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>BLAB FEST>RANDOM BLAB | Charity Sale or Child Exploitation? |
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| by Bonnie Biv | October 10, 6:10 p.m. | |
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"See, Mom? This double-sided wrapping paper is SO strong, you could make CLOTHES out of it… And this candy is the same treat that's served by the President at the WHITE HOUSE! And OPRAH TOO!
"And you know what ELSE, Mom?! I might win an iPod or a flat-screen television for my BEDROOM if I can sell more than other kids in my class!
"But if I don't sell anything, I don't get a prize at all. So what would you like to buy first, Mom? Check out these catalogs. I like the paper with the high heels on it, and look, yummy fudge…"
My temples are throbbing in sheer exasperation! What you have just read is the actual word-for-word hard-sell served up by my wee one, who has returned home with yet another Harass Fam & Friends Fundraiser project!
I don't even know how to contain my fury again in front of this bright-eyed ambitious girl, who is hoodwinked semiannually by the likes of Sally Foster or whichever retailer is exploiting us today. Hence I'm channeling it into the deep, dark blogosphere—and into scathing jam-sessions with other moms who claim to abhor the issue too, but go with it anyway. (Neighbors inform me that the giftwrap is worth every penny. My point is so lost on them.)
For years, Mr. Biv and I have refused to allow Sweet Pea to sell junk for retailers who exploit schools and the students within—not because such sales tactics annoy virtually every person in one's immediate universe (parents are fully expected to help push product on friends, family and especially moneyed coworkers, as boldly described on each brochure), but because Sweet Pea's youthful time and energy shouldn't be used to fill the pockets of private biz.
Sadly, explaining our position to her inexperienced mind is virtually impossible. All she comprehends is that other kids are getting prizes and she's not. In class where we can't protect her, she is made to feel like an outcast over it. The system is deplorable.
Typically, each private company profits between 25% and 50% for any given item my child sells (the donation is even more scandalous by the Girl Scouts: just $0.50 per box of cookies sold goes to the troop!). One might argue the opportunity value of the other 50% to the starving school. But when a retailer saves huge on overhead and sales/marketing costs by enlisting my kid to beat the streets, a more reasonable donation would be around 95%.
!&@^#$ Effing P.T.O. and their lack of creativity in raising money! What ever happened to washing cars on Main Street, selling snow cones at parades, setting up raffles & auctions, hosting school-wide Halloween carnivals, and similar chaperoned services where only the kids and school profited (and parents could write off donations on their taxes)?
Instead, maybe I'll yank Mr. Biv's nose out of his current case and march his lungs over there. Admirably, he has already managed to forestall at least two poorly-planned product-related P.T.O. fundraisers. He was the sensible voice in the wilderness, speaking out against turning our young children into unpaid sales whores with the point, “Once you let in one retailer, where do you draw the line? Can you draw a line?” Not surprisingly, his position was met with majority agreement. I'm telling you, NO parent [cough, with a life] looks forward to these door-to-door fundraisers!
And no, you cannot draw the line. Until public schools figure out a way to operate efficiently, businesses will try to permeate every hour of our kids' academic days. There's no limit to what retail will try, driven by kids' extreme purchasing power – currently about $500 billion per year influence in the U.S. – and vulnerability to trends, brands, and peers.
The latest tactic: pumping “appropriate” tunes and demographically targeted ads (8+ minutes per 60) into public school buses to indoctrinate impressionable minds. The pitch: “It will keep the kids calm on rides home.” Yeah, so will discipline and duct tape.
Listen, I know public schools need money (although I don't necessarily understand why ours does, given the thousands of damned dollars Manicured Lawnville collects in property taxes without subsidizing water or sewer, not to mention our district's mandatory added bus fees, book rental fees [WTF?!], activities fees and athletic fees). I know sales fundraisers like this have been going on for decades unabated. And I know that many parents can't afford to fork out endless cash for added costs.
But I emphatically contend: the solution to public school poverty is NOT putting our kids out on the streets (or over to Grandma's) to sell cookie dough, coupon books, wrapping paper, or limitless other rubbish!
And by the way: if I wanted my daughter to have a flat-screen television in her bedroom, By God I would BUY her a flat screen television for her bedroom! I am sick and stunned that she is so brazenly tempted with such prizes in gradeschool class.
P.T.O., use your collective brain! Invent another financial strategy, and leave our schools commerce-free!
Sheesh, I need aspirin. (Hey, why doesn't the school push the kids sell THAT to parents, grandparents and that creepy sleeveless gay dog-walker down the street?!)
| And Now, A Word From My Affiliate |
| Readers Bite Back (Sink Teeth Here) |
But I wait with bated breath.
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