some social circles it’s a point of competition to see whose kid can get into the better school, which are usually private. Also, talk about a networking opportunity! Imagine those PTA meetings.
You are quite correct; however, there are a lot more Republicans who favor school choice vouchers because they are not flunkies of teacher’s unions .
In addition, most politicans in D.C. send their kids to private schools mainly because the public schools are terrible. Why not let the poor people of DC have the opportunity to send their children to a decent school?
Re:K-12 whoremongering
True enough. Unfortunately, this isn’t limited to DC… most public schools are suffering. There are bright spots, but on the whole they’re underfunded and under supported. (Or at least the money isn’t being spent where it should be, that is, educated the kids)
Re:K-12 whoremongering
<i>” So did Clinton, Kennedy, and likely every other liberal politcian in DC.”</i>
<i>We probably could open that statement up a bit and say pretty much every politican in DC has sent their kids to private school at one time or another. In some social circles it’s a point of competition to see whose kid can get into the better school, which are usually private. Also, talk about a networking opportunity! Imagine those PTA meetings.</i>
Jimmy Carter sent Amy to the public school that serves the neighborhood the White House is located in, and provoked much righteous condemnation from the political right for “sacrifcing his daughter to political correctness.” (Note, however, that Amy and her elder brothers had always gone to public school.) Some years later, the Clintons were the targets of much righteous indignation from the political right for sending Chelsea to a good private school. If you know your educational choices for your children are going to be used for political attack material regardless of what you do, why <b>not</b> ignore the political attacks and do whatever you think is best for your particular child?
Re:Devil’s Advocate
Oh I get it, word problems! If I have a 2 litre bottle of +insert your favorite namebrand of cola here+, and give you 1 cup of +that favourite name brand of cola+, how much +name that cola+ would I have left? How is that any different than using water or apples? Do you not see advertising on olympic runners and stock/racing cars? What about licensed t-shirts already sold and worn by our children (Spiderman, Pooh Bear, a Pepsi/Coke t-shirt)? Vending machines are already advertising products.
OOO, I should put a patent on a MulitMedia Vending machine! 24 Commercials and Internet Access! Thanks for the idea!
Good replies, by the way. I heard rumours that some districts are already considering advertising on school busses. Does not the Christian public schools insert something into their announcements already? (TBH – I wouldn’t know, never attended one).
Re:K-12 whoremongering
Some years later, the Clintons were the targets of much righteous indignation from the political right for sending Chelsea to a good private school.
Clinton felt the wrath because he opposed school choice vouchers for poor black kids in D.C. yet sent his kid to Sidwell Friends. Why not give the poor kids the chance to go to that school or a similar school instead of a lousy school?
Re:K-12 whoremongering
….ignore the political attacks and do whatever you think is best for your particular child?
Precisely. Well-heeled politicians obviously concur with your thoughts. Even those on the left who oppose vouchers.
There seems to be little debate about what type of school is best. How do you propose we give poor American families the same choice currently reserved for the wealthy?