Teacher sells ads on tests
This article caught my eye: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-12-01-test-ads_N.htm?se=yahoorefer
To sum it up, a high school math teacher has started selling ad space on his exams in order to raise money to print copy materials for class distribution. His defense- teachers are expected to do more with less. In other words, in the face of budget cuts, the money has to come from somewhere. We're talking about simply making paper copies, here. The ads are primarily bought by parents, although a few local businesses (eg. dentist, structural engineering) have also bought ad space.
I think the concept is scary. The article quotes the principal as saying, "It's not like, 'This test is brought to you by McDonald's or Nike.'" However, who's to say that it wouldn't happen in the future? Clearly, ad space is being sold at the teacher's discretion, so arguably there is a filter involved. Still, it leads me back to a fundamental problem I've been having while learning about advertising: When are we free from it?
Advertising takes up so much of our time and space. This is the reason why I choose to be "unplugged." When I'm online, I spend most of my time researching what I want or playing the games I want (although one game in particular has become so ad-cluttered, I've been wanting to abandon it lately). I don't spend much time on my cell phone and I thankfully don't have bluetooth. Unfortunately, I have to suffer through internet ads when I watch online video content, but I find this preferable to the thought of paying to watch shows online. I guess it boils down to a tug-of-war between paying in $ and paying in time. For tv, I'd rather pay with time. For public learning (ie. high school education), shouldn't the tax-payers foot the bill, instead of advertisers? Do we really want to pay by offering up our children's psyches to yet another commercial outlet? Where does it stop? As a (prospective) ad man, I am potentially paid (re: need to get a job first) to seek out new mediums to reach my clients' target markets. Ethically, shouldn't I draw the line when it comes to education?
Am I taking things out of perspective? After all, the teacher did say that most ad spaces is being purchased by parents. I know I stated that point already. I feel very torn on this issue.
To sum it up, a high school math teacher has started selling ad space on his exams in order to raise money to print copy materials for class distribution. His defense- teachers are expected to do more with less. In other words, in the face of budget cuts, the money has to come from somewhere. We're talking about simply making paper copies, here. The ads are primarily bought by parents, although a few local businesses (eg. dentist, structural engineering) have also bought ad space.
I think the concept is scary. The article quotes the principal as saying, "It's not like, 'This test is brought to you by McDonald's or Nike.'" However, who's to say that it wouldn't happen in the future? Clearly, ad space is being sold at the teacher's discretion, so arguably there is a filter involved. Still, it leads me back to a fundamental problem I've been having while learning about advertising: When are we free from it?
Advertising takes up so much of our time and space. This is the reason why I choose to be "unplugged." When I'm online, I spend most of my time researching what I want or playing the games I want (although one game in particular has become so ad-cluttered, I've been wanting to abandon it lately). I don't spend much time on my cell phone and I thankfully don't have bluetooth. Unfortunately, I have to suffer through internet ads when I watch online video content, but I find this preferable to the thought of paying to watch shows online. I guess it boils down to a tug-of-war between paying in $ and paying in time. For tv, I'd rather pay with time. For public learning (ie. high school education), shouldn't the tax-payers foot the bill, instead of advertisers? Do we really want to pay by offering up our children's psyches to yet another commercial outlet? Where does it stop? As a (prospective) ad man, I am potentially paid (re: need to get a job first) to seek out new mediums to reach my clients' target markets. Ethically, shouldn't I draw the line when it comes to education?
Am I taking things out of perspective? After all, the teacher did say that most ad spaces is being purchased by parents. I know I stated that point already. I feel very torn on this issue.