by Robert Pondiscio
February 10th, 2010
Tags: advertising, Michigan, public relations
Posted in Education News | 6 Comments »
Nine Michigan school districts were named “top school districts” and featured recently on a Detroit television program on the state’s best schools. A website bestschoolsinmichigan.com also features the nine schools. How did they earn the honor? You’re guessing test scores, graduation rates, or college acceptances maybe?
Cold, hard cash.
AnnArbor.com reports the districts paid $25,000 each to a Detroit-area public relations firm to be “named.” Incredibly, officials at some of the districts quoted in the story seem to see nothing wrong with the arrangement. If the PR firm that cooked up this scheme really wants to cash in, perhaps their next program should be on Michigan’s worst schools. Think of how much they could charge schools wanting to be left out.
(H/T Bill Evers)
by Robert Pondiscio
November 25th, 2008
Tags: advertising
Posted in Humor | 2 Comments »
Now that school budgets are getting hammered and bake sales are verboten, perhaps other teachers might wish to steal a fundraising idea from Poway, California calculus teacher Tom Farber. He’s begun selling ad space on tests and quizzes to cover printing costs cut out of his school’s budget.
Farber’s customers pay $10 for an ad on a quiz, $20 to be on a chapter test and $30 for a spot on a semester final, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. “Farber said he has sold about $350 in ads, more than enough to make up what the school budget doesn’t pay for,” the paper notes. “He said he still has ad space for next semester, and whatever extra money he collects will go to the math department for other teachers to use.”
May I humbly suggest that Farber might be wanting for ambition? Why stop at mere ad space? Just about every elementary school teacher has taught probability or graphing using a packet of M&Ms. Stop thinking of that as a lesson plan–it’s a product placement opportunity! (Face it, Mars Inc., Skittles or Reese’s Pieces would work just as well. What’s a captive audience of twenty-five 3rd graders worth to you?) Endorsement deals! (“Ticonderoga…the official No. 2 pencil of Room 501″)
How much would naming rights for classrooms, gymnasiums or entire schools fetch? Citigroup shelled out $400 million for naming rights to the New York Mets new ballpark. That works out to $8,000 per seat. At that rate, a 500-seat elementary school is worth $4 million! Of course, even that relative bargain might be too rich for Citi’s blood right now.
I wonder if Alberto Carvalho has thought of this?
(Finder’s Fee: Joanne Jacobs)
by Robert Pondiscio
September 17th, 2008
Tags: achievement gap, advertising, Literacy, public service campaign
Posted in Educational Policy, Parents | 1 Comment »
If you’re over 40 years old and grew up in the U.S., you probably vividly remember a tsunami of roadside litter along American highways. It was fairly common as recently as 30 or 40 years ago for people to simply pitch trash from moving cars. There was little societal pressure to do otherwise. Then along came this guy:
The “Crying Indian“ did as much as anyone to change Americans’ attitudes about littering, and their behavior. Some have even credited this public service campaign from Keep America Beautiful, which debuted on Earth Day in 1971, with launching the modern environmental movement.
I thought of the Crying Indian while reading this op-ed in the Washington Times. Childrens’ book author Jennifer Bryan reminds us yet again of the benefit of reading to young children. “In an era of high-stakes testing and education reforms and revolutions, research has repeatedly proved that one simple parenting technique is among the most effective,” she writes. “Children who are read aloud to by parents get a head start in language and literacy skills and go to school better prepared.”
Right. We know this. But how many low-income Americans–the group least likely to read to their children–are going to hear about it in earnest op-eds? If I’m Obama or McCain, I put a massive public service campaign touting the benefits of reading to young children at the top of my education “to do” list. Done well, it might be the single most effective thing we can do right now, today, to close the achievement gap.
Effective public service messages have a long history of changing behavior, and burning the ideas behind them into the public mind. Buckle Up. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Just say no. Give a hoot, don’t pollute. Only you can prevent forest fires. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?
Aim it at parents, air it where they’re most likely to see it, and plaster it on inner city billboards. Make it direct and hard-hitting, not warm and fuzzy.
“It’s ten o’clock. Have you read to your child today?”
