TO: The School Board
FROM: Director of Student Learning
June 1, 2010
Following is the report you requested on corporate influence in our schools during the last 20 years.
1990: The board contracted with Whittle Communication's Channel One for a daily news and information program for secondary students. Whittle provided equipment and service free to the district. In return, students viewed two minutes of daily commercials. The district considered this an acceptable trade-off.
1995: National Fitness America offered state-of-the-art elementary playground equipment free to the district. In return, students listened to cassette tapes and viewed videos about keeping fit using National Fitness products. Some parents were upset, but others said students were exposed to ads anyway.
1997: Motion Pictures International sent schools prepackaged English curriculum materials, including video cassettes that featured major motion picture stars reading and performing major literary works. The stars also endorsed certain movies and products. The district felt the enhanced learning compensated for the free advertising.
During this same year Whittle furnished elementary students with its news and information service containing age-appropriate ads.
2000: The district upgraded the math curriculum by contracting with National Computer Electronics for high tech computer labs. The lab walls displayed highly colored graphics advertising the company, and the district received additional computers whenever students bought its products.
2004: The district replaced the traditional yellow school buses with spacious coaches provided free by the Japanese Bus Consortium. Students traveled to and from school more comfortably, viewing videos about safety issues and ads for Japanese cars. In addition, Consortium “hostesses” served nutritious brand name snacks en route.
(Just a personal note: During this year I became principal of the new school on the south end of town, Whittle High.)
2005: General Dynamico USA upgraded our history curriculum with its free weekly video series, “Military Glory: The History of Pentagon and Corporate Cooperation in a World of Chaos.” General Dynamico also provided one nationally known speaker to high schools each quarter, who endorsed certain political issues, like the new nuclear ray project. This caused some citizens momentary discomfort, but our students' understanding of military and corporate history increased. (Incidentally, General Dynamico expanded the Saylor Creek Bombing Range in 2007, bringing many new jobs to the Valley.)
2008: National Inservice Programs upgraded our teachers' skills with bimonthly programs at no charge to the district. Viewed as a godsend by teachers, the programs taught teachers how to present fast-paced, entertaining lessons to students whose attention spans have shortened considerably in recent years. This corporation is also helping us to analyze why our students don't read much anymore, using a series of videos on the subject narrated by the ageless Pee Wee Herman.
National Inservice Programs, a subsidiary of America Enterprises, also provides teachers with free personal computers when a teacher's students turn in the requisite amount of receipts for America Enterprises products.
2010: Educate America, a private educational group, has offered to pick up all district costs not borne by private enterprise. In return, the district must adopt the group's curriculum. Educate America guarantees certain student scores on national tests at the senior level. The district must use its selection tests to winnow out weak students at the 8th and 11th grades. (Educate America will provide a vocational track for these students at a nominal tuition cost.) As Director of Student Learning, I recomment that we accept this offer.
Some may argue that Educate America's plan will denigrate public education, but the Legislature's funding of public education has diminished so much that taxpayers now rely on private enterprise to foot the bills. Refusing this offer would be unrealistic. Frankly, as a member of Educate America's Board of Directors, I assure you that the public in public school is no longer relevant.
