Advertisements...... Should They be Aloud in Schools or Not?

You see the other day in my social studies class on the projector our teacher used to show us student reports on CNN.com. this one report came to mind and interested me alot. it said that people are debating whether or not to allow advertisements in school. so then afterwards we had this discussion we usually have after these podcasts and most of the class agreed that we should have advertisements in school on the exception that they are ok for kids. so i thought this would be interesting and i would like to hear your opinions.

Yea...so who gets to decide what is or is not "okay" for the kids? And I wonder how far they can stretch that.

In the free public, everyone advertises, whether it's a music genre, a fashion line, or even a political belief. Welcome to free America. The sky is the limit.

But...

In a school where presumably the school faculty decides....lol. Public schools already have enough conditioning to liberalism and political correctness floating around as far as I'm concerned. Let's not make the children any more stupid or single-minded, or limit their self-expression.

well in my opinion for this matter is that they shouldnt advertise in schools. not because its inappropiate but because the media has already gotten control of kids minds too much. if we continue to advertise in SCHOOLS (think about it in schools) then kids are eventually gonna become, hmmm how do i say this in the most comic but true way, mindless media slaves. i can agree to do that in houses, actually we cant even control THAT anymore, but in schools were children are there to learn then i really dont like the idea

In my opinion advertising in schools should only be done if it relates to school. Advertising a hair product really doesn't relate to school whereas advertising a school play would be fine because it will benefit the school and give the children something to do other than play on the computer.

People shouldn't take advantage of the children in school by advertising their product because last time I checked a school was a place to learn, not a place to better your business.

oh but you see that the schools ARE planning to put advertisements in school and they have to be kid friendly. that means advertising vans. advertising hair products. advertising hollister. im guessing they might or might not put school supplies but its just gonna be more clothes and what not advertisements. i personally am against the idea

Advertising a product in a public school is the equivalent of the government endorsing a product. Public schools should not have advertisements as it shows bias towards certain corporations by the government.
Private schools can do whatever they like.

well at least SOME parents are striking against this but that woild more of a minority

Ads fund the schools so it's wieghting important things teahing children at a young age that _______ is your friend vs school funds. I think they should just keep the ads away from the little kids like a toy ad isn't even fair and they will me thinking about that toy all day.

in my school they had advertisements...they varied ovr the school years like at the start unhealthy food was advertised but since the big controversy there wasn't any. Posters included a video game, movies, habbo hotel and mostly government posters on road safety and so forth.

I am aware they make money via these but I think schools are a place where the most advertising any products can have is kids telling each other about thins in the playground.

They're already doing it. Across the country, in select schools, there are TV's hooked up to "Channel 1". They advertise only appropriate things like DARE and acne washes. The students think nothing of it aside from the girls with low self esteem that see the pretty girl without acne strutting across the screen.

I found it wrong. I moved from a rural school to an inner city school, and they have Neutrogena brand ads all over the school. And, at the same time, local places get to advertise on my school ID now. It gives the students discounts and the establishments pay the school to do so, but I can't help but feel like another source of revenue.

800th post. I feel there shouldn't be any ads for 5th and under. But if people really wanted the ads out they couldn't say they are wasting school time and getting in there heads to affect their classes. But I worder if the schools would use their funds for what they are meant to use them on. If not i argee they shouldn't let them at all.

about what nuksucao said. he said that they advertised acne washes. see what these advertisements for something as simple as that are teaching students that looks ARE everything. these days you cant get a woman without looking good.

And that is the problem. I'm sure certain things like advertising the consequences of breaking certain laws like drunk driving or not wearing a seatbelt are good because those are educational. Advertising for extracurricular activities seems good as well, since those relate to the learning environment. Those examples are something that cannot really have any sort of bias in it. But, what the crap kind of school system can honestly find any sort of unbiased educational value out of Hollister, Tommy Hilfiger, Fubu, etc? And as said before, what is to stop them from going all-out with propaganda?

I went to High school in VA Beach. The only advertisements were for sports, extracurricular activities, joining the armed forces in exchange for tuition, and CNN news. Are people really putting crap like Neutrogena and Hollister in school advertisements? I mean, high school was stupid enough back four years ago when I was in it...

The damages of consistent advertising:

"Supersize Me" section were first graders are interviewed (Biased source)
This isn't even placed into a school-like scenario, but just advertisment from the home. Notice how they all recognized the logo character of McDonald's. This takes the edge off of smaller businesses (even downsized Wendy's in this scenario) as they aren't as easily noticed. That means the big businesses like McDonald's, due to it's immense advertising budgets, can easily steal money from other struggling businesses who need the customers to survive, thus chipping away the "American Dream".

There was also a heavy incident with Credit Cards being advertised in College environments. Several Credit Card companies, for a price paid to the school mind you, were permitted a certain day to advertise, promote, and sign students up for their merchandise. Some just had their stand ready to welcome new signers. Others had small gimmicks like free pens or T-Shirts with a signature. Either way, several of the students went for it. Many of these students found themselves swallowed whole in credit card debt due to lack of money management skills. Of those, there are cases of suicide in which the student realized that he/she was in a pit that they can't climb out of. Although this situation can easily be blamed on their poor budgeting skills, advertising is clearly a direct culprit of their deaths. (Oh, and by the way, the companies then began to charge the dead ones' parents for the bill.)

Now onto what it can potentially do when pushed in the Elementary/Middle/High School Educational Sector.


You have to remember, no matter what THERE WILL BE ADVERTISING IN SCHOOLS. It doesn't have to be a McDonald's banner in the football field, or Coke being sold in Vending Machines. Advertising is shown on peoples clothes, the backpacks people wear, the water bottles people drink from, and even the textbooks they use. (Houghton-Mifflin seems to have a near monopoly on these.)

The "Pros" of advertisement:
1. The added budget to the schools for more beneficial funding like a new gym or newer editions of Houghton-Mifflin textbooks.
2. Brings in more interest to the school making them more likely to excel academically.
3. Sometimes supplies students with equipment or clothes from their favorite brands.
4. Adds more options for the schools.

The "Cons":
1. Easily recognizable brands take business away from the smaller companies.
2. Establishes what is "Hot" and "Not" on school grounds, causing segregation of some students who do not have the latest material.
3. Brainwashes kids into a "He who has the most toys wins" situation.

The Flipside:
1. Sometimes the advertisements are from less popular companies bringing more attention and business to them
2. The children will be advertised to at home anyway, so it may not really cause all that much damage

Personal experience:
1.The advertisements everywhere on the football field and Basketball Gymnasium were really annoying.
2. An earthquake drill was announced and followed by "Sponsored by Pepsi". It didn't make me want to buy Pepsi, and was odd to hear an advertisement for that sort of event.

My Opinion:
Advertising does damage, but is a necessary evil
Either way, even if the schools took advertising completely out, students themselves would still be spreading advertising through clothes and whatnot. And if they made uniforms a requirement, they are still advocating advertisement, but for a singular company.

I'm not saying I want total eradication of any advertising, because that's like trying to take out Russia with a rowboat full of water balloons. Not going to happen.

I love seeing these kinds of signs in schools: http://media.photobucket.com/image/happy%20bunny%20anti%20drug/lizziesparkle/Happy%20Bunny/HappyBunnySmoking.jpg

But this is one of the exact acne ads that I saw every day for around six months: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVL4Doqv0BE

Looking through my old yearbook in the sixth grade I noticed a couple of things that really tick me off now, but then I just let it slide across my vision each day. Our school's soccer team got a small amount of money from Nike(Don't ask me how). They had Nike logos emblazoned on all their clothes, shows and even water bottles. I specifically remember looking at a friend's soccer list and seeing "Nike brand" before most of the items. Not only did that cause the families to have to pay more for their equipment, it took away from our locally owned sports shop.

At the same time, we had a fundraiser that was sponsored by Izzy's(Another food chain). That resulted in every purchase going towards them, even though we were selling magazines. Our school got 10% of each purchase. Izzy's got twice that, if not more. They overpriced each subscription so that each family paid at least double the cost of a normal yearly plan.

The only time I have been proud to be under a logo was when three students and I created a commercial for our local channels. Each of them allowed us to run the commercial, at no charge. The International Thespian Society sent a representative to watch the show we put on, and said they would fund our next production. In its entirety. They spent over one thousand dollars on our production that included no more than thirty students and lasted two hours.

Advertising can lead to great things, but when even the students feel exploited there is a problem.