Warning: This post contains 3 or more kinds of profanity, and some sarcasm. There is a lot happening in the world that breaks my heart, and over which I have little control. When things happen close to home, due only to a kind of ignorance and group-think, that affect children -- mine and others -- it infuriates me. Here's the scoop:
My eleven year old daughter brought a fundraiser catalog home from school. You know the kind: over-priced chocolates and gift wrap, a lot of resin statuary and cheap jewelry made in China ... I looked through it, and said, "You know, honey, I think we'll just make a donation to the PTO. There isn't anything here we need." She turned away, and I could see she was crying.
Well, it turns out that they did a fundraising kick-off and made a huge deal over the fact that kids who sell X number of items get to attend "The Greatest Party Ever To Come To Your School" during the school day. With games, refreshments, music, face painting, and -- I kid you not -- Deal Or No Deal: "Just sell 15 items and you're in the drawing ... you could win up to $100.00!" There are levels of participation in the party, depending upon how many items you sell. One's level will be identified by a color-coded wrist band! (The poor suckers who did not sell enough will remain in their classrooms, presumably reading or playing "Heads Up Seven Up", woo hoo. Or maybe watching inspirational movies from Halliburton, Monsanto, and Archer Daniels Midland, so that next time, they too will be GOOD Americans, and get out there and sell shit, goddammit.)
My elementary school feeds into this middle school. I know for a fact that many of my daughter's classmates are not from families that have disposable income. Some of them are homeless and living in shelter. A lot of them are working poor. Hell, our family was one of the better off at the school for the last 6 years, and that isn't saying much.
I don't hold with reward programs of most kinds, but this is the worst. Children who are required by law to be at school will be excluded from a big fun party not because of their behavior, not because of performance, not because of anything over which they might have a modicum of control ... but because they didn't sell enough FUCKING product. What a set-up.
So I didn't only blog about it. First I wrote an email to the principal, omitting the f-word -- just in case you were worried -- laying out all my points and asking him to rethink this party. I'll see what kind of a response I get from him, before I decide how to proceed. If I am not satisfied, I will contact the school board. Our district makes a very big deal (as they should) about building relationships and community, engaging students, using positive models and being inclusive and equitable. We just had a whole day inservice on those very topics last Tuesday, as we do every year at this time. This party is a contradiction to all of those things.
I also plan to join the PTO. Maybe I can get my favorite Fair Trade Organic coffee, tea, and cheese fundraiser going there. I have nothing against fundraising: it is a necessary activity in this day and age. It's the reward and punishment I object to. The setting kids up to be hurt if their parents don't cough up the cash. That is just plain wrong.
[Tuesday update: The principal just phoned to tell me he got my message, he agrees with me 100%, and is canceling the fundraiser if he can, and definitely putting the kabash on the party. I am relieved.]
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15 comments:
Suzy, you expressed yourself well. Although I'm glad you left out certain words in the principal's letter. I've always hated those fund-raising catalogs and sales, which raise little for the school and much for the vendors. It's a good idea to join the PTO. I feel sorry for the kids who feel pressured to be in "the biggest party" but really can't do what is required. What a farce.
So, I guess pies in teachers faces was out? (By the students, not by Suzy!)
How sincere can they possibly be about raising money for the school when in essence they are offering blatant kickbacks to children in the form of $100 checks? I mean shouldn't the school get the hundred bucks?
I'm really proud of our local PTO because they come up with really innovative ways to raise cash. We buy Woodman's scrips cards through them and so 5% of our yearly grocery budget goes to our school. That requires buying the cards up front which isn't always easy. But they also do Spaghetti Night and silent auctions of donated items (like a ride to school on a firetruck!) so that no one ever feels pressured and my kids don't have to take to the streets.
Good luck. If you decide to picket, I've got your back. :P
We have no kids of our own but we get hit up constantly by kids coing to ur door selling shit for their schools. We'll buy the discount cards off the children of color who come to our door, well only two per year becasue how many discount cards do you need anyway?, and that's it. I hate that they've gutted the schools of anything good, music and art and gym classes, and replaced it with rote learning that will get kids to pass a fucking test made up by a company Neil Bush owns. I hate what we do to our kids.
I'm right there with ya sister. If you need any support from TN just let me know.
It floors me that they let the US military into our schools. And they let the "consumer army" in, too. I like your idea of a "Fair Trade counter-fundraiser". Cool.
The Fair Trade fundraiser is the brain child of Just Coffee here in Madison (although for all you folks in the hinterlands, Equal Exchange does fundraisers too.) Family Farm Defenders got on board with the cheese. My elementary school has been selling coffee for 2 years now. It's so great. You know that the people who buy it are USING the stuff, it supports our school AND the coffee growers AND a locally owned collectively run business. We'll be adding tea next month, and cheese at some point. I'm hoping they'll also have cocoa soon.
Last year our 5th graders got to meet the head of the Ethiopian coffee growers' cooperative. It was SO COOL.
GREAT! I have succumbed to two of these things recently, but only because I am so fond of the families and I know how crappy the parents feel to have to even do this.
I think it is fantastic that you spoke up and were heard.
And we wonder what's wrong.
Deep sigh.
word verification. ijyat. that's gwb's new name in my book!
thanks for the update. I hated this kind of shite when I was in school. The kids who won were the ones whose dads sold mountains of candy etc to their captive minions at the office. My father died when I was four so I was at a disadvantage.
I agree with you. That kind of social engineering has no place in schools. That's all it is after all... social engineering. Turn the kids into good little consumers and introduce competition into it so they'll be too factionalized for any kind of true cooperation.
Disgusting!
Isn't it the principal's job to know what's going on?
Peace,
~Chani
http://thailandgal.blogspot.com
In the principal's defense, he is brand new to the school and district this year. Apparently, the PTO presented this fundraiser as "something we always do," and he didn't look at it. I've been really impressed with every interaction I've had with him.
Glad the principal wised up.
I would've told them to stick it, and on party day, me and mine would've gone out someplace special.
Didn't these people ever read The Chocolate War?
I have steadfastly refused to participate in our PTA fundraisers, because I will not buy the over-priced crap they sell. I join (even if my kids are out of the system I teach in), and when the fundraiser comes around, I write a single check.
THIS year, the fundraiser was one of those enormous coupon books for discounts for LOCAL businesses.
Much better idea.
It did surprise me that none of the teachers seemed to raise an objection to the pull-out party idea, as they would have been the ones left babysitting the many sad and angry "have nots."
But I know that teachers often don't have time to read the junk they are expected to send home.
That's TERRIBLE (and why public school terrifies me).
Good for you writing a letter, and good for your principal seeing reason here.
Great perspective on this.
Julie
Using My Words
I don't think it is necessarily a public school issue. My understanding is that private schools do the same kind of fundraising. It's just that reward systems are the normal paradigm, and most people go along with them unquestioningly. There's an excellent book by Alfie Kohn called Punished By Rewards. There are reams of evidence to prove that rewards DECREASE motivation, whether you're a kid at school or an adult on the job -- yet we cling to that method. Why?
Good for you for speaking up and good for your pricipal for seeing reason and cancelling the party. Fundraisers are necessary in schools (more so now than ever before since any spare change the government has is in Iraq) but I hate the idea of punishing kids whose parents or neighbors don't want to buy overpriced crap. If there's no alternative to corporate fundraising, then set a dollar goal and invite every kid in school to the party if the goal is met, and eliminate the individual prizes for high sellers.
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