Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Should businesses advertise in school?
Is it worth poisoning the minds of the students in schools in order to make up insufficient funds that are needed in order to have a complete classroom? Most would probably agree that kids are a vulnerable audience, and advertising products in the classroom, while beneficial for business, crosses a line of ethics not meant to be traversed. Unfortunately, money is quite important especially in a bad economy, so what do you guys think? (I'm redirecting my other blog onto this one to make things easier.)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Great question for debate. I can easily see both sides of the argument on this one.
ReplyDeleteGiven the lack of funding in so many schools, however, I have to say I'm all for districts getting creative to improve their situation.
The idea of using advertising to benefit kids is really nothing new. For example, little league baseball teams have been sponsored by local business in order to lower the cost of participation since the 1930s.
I suppose once could view this as exploiting the children by having them run around with some business' name on their back. But if the lower cost opens up opportunities for some underprivileged kid, then I have no problem with it.
I think schools simply need to be mindful of what messages they're sending kids through the advertising. There are certainly inappropriate ads that should be excluded, but plenty of options exist that I believe it can be done in a tasteful and beneficial way.
Going off your statement, I can accept certain businesses advertising school-related products in the school. For example, Five-Star makes binders, folders, etc. which improve one's organization skills, and there is a clear benefit to having this in the school. Another one is an ACT/SAT prep course advertising their test training program to potential college students. Colleges themselves also advertise their school in a reasonable manner. These carry out a purpose conducive to one's education, but Coca Cola, McDonald's, and many other advertisers actually promote products in the schools that are actually detrimental to one's learning. Because of this, I do not think it is worth conceding the fundamental purpose of an educational school for a little extra money.
ReplyDeleteI remember and cherish the days in little league when we all wore shirts with various local businesses on them, and played baseball in the summer (it's still going on). I do not see this as a good analogy to the school's advertising because school is legally mandatory; kids do not have a choice to avoid these ads in the schools. I could have chosen to not be a part of advertising a real estate company as a kid, but that did not concern me, since no kid will get exploited by a realty company. Local businesses advertising to little league is much safer (I think), for they are not putting out tons of advertisements everywhere else (except for that creepy Norton furniture guy who comes on after midnight). It's quite healthy for a little advertisement, but Coca cola and McDonald's have gone WAY off the deep end in intruding our lives. They don't need to find even another way to do this, so I am less likely to support a big corporation advertise in schools or baseball than a local one. As I said, I don't think the baseball analogy really applies to schools.
I can see why this is a cause for debate. Schools, especially now during this economic downturn, are in desperate need for funding. I do not have a problem with advertising as long as it is educational in nature. By that I mean, it is not negative to the students' well-being or academic experience. It must have something to do with education. I also think the advertisements should not be placed in the classroom. If anything, I think the only place advertisements should be posted are in cafeterias, gyms, or athletic playing fields.
ReplyDeleteIn this conversation we are talking about advertisements inside the school. I am curious to see, what are your thoughts about schools using billboards to post advertisements on their school property? Do you still think the advertisements should be educational in nature because they are posted on school property? The reason I raised this question is because two years ago the Cuyahoga Heights School district signed a contract with Clear Channel to place a billboard on their property which overlooks I77(see link below). They will be making a large amount of money off of this deal. See this link: http://blog.cleveland.com/suncourier/2009/01/cuyahoga_heights_schools_sign.html
I realize that not all schools are as fortunate to be placed in high traffic area for billboards to be seen. I am just curious to see your thoughts.
Deanna
It seems the problem with advertising in schools really arises when the students are the target audience.
ReplyDeleteAaron mentioned McDonalds as a great example of an advertiser that probably shouldn't be allowed in schools. McDonalds has a terrible reputation of trying to create loyal consumers at a ridiculously young age (see: happy meals) and allowing them in schools will only make that worse.
I think the Cuyahoga Hts billboad, however, is a great example of school getting creative to expand their budget. The billboard may be on school grounds, but the students aren't the target audience - much like the little league jerseys I mentioned earlier. The ads are on the kids' backs, but the parents are the target audience.
Deanna mentioned advertisements on athletic fields, which I think is another example of an appropriate way for schools to earn money. I've seen many baseball outfield fences lined with mini billboards, usually for local businesses, which are clearly aimed at the parents rather than the players.
If schools are simply mindful of the target audience, they can safely raise some extra money without harming the students.
Ooh, good question, Deanna. I can agree with Ryan that advertising on school property (outside of the classrooms) is within reason. I'm still not sure if I like advertising in the cafeteria. I have always thought of the cafeteria as the "break room" in the daily life of a student; students go there to try to escape the various influences of teachers and other higher powers. I definitely see corporations as higher powers, so I'm not sure that advertising in the cafeteria is fair game.
ReplyDeleteI guess this raises the question: what is your philosophy of the proper environment of the cafeteria?
I believe many students learn best when they are allowed to be independent learners. When students are motivated to learn and the subject matter is interesting to them, they will spend countless hours on their project. As adults we enjoy meaningful work just like our students.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that we are entering the teaching profession at a difficult time. It seems that many our government officials believe there will be few repercussions if they cut educational funding. What will the future hold for the next generation?
Ryan, you are right on in saying that "problem with advertising in schools arises when the students are the target audience."
ReplyDeleteAaron, you also make a good point in saying that a school cafeteria should be used as a mental break room for students, free of advertisements. However, the reality is that many cafeterias already display advertisements for food and beverage products (ie: pop machines and snack vending machines). Does this mean that we should remove vending machines from cafeterias too? (I, myself, am against vending machines in schools because the food inside of them [the majority of the time] is not healthy, but many have this option for their students).
I think we all can agree that the use of advertisements, whether inside and outside of school, is a creative way of raising money, especially in the tough economic time we are facing. Schools just have to be mindful of who their target audience is, what is appropriate to advertise, and where it should be displayed.
My school cafeteria had the vending machines too. Personally, I loved being able to buy whatever unhealthy food I wanted from them, but I acknowledge that school is not the place for me to buy them. Interestingly enough, I went back to Mentor for some field work last fall, and I noticed that the vending machines have replaced all the unhealthy candy with (to say the least) healthier options. Instead of oily potato chips, they had apple chips, and pop tarts were replaced with cereal bars, etc. Carbonated soda was removed from vending machines while I was still in high schools, so I do think that this is a step in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI still remember the picture on the coca cola machine of teenage guy sitting with a couple of cute, teenage girls drinking a coca cola, and I am more appalled by the ploy at use now that I realize what they were trying to do. I won't complain too much about businesses promoting healthy choices for food and drinks, but when coca cola and other greasy, unhealthy foods are infiltrated into the sanctity of the learning environment, I cannot support that.
Well, that's good to hear. I've been to Independence High School (my alma mater) within the past year to catch some basketball games, and unfortunately, they still have vending machines stacked with pop, candy, etc. Mentor High is ahead of the game!
ReplyDeleteAaron, I agree. I don't mind vending machines as long as they are filled with healthy options.
Holy Cow! Now that was great…you really made me laugh. Unfortunately, a related scenario was just completed when the CEO of White Hats Charter Schools gave millions of dollars to Governor Kasich’s campaign. This event seems to indicate that the entire SB5 bill was pre-orchestrated and driven by a select group of investors.
ReplyDeleteI love your “freelance academics”!