Students and teachers complained about the commercial brands that were represented in the recent Pearson tests for the a Common Core testing in New York State.
According to the authoritative satirical blogger Students Last, this was no error. This is now state policy and a clever way to raise new funding.
Why not sell naming rights to our schools while we are at it?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Satire? Yes … but sadly not far from reality. Students are last and the holy dollar is first.
This is the nonsense you get when educational leaders have very limited, classroom teaching experience or, in many cases, none at all.
…but lots of business or banking experience. Another regular poster here (I forget whom) coined the term “Hedge-ucator.”
Just what I was thinking, re. I wouldn’t be surprised if the money-grubbing Pear$on asked those product licensees for money after the fact.
Don’t think they are not trying to figure out a way.
Our district administration mulled over the idea of selling advertising on school busses to help our budget. Thankfully, the idea never came to fruition.
It’s state law in Utah that districts can advertise on school buses now. Most districts haven’t done it, however.
We could name our gymasiums and stadiums after the corporation that donates the most money…..oh, wait….
speaking of satire – http://zombielaw.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/education-zombies-again/
Also it still amazes me how much product placement is written in the plots of modern television scripts – it would surprise me if most state curriculum aren’t already tailored to sell consumer products. For example, it’s much easier to sell antacid if you believe you stomach is full of acid. Which is not to say that the thing called antacid doesn’t help when you feel upset stomach but if we called it something else in school they would maybe have to change the name to sell it …? Also how many years do we have to wait before Coca-cola becomes more than a brand and is something people are supposed to know about in the world? When does Mickey Mouse become George Washington? Actually maybe it should go the other way, history should aspire to become as well known as these brands…
Ok enough satire –
[we mock what we love, keep blogging, you are an inspiration]
Obscenities like this in education will only stop when teachers and their unions decide
to TAKE TO THE STREETS AND RAISE HELL!
Check out our brother and sister teachers in Mexico.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/mexico/10017455/Mexico-teachers-riot-over-education-reforms.html
This week, as quoted in an article in the local paper (names omitted):
“In other business, the board:
Authorized ### (director’s name) to go forward with a bus advertisement program that could generate additional revenue for the district with no risk involved. Ads could potentially be placed in two locations on each of the system’s 36 buses for a total of 72 ads.
### would have the discretion to approve or deny potential advertisers. Profits would be split three ways between the school district, the bus drivers and *****, the company facilitating the program.
### said he thought potential advertisers could be Walmart, Sonic and similar retailers.
“If you did like yyyyy County and gleaned like $11,000, that’s $11,000 that we didn’t have before, so it’s just straight money to us,” ### said. “It’s of no risk to us at all.”
Board member xxxxx expressed some misgivings about ads on buses.
“As far as the money goes, that would be great,” xxxxx said. “It isn’t a little tacky?”
“It’s a little bit tacky,” ### said. “… Mr. xxxxx, you’re absolutely right. Some people would deem this to be tacky.”
The board passed the ad program, with xxxxx and zzzzz voting against.”
So… our school cafeterias are under strict nutritional mandates, teachers are required to teach students about making healthy choices, and people constantly moan about obesity in children, but they will ride to and from school in rolling advertisements for mega-burgers and fries?? I am a teacher in this system and a resident of this community. This disgusts me.
I can only imagine how the kids going to homes with little to no food feel.
Horrid and blatant.
The Michelle Rhee School of Classroom Management
Actually, charter school investors do have schools named after them. Penny Pritzker, ex-board-member of the appointed Chicago Public Schools and heiress to the Hyatt fortunes, has one in Chicago. She is also due to be the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce in spite of the ongoing investigations about tax dodging in offshore tax havens.