Riding Home in an Advertisement with Wheels

The tough economy is causing people to do things they normally wouldn't. Just ask the governor of Illinois, who tried to sell a Senate seat for economic gain, or the Big Three auto companies, which are begging for money just to make it to New Year's. Even school districts and educators are thinking about unusual ways to make cash.

Since January, three bills have been presented in New Jersey asking that advertising be allowed on school buses to help raise funds for struggling school districts. Although the ads may help the schools financially, some are concerned that they may be a distraction to drivers, raising safety issues.

In California, high school teacher Tom Farber began selling ad space on his exams to cover the costs of printing them after the school's budget was cut. Farber says the ads will not become permanent, but he is allowing them for now to deal with the economic realities affecting his school.

Do you think advertising in buses and on exams is an appropriate way to deal with the economic situations in many schools?

Comments

[Mackenzee]

Having been both a teacher and administrator in financially-struggling inner-city schools in Chicago, I can understand the fiscal concerns and the need to think creatively about how to finance educational programs. Ads on city buses and other public transportation have become commonplace, so perhaps, if the advertisements are appropriate, they might be a viable source of funding as they affect the transportation process not the educational process. We have also become used to, perhaps immune to, constant ads on the Internet that support educational sites. While we cannot control the Internet, we can control what is acceptable professionally within the classroom. Therefore, I do not agree with ads on assignments or exams produced by teachers for use in the classroom; while a source of funding, they can also provide a distraction to the process of teaching and learning, especially for students with short attention spans or other disabilities. Teachers have often been placed in the position of making choices between funding and appropriateness. The question becomes, just because we can, should we? My hope for the future is that the federal and state legislatures find a way to provide funding for ALL of America's children in BOTH public and private schools so that teachers are not placed in the awkward position of funding issues vs materials and programs for students. While issues of church and state must still be considered, private schools are also struggling financially to serve under-served students in the inner-cities and rural areas of America. It is only fair to all of America's children that they all have the opportunity to learn from well-qualified, caring educators and have access to the books, technology, materials, and supplies that support excellent educational programs.

[Karin Jelavich]

Perhaps not appropriate, but definitely a necessity in this economy. Funds are difficult to come by and count on. Who knows what the Governor will do to schools next?

[Jennifer]

It is a crime that in one of the wealthiest nations on earth, struggling economy or not, school districts and individual teachers must rely on commercial advertising to pay for essential services to students. Funding for public education in this country must change so that no teacher should ever have to worry if there is enough money in the budget for the materials he or she needs to teacher his or her students, and no student should ever ride on a school bus advertising anything more that the importance of a good education.