Schools fall victim to clever marketing in ways people don’t always realize or acknowledge. The last reminder I had of this was the peculiar celebration of what is called “100s Day” in elementary schools across the entire country. Corporate America has managed to create a classroom holiday based on the arbitrarily chosen number 100. They market it as math. We teachers fall for gimmicks like this and swear the kids love it. Kids will love most things that you’re excited about, or pretend to be excited about until maybe middle school. So each day teachers add one to the count and when they hit 100, in come 100 little hands and feet carrying buttons, crackers, pennies, nails and other objects that will add up to a couple thousand by the time the last kid brings his stuff in which will be about day 105.
Educational catalogs are filled with 100s Day posters, pencils, stickers, activity books, hats and exorbitant pricing. Does anyone car about 101s Day? Not really. Why not make big deals about other days like that military favorite, March 4th. Get it? March forth? At least it’s clever. Other days that deserve celebration are April 2, which signifies that passing of the day you can’t trust anyone to not make a fool out of you, February 15 which would signal the dropping of the boy or girlfriend you lost the lust for, but kept around long enough to get through Valentine’s Day and of course the first regular season game of the Green Bay Packers.
The Seuss folks have been extremely successful about creating a day of praise for the great author who wrote Sam I Am on a bet that he couldn’t write a book using only 50 words. Kids, teachers and administrators wear tall striped hats, Cat In The Hat ties and socks with Horton and at least one Who embroidered on them. Seuss books fly off the shelves, padding the wallets of Aunt Alli and her alligator all the way through to the Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz. I’m wondering when Sponge Bob Squarepants Day will be declared. We could all wear sponges on our butts and learn about the mysteries of the sea. I’m surprised that “Get Your Parents to Spend More Money Day” hasn’t been pushed by the feds to boost our ailing economy. Maybe they just haven’t thought of it yet.
Edumercialism has always been part of the candy industry. People have figured out how to teach counting, sorting, graphing, adding, predicting and the reward, subtraction, using M&M candies. Fractions are taught with candy bars that are made to break easily into fractional parts like Hersheys has so cleverly done. Candy corn, Skittle, jellybean, Gummy Bear and Life Saver math can all be found if you Google the right way.
Commercialism sneaks into schools on many scooters. The examples above are choices made by individuals or institutions. They would not lose anything by not getting involved in the celebration of commercially manufactured days or using the products suggested by their producers. Some commercial endorsement comes along defacto, during fundraising efforts throughout the year. Scrip, bottle top contests, barcode collection, wrapping paper sales, and enticing loving parents to purchase cups and refrigerator magnets memorializing artistic childhood renderings is edumercialism at its most crazy making. We want to support schools and the efforts of parent groups dedicated to children’s education, but do feel the sense of manipulation child involved campaigns for funding create. Without such fundraising, schools would be without many of the projects and equipment that benefit everyone.
Public school educators and parents want what is best for children. They want them to have computers, art supplies, visiting musicians, sound systems and things they see in other schools. Product promotion may just have to be the price we all have to pay to give money towards the education of all children. Ironic.
I think parents would gladly contribute money at the beginning of the year to buy out of all fundraisers for the rest of the year. That would mean no selling, no buying, no gimmicks or scheme involvement of any kind. People would be paying to be left alone, free of guilt and done for the entire year. Multiply it by six when your child is in first grade and you’re home free until middle school.
Well, maybe not exactly free…
