Advertising in the ClassroomPresentation by Principal Sarah Schwarzkopf

Minneapolis Public Schools – Grades 9-12

Hucksters in the ClassroomCase 4.2

Moral Issues in Business

Advertising in the Classroom

-Budget Cuts have affected the teachers and students. The following have been eliminated as a result of budget cuts

-teaching and administrative positions-after school programs-academic clubs-foreign language, art and music classes

Advertising in the Classroom

The following corporations have provided funding for the 2009-2010 school year:

-McDonald’s-General Mills-Alloy Media

Advertising in the Classroom

McDonald’s-provided $100,000 for the school year-teachers are required to distribute

information about designing a McDonald’s restaurant and a seven week company sponsored class about the real world of work

Advertising in the Classroom

General Mills-provided $90,000 for the school year-teachers are required to distribute

pamphlets about the earth’s geothermic gushers along with the company’s “Gushers” snack (a candy filled with liquid)

-pamphlets recommend that the students try the snack while the teacher prompts a discussion about how the liquid in the candy differs from that which produces erupting geothermic phenomena

Advertising in the Classroom

Alloy Media-provides thousands of dollars worth of

audio visual equipment-school is required to broadcast Channel

One (acquired by Alloy Media)-the broadcast can not be interrupted

and the teachers are not allowed to turn off

Advertising in the Classroom

What message are we sending to our children?-they are for sale to the highest bidder-proper nutrition is important unless your

consuming the product (which is full of sugar and empty calories) made by the company that provided you with your math textbooks-materialism – we must teach financial responsibility and educate children about living on credit-that they are not good enough or inadequate unless they buy certain brands

Advertising in the Classroom

Proposed solution to budget cuts-community could raise taxes -teachers must have discretion to determine if materials

are appropriate. No company will mandate distribution of material. -the materials must be reviewed to ensure they are

accurate, nondiscriminatory and only contain the corporate logo-increased children’s awareness of the ways in which they

are being targeted for corporate profit-help children to identify unhealthy messages of advertisers

Advertising in the ClassroomDiscussion Questions

1. What explains industry’s thrust into education? Corporations understand that brand names impact status and social

acceptance. If a corporation can entice s a teen or youth to purchase their brand, they will probably have a customer for life. Teenagers also have a lot of influence when it comes to purchases for the entire family.

2. What moral issues, if any, are raised by the affiliation between education and commercial interest? Does commercial intrusion into schools change the nature of education? What values and beliefs does it instill in children?

I do not have any experience with corporate sponsored educational materials. I think that corporate sponsorship screams egoism. I understand that public schools nationwide have been greatly affected by budget cuts but accepting corporate sponsorship is like “selling out.” I think that the children growing up in this generation are very materialistic. They are constantly surrounded by images of excess (actually, adults are also bombarded with these images) and the idea that wearing a certain pair of jeans or shoes will guarantee acceptance and happiness. I remember being a teenager. I desperately wanted a pair of Guess jeans but I had to earn the money to buy them.

Advertising in the Classroom

3. Do you think students have a moral right to an education free of commercial indoctrination? If you were a parent, would you be concerned about their exposure to commercials and corporate propaganda?

Yes, I don’t think students should be exposed to images and advertisements at school. Much of their leisure time is spent watching TV, surfing the internet where they are bombarded by unhealthy images. I am not a parent but I do have a two year old niece. The other day, I was paging through TV channels and happened to catch one of the reality shows on MTV. I can not believe the trash they produce, broadcast and call entertainment. If I had a grade school aged child, I would cancel my cable.

I believe that teen girls are probably affected more than teen boys by the corporate sponsorship. Some of these companies know how to create insecurity or anxiety about such things as appearance or body image. A successful advertisement convinces the teen that they have a problem and the only way to solve that problem is by purchasing their product. This sends a message that kids are not good enough as they are. I think many teens, especially girls buy into this message which can create an unhealthy sense of self.

Advertising in the Classroom4. If you were a member of the school board contemplating the use of either industry

sponsored materials or Channel One, what would you recommend?I would recommend corporate sponsored materials rather than allowing

Channel One to be broadcast throughout the school for the entire day. Channel One is owned by Alloy Media and according to the case, schools are contractually obligated to broadcast the program in its entirety without any interruptions from anyone.

If schools are to accept corporate sponsorship, teachers must be allowed to review the materials for accuracy. Teachers should also be able to use their discretion and judgment regarding the distribution of the materials. I don’t think it should be all or none as the corporations probably dictate.

Advertising in the Classroom

5. Do you think industry in general and Channel One in particular are intentionally using teachers and students as a means to profit? Or do they have a genuine concern for the education process? In either case, if teachers and students benefit from these educational materials or from viewing Channel One, is there any ground for concern?

Yes, I do think that corporations are intentionally using teachers and students as a means to profit. School children are a lucrative market. According to the Hartford Courant ("Public Schools Studying Future in Advertising," April 24,1998), "In 1997, U.S. children 12 and under spent and influenced spending at a record $500 billion...increasing by 20% a year, ...that could lead to more than $1 trillion in such spending by 2002. And teenagers age 17 and younger will make up the largest portion of the nation's population in coming years."

If these companies really care about these children, they would not manufacture images that foster insecurity and anxiety. These companies know how to capitalize on important teenage issues. I also believe that these ads promote financial irresponsibility. Most of these kids probably have credit cards. While this may be more of a parental issue , I don’t think a teenager really understands the consequences of having a credit card. Adults can’t even handle credit cards as evidenced by the massive credit card debt in this country. Many of these kids do not have to work for what they want, things are handed to them. In my opinion, parents who spoil their children are actually harming their children. Whatever happened to having a work ethic and paying in cash? Perhaps, they went out of style with my Guess jeans.