the privatization of education
Fed to 12,000 middle, junior, and high schools around America, Channel One is viewed by over eight million students on a daily basis. The contract between Channel One and the schools enforce the broadcast on 90% of school days and 80% of classrooms...teachers must show the entire program, including advertisements.
In exchange, schools receive a color TV monitor for every 23 students, VCRs, blank video tapes, and a fixed satellite dish.
What does Channel One get? A captive audience. Insurance that commercials won't be ignored because of channel surfing. A focused target market of teens and tweens who have lots of disposable income. Advertising space on Channel One is selling for approximately 1/4 of a million per day for a 30 second spot.
For the schools, this comes at the cost of handing over the equivalent of five instructional days in a school year = teaching time lost is costing tax payers $1.8 billion dollars per year. On a more abstract level, this is a prime example of the invasion of public space. When did it become acceptable for education to be one of the largest growing markets in the U.S? When did we start viewing students only as profit centres and cash crops? Most importantly, why isn't education better funded by the government?
These issues frustrate me...and surely, we deal with many of the same problems north of the border. Pouring-rights, for example, is a huge problem here. Schools have become "Coke schools" or "Pepsi schools", which have contributed to the shutting down of certain public services. Why are we flushing our rights to learn in an ad-free place down the drain?
Food for thought...please share yours.
posted by vespertine @ 5:15 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I would assume that the reason for ad revenue and private corporations funding schools is because government funding is low and probably getting lower rather than increasing. I don't know much about the Channel One thing but I agree that it is an odd way to "support" education. I suppose there's a chance the programming is actually educational and can in some cases supplement regular teaching time. The ads though... sometimes I think kids are almost immune to ads now, they are so inundated already. Will education ever return to an ad-free space? Probably not. What about athletics supported by particular companies that make athletic gear? Could it be that gov't funding is inadequate, or that the needs of schools are just surpassing what the gov't could ever provide? I obviously haven't thought this entire thing through but there ya go.
Post a Comment
<< Home