From Billboard to Chalkboard: Advertising Creeps
Into the Classroom
Corporate advertisers
are spending big buck$ to get their names into classrooms around the world.
And schools strapped for ca$h are letting them do it. Why? And what can
school administrators and teachers do to make sure kids are getting the
right me$$age? Included: Media literacy and money
managing Web sites for kids!
Take this surprise quiz and see how many questions you can answer:
WHERE'S THE MONEY?
1. They spend about $300.00 each, per month, on non-essential items. a. single women b. retired men c. U.S. kids
2. They spend a total of $11 to $15 billion each year. a. government lobbyists b. foreign tourists c. U.S. kids
3. They influence the spending of about $160 billion of other peoples'
money each year. a. celebrity spokespeople b. N.Y. stockbrokers c. U.S. kids
The answer to each of those questions is, of course, c. U.S. kids.
KID$ ADD UP TO BIG BUCK$
"Marketers have come to realize that all roads eventually lead to
the schools."
--- Ed Winter, co-founder of Channel One, as quoted in Business Week,
June 30, 1997.
In the United States today, kids just learning to add add up to big
business for many major corporations. And the schools in which those kids
spend more than 20 percent of their time represent an important economic
marketplace for those businesses. Since 1989 -- when Channel One, a televised
program containing 10 minutes of news and 2 minutes of commercial advertising,
first entered America's classrooms -- the corporate presence has been
increasingly felt in school districts across the country. Commercial ads
now appear on school buses and in school hallways. They decorate gyms,
school cafeterias, lockers, and book covers. Team uniforms, billboards,
and scoreboards sport corporate logos and company slogans. Educational
materials, programs, contests, and awards boast corporate sponsorship
-- and sell corporate products.
According to "Captive Kids," a 1995 report issued by the Consumer Union
Education Services (CUES), in-school advertising can be classified into
four categories:
typical, overt advertising -- which includes the visual ads that appear
on school buses, billboards, and school corridors.
commercial messages -- which are contained in magazines, videos, television
programs, and Web sites used in schools.
corporate-sponsored educational materials -- which include teaching
kits, activity sheets, software, and videos that contain such subtle
forms of advertising as product images and corporate logos.
corporate-sponsored contests and incentive programs -- which introduce
products and brand names to students without actually advertising specific
products.
Whichever form their ads take, corporate advertisers all have the same
three primary objectives: to influence how kids spend their own money,
to affect how kids influence their parents' spending, and to build brand
loyalty among future adult consumers.
S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G IT OUT
Despite concerns expressed by reluctant administrators, skeptical teachers,
and worried parents, the corporate presence continues to grow in American
schools -- and it is probably here to stay. Corporate dollars provide
technology many schools could not otherwise afford. Businesses provide
grants, scholarships, and incentives that improve the future of many students.
Corporate-sponsored educational materials can provide up-to-date information
to supplement out-of-date textbooks.
At a time when taxpayers are increasingly reluctant to raise school
budgets, when school sports and enrichment programs are in danger because
they lack adequate funding, when teachers spend an average of more than
$400 of their own money on classroom supplies, those advertising dollars,
prizes, incentives, and educational materials can be hard to ignore --
or refuse.
Groups such as the National Parent Teacher Association and the National
Education Association have therefore called for the establishment of guidelines
that can allow schools to benefit from corporate dollars while maintaining
educational integrity. Those guidelines include:
reviewing corporate-sponsored educational materials to ensure that
they are accurate, objective, and non-commercial.
holding corporate-sponsored materials to the same educational standards
as other curriculum materials.
pursuing non-commercial partnerships with businesses.
educating students to critically evaluate media messages.
providing students with the skills to be intelligent consumers.
TEACHING THE BASICS
In and out of school, kids are constantly bombarded by media messages
and commercial influences. Effective educational programs in media literacy
and money management can help them deal with those messages in intelligent
and discriminating ways. Those programs should begin in elementary school
and continue throughout the educational process.
The following Web sites provide information and resources for teaching
kids how to evaluate the commercial messages they're exposed to and how
to make responsible and thoughtful decisions about spending and saving
their money.
MEDIA LITERACY SITES
The
Media Literacy Online Project Maintained by the University of Oregon
Department of Education, this site provides a comprehensive collection
of links to media literacy resources.
The
Just Think Foundation This Web site provides student activities
and teacher and parent information that help kids think critically about
the media and create their own media messages.
The Media
Awareness Network Ideas for classroom activities, links to teaching
units on media issues, and links to chat rooms and discussion groups
for students and teachers. Site information includes links to supporting
resources, industry associations and standards councils, and sources
for learning about ethical standards.
Dissect
An Ad Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, this site
provides information to help kids understand and evaluate political
ads. The activity can be adapted for commercial ads.
The Young Investor
Web Site Maintained by Liberty Financial, the site provides fun
guides and activities to help kids learn about money. Includes additional
information for parents and teachers.
Investing For
Kids A site designed by kids for kids, examines stocks, bonds, and
mutual funds and teaches kids the principles of saving and investing.
Kids Bank.Com
From Sovereign Bank, this site helps kids learn about money and banking.
The
FDIC Learning Bank Hosted by Carmen Cents, the site includes activities
to help kids learn how to handle their money, tips to help parents guide
their children in intelligent money management, and lesson plans for
teachers.
The
First Tech Kids Calculator Helps kids figure out how much money
they will have to save over how long a time to have enough to buy a
desired item. This site can help teach kids about long range planning
and money management.
Lemonade
Stand The online version of the classic computer game that helps
young entrepreneurs learn about buying, selling, and advertising.
Corporate advertisers
are spending big buck$ to get their names into classrooms around the world.
And schools strapped for ca$h are letting them do it. Why? And what can
school administrators and teachers do to make sure kids are getting the
right me$$age? Included: Media literacy and money
managing Web sites for kids!