My initial reaction to commercialism in schools is negative. Kids see enough ads throughout the day without subjecting them to a marketing deluge in the classroom. Then I started thinking about the woefully underfunded public school system and how tax levies are repeatedly defeated at the polls — why shouldn’t the schools get a bit of cash from an advertiser?

Yes, it may be a slippery slope — Who will decide which sponsors to accept? How is the money monitored? Etc., etc… But I think a PTAA (Parent/Teachers Advertising Advisory) board ought to be able to handle things — just in case Playboy decides to offer sponsorship of the sex education class or (heaven forbid!) the cheerleader squad — and would have final authority on declining inappropriate offers.

As a creative professional, I am painfully aware of the fact that funding to high school arts (art classes, drama, music) always seem to be the first things cut. I don’t have any kids of my own to attend school and take advantage of these classes, but I often find myself voting FOR a local school tax levy to help fund these studies. Who knows, maybe the Idea Guy will have an Idea Kid someday — but mostly just to assure myself of the chance that these kids who will be running things in the future are having some creative instruction in their formative years. Why NOT allow Crayola to sponsor art classes?

I dunno… maybe advertising in schools IS going too far, but I think kids have a better line of mental defense against ads than most adults anyway. They grow up faster, are more intelligent across the board, and more wiley regarding the media. A bunch of them have webcams and audio software to create their own media empires using their home computer and cable modems! Maybe they’ll start charging the cola companies to advertise on THEIR airwaves and earn enough to pay for their own college tuition!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this — click the “comments” link below and weigh in on the issue.