Comments on: State of the Union’s Economy: Ads on Kids’ Tests

By: Matt Langdon

Matt Langdon — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:50:35 +0000

Right, what I meant to say was I know full well how badly funded schools are. Photocopying is a limited privilege at the schools I know of and even gets cut off some months. The funding is ridiculous and I agree the government needs to get off it’s rear and do something about it.

My point was that when the ads are from mothers wanting to say good luck or dentists basically donating money to their school it is less harmful than McDonalds sponsoring the tests.

I don’t think it should be needed, but sadly it is.

By: David Horn

David Horn — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:42:49 +0000

I think Matt was getting at the title implying something more like the ads that are to the right of this comment.

Though I’m dubious of ads in the classroom, is there evidence of it affecting behavior one way or the other? Is there any prior art in similar circumstances? We can all agree there is something absurd about a school so malfunded that it can’t pay for producing exams. It seems like something Vonnegut would have cooked up and parodied. However, I would think military recruiters on campus would be more of an issue than local companies paying for photocopies.

By: BoBtimusPrime

BoBtimusPrime — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:24:44 +0000

Matt…

I think it’s safe to say that ANY ads having to be placed on a students test is an embarrassment to the education system. I think any ads, local or corporate, have no place in the classroom. The real ironic thing about this story is that ads and sponsorship in schools to help pay for education is nothing new… the only difference is now it’s starting to hit the core curriculum (Math, Science, English etc.). When I was in school the fine arts classes (Band, Choir, Dance, Art etc.) all had to seek out sponsorship from businesses, use company logos in their performance programs and accept money from companies like Zildjian, Paiste, Wenger and other suppliers of equipment, instruments and music in order to keep their programs running.

There is nothing wrong with the headline of this article. Ads are bad no matter what. For all intents and purposes the state and local governments need to s**t or get off the pot. Either have institutions of education that are properly funded and well operated or don’t. This half-assed way of going about education is ensuring that the citizenry of this country will continue to be lopsided in terms of education.

By: Matt Langdon

Matt Langdon — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:45:55 +0000

I know exactly how sad it is that schools can’t afford photocopying. Putting a one-line ad on the bottom is more a show of support than an ad campaign with an ROI. I’m glad I watched the video because when I read the headline I had a much different impression of what was happening.

By: nate

nate — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 04:17:06 +0000

Ah, the irony. haha..

By: David Horn

David Horn — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 01:48:49 +0000

He was my calc teacher! Great guy. I suspect he’s partly doing this satirically to highlight the absurdity of school budgeting.

It’s a great way of giving back locally, though. Rather than donating to my alma mater in a way where I have no idea where the money is going, I can donate specifically to my old calc teacher’s photocopy budget.

I have the form right now. I’m going to buy an ad on one of his worksheets.