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Do you think that advertisements in public schools should be...
Banned - no question about it. 8 (88.9%)
I don't really like it, but this is the world we live in - schools have to get money somehow. 0 (0%)
I haven't got a problem with it. Kids see commercials and advertisements everywhere already... why not schools? 0 (0%)
I'm all for it - it's a win-win situation. The schools win, the companies win and the kids win. 0 (0%)
Undecided/no opinion 1 (11.1%)
None of the above - I'll explain... 0 (0%)
Total Votes: 9
Advertisements In Public Schools; What do you think?
Topic Started: Feb 25 2008, 11:36 PM (362 Views)
JeffLynnesBeard
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How do you feel about there being advertisements and TV commercials running in public schools (all schools, really, but private schools don't often have funding issues) in order to fund the schools?

Do you see it is an inevitable part of modern life or that products have no place in the classroom and is something that we should resist at all costs? Should parents who resist exposing their children to commercial pressures at home have the right to send their children to a public school where they can also be free of child-targeting advertising or is that a luxury you have to pay for?

Is materialism really damaging our children or is it merely alarmist nonsense? Professor Philip Graham, Emeritus Professor of Child Psychiatry at the Institute of Child Health in London, said: "One factor that may be leading to rising mental health problems is the increasing degree to which children and young people are preoccupied with possessions; the latest in fashionable clothes and electronic equipment.

"Evidence both from the United States and from the UK suggests that those most influenced by commercial pressures also show higher rates of mental health problems," he went on. (source)

What are your thoughts on this?
...and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
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ThirdHarmony
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I think there are different levels to this. It is a bit difficult to imagine going to a school where brands and products were advertised or sponsored food/stationery/equipment. For the years I spent in public school, I can recall only one single example of branding being visible within the school environment.

It was in my early teens, and one day at the bottom of the stairs there was a Coke vending machine. We could hardly believe our eyes that such an object would be allowed within a school. It was as if, in return for some sort of compensation I'm sure, the school went opposite of the very principles it attempted to represent. It turned out that it had gotten past the school board due to two facts:

1, It didn't contain any food/snacks which could compete with the regular food served in the school canteen (which all parents must pay for at the beginning of the semester - all public school children must have a pre-paid meal...no "lunch money" in the canteen).

2, The Coke vending machine also contained mineral water, which in the eyes of the board meant it "could" in theory be used in a healthy manner.

This was the only example of this nature I ever witnessed in school. I'm not sure if following generations (after all, it's been almost 20 years) have become more exposed to this sort of thing, but it wouldn't surprise me if it has.

Whether or not it is undesirable depends, I think, on the type of impact such elements may have on the students' lives - if we are talking about minor enhancements to the school or it's material or if we are talking about fundamental parts of the school which every student is entitled to. For instance, I wouldn't go to extreme lengths to make sure no company supplied rulers and pencils with their logotypes to the school at low prices, provided they were of good quality. I think that would be taking it too far. However, I would object to product billboards that proclaim "this auditiorium is brought to you by Nestlé". When it comes to the costs of building and maintaining good schools it is up to us, the tax-payers to supply the money required - even for schools in general across the country and not just for our own kids!
"My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular." - Adlai Stevenson

"Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith. I consider the capacity for it terrifying." - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
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DCBeatle64
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Wings nutter
Its never something I have really thought about, I havent noticed it as being a problem..... but maybe i am part of this consumer driven world which we all live in
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Dorfliedot
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Beatlelicious
There was never advertisement when I went to school. Maybe, a smoking area. but, no advertisement. I still remember when Cigerettes were only 59 cents.
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bluemeanie
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is now a happily married woman x
I'd ban advertisements full stop !!! let young people decide themselves
Jayne x

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is loving life and is so happy xxx
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Mia Culpa
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This space intentionally left blank.
The adverts in our schools were mostly political. All hail our great leader sort of thing. There were vote for the leader signs during elections, which I thought peculiar since we were too young to vote.
If you read my posts backward there's evidence that Paul is dead.
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Bill
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It has to be banned. The whole point of advertising is to influence people. The point of education it to teach people to think. The two are not compatible.

If advertising were allowed in schools, the next step would be that the sponsors would be trying to influence the curriculum either directly or indirectly. Teachers would no longer be able to safely point out dishonest claims by advertisers. How can schools properly teach nutrition if they're sponsored by McDonalds?
Put a puppet on it.
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theonlyfab4fan
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I AM THE BIGGEST JOHN FAN!
Dorothy
Feb 26 2008, 12:42 AM
There was never advertisement when I went to school. Maybe, a smoking area. but, no advertisement. I still remember when Cigerettes were only 59 cents.

I remember when ciggies were .20 cents a pack in a vending machine. I suppose we had such cheap rates then and now is because I live in a state that is the largest producer of tobacco in the global market. As for advertising in schools, I would be a hippocrit if I said it shouldn`t be allowed only because of the vending machine issue. I used to own a vending machine company called B and E enterprises. 70 percent of my machines were in the public schools of my city/county. In defense of myself the only beverages that I stocked in the schools were pure fruit juices, water and veggie drinks. No soda pop ever in the schools.

I was awarded the contract to have them in place because I made them a good deal on my profits. I am most proud of the fact that one year there wasn`t enough funding to buy the advanced math books for the 7th grade, and because of the extra money that the school made off my vending machines meant that my son had a book of his own to bring home and study from.

So I guess for me the bottom line is that you need to make sure your children have the benefit of the best education they can get, and if it means having them subjected to adverts, which they always are anyway, then do your job as a parent and teach them how to think outside the box.
You say you want to save humanity but it`s people that you just can`t stand
John came to me in a dream and this is what he said. "I had a vision of a man on a flaming pie, and he told me that Betsy with a B not Lisa with a L is the biggest fan of mine". John trumps 'the boss' !

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doris mendlovitz
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I think Advertiseing such as banners for someone for class president, head chearleader and aother such things could be classified as advertisements. They are in abundance
love and doris
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ThirdHarmony
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Bill
Feb 26 2008, 07:38 AM
It has to be banned. The whole point of advertising is to influence people. The point of education it to teach people to think. The two are not compatible.

If advertising were allowed in schools, the next step would be that the sponsors would be trying to influence the curriculum either directly or indirectly. Teachers would no longer be able to safely point out dishonest claims by advertisers. How can schools properly teach nutrition if they're sponsored by McDonalds?

I agree that any kind of outer influence on the content of the education must be banned to ensure the children develop critical minds.

On a lighter note, it reminds me of this Simpsons exchange, where Pepsi is sponsoring school (with classes containing gigantic amouts of pupils from across the country hooked up with live video feeds to the classroom):

Troy: Now, turn to the next problem. If you have three Pepsis and drink one, how much more refreshed are you? You, the redhead in the Chicago school system?
Girl: Pepsi?
Troy: Partial credit!

Back to a more serious note... on the theme of allowing children the right to maintain and develop a critical mindset, I also have severe problems with the so-called "parents' right" to place their children in schools based on the uncritical acceptance of the doctrines of different sects and religions. But that's a slightly different topic.
"My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular." - Adlai Stevenson

"Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith. I consider the capacity for it terrifying." - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
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JeffLynnesBeard
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Betsy, I think there is a huge difference between having a vending machine in a school which vends fruit juices, water & veggie drinks and, for example, having billboards around the school advertising Coca-Cola or McDonalds and having different rooms/lessons/equipment around the school 'sponsored' by many different companies. If you're supplying the kids with healthy drinks & making a small profit from doing so, that's what I call a win-win situation rather than just cynical target-audience marketing.

I also agree with Bill's point completely (The whole point of advertising is to influence people. The point of education it to teach people to think. The two are not compatible) and also have to agree with Third Harmony in that I have a problem with parents being able to send their kids to institutions which educate their children with different 'facts' based on the uncritical acceptance of the doctrines of different sects and religions.
...and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
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