October 10th, 2008 by Learning Systems
Come to find out, my alma mater was just one of 8,000 schools nationwide who signed a contract with Channel One, which in return for airing its commercial-ridden news program each day, loans TVs, VCRs and satellite dishes to schools. The contract requires that the program be shown to students on 90% of regular school days at an audible volume. Teachers are to ensure students watch the complete program.
A 2006 American Academy of Pediatrics study showed that children who watch Channel One remembered the commercials more than the learning content. The Media Education Foundation notes too that very little time is dedicated to actual learning content and most of the program is sensationalist “fluff” with corporate marketing and PR tie-ins to promote products. So not only are students being forced to absorb consumerist messages, but they’re also not gaining learning content of real value.
October 10th, 2008 by Learning Systems
When I was in high school, we didn’t have TVs in every classroom. I remember our history teacher wheeling a TV in from next door to show us films with historical learning content. Which is why I was surprised, upon visiting my high school a few months ago, to find little TVs installed in every room. I wondered how this small, increasingly financially-strapped Catholic school had raised enough cash to pay its staff’s salaries and learning content material, much less all these TVs.
But when the TVs suddenly turned on and began broadcasting a news program for teens, I started to get the picture. Besides the intrusion of advertising in the form of posters, pamphlets, book covers, BusRadio and the sides of actual buses, vending machines, films, and scoreboards, a striking form of in-school advertising takes place: Channel One news.
October 10th, 2008 by Learning Systems
We’ve seen school buses festooned with colorful advertising. But what about inside the buses, and in actual schools?
There is a host of ways in which children’s school environments and learning content are being commercialized. Many buses play BusRadio, which boasts of taking “targeted student marketing to the next level” and providing companies with a “captive audience.” Marketer-sponsored school activities range from literacy programs and anti-drug campaigns, to communication skills training. In these students are rewarded with product coupons for their performance and engagement with learning content.
Companies like Cover Concepts–whose executives also created BusRadio–provide schools with free book covers that advertise Kellogg’s, Calvin Klein, Nike, McDonald’s and other major marketers. Even students’ learning content material is blanketed with advertising.
October 9th, 2008 by Learning Systems
For many budget-crunched school districts, raising funds for everything from learning content materials to entire departments is increasingly difficult. Many consider using advertising on school buses and other locations throughout the school to compensate for their lack of funds. Athletic departments have traditionally accepted sponsorship. But where do we draw the line? Is it OK for schools to sell other advertising spaces?
Many people are outraged by the advertising industry’s finding its way into schools. School advertising not only distracts children from learning content, but it’s a mandatory barrage due to compulsory education laws. At home, kids can turn off the TV or choose not to listen to the radio. But at school they are compelled to view ads–often with unhealthy learning content–like those for big beverage companies or fast food restaurants.
