A MA elementary school is selling ad space on the backs of permission slips and notices sent home to parents. It’s better than another bake sale, say officials, who have pledged to keep the advertising appropriate for families. No ads for alcohol, tobacco, political causes or tattoo parlors will be allowed. Is this any different than ads in the back of yearbooks? Or one more tumble down the slippery slope of commercial encroachment in our public schools? Take our poll and sound off in the comments. [More]
schools
Send Junk Email To Chipotle, Feed Children
By 6.25.10
Here’s an interesting promotion: for every 100,000 junk emails sent to nojunk@chipotlejunk.com, Chipotle will donate $10,000 to The Lunch Box, which will help feed school kids with healthy junk-free recipes for lunch, instead of the usual prison cheese and high fructose corn syrup. [More]
Second Grade Video Yearbook Turns Out To Be A Porn DVD
By 5.27.10
A bit of advice to school teachers out there. If your husband likes schoolgirl-themed pornography, keep it away from the class’ video yearbook. Unfortunately, the internet was not able to administer this advice before one Florida teacher swapped a porn DVD for the yearbook and gave it to a second grader. The mother is understandably upset. [More]
Art Institute Of Pittsburgh Decides You Need To Buy One More Class To Graduate… After Graduation
By 3.22.10
Update: The school saw our post and has been in touch with Daniel. Here’s what happened. [More]
Rhode Island High School Fires All 88 Teachers
By 2.24.10
Do you teach at Central Falls High? Not for long. You’ve all been fired. The school is one of the lowest performing in the state and apparently the teachers couldn’t come to an agreement about how much they should be paid to do something about it. [More]
Hey Companies, Little Kids Are Not An Acceptable Sales Force
By 2.23.10
Dale writes to us that his two kids came home tasked with a lame magazine subscription assignment on behalf of a classroom magazine called Weekly Reader. It’s a little sleazy to use kids to pry cash out of the pockets of relatives and friends, and I hold that opinion as both a kid who has had to do it and an adult who has received the manipulative “please help my school!” plea in the mail. [More]
Public School Spycams Either A Glitch Or A Security Feature
By 2.19.10
The Pennsylvania school district accused of using school-issued laptops to spy on their students insists that their ability to activate the computers’ webcams from anywhere is a security feature. Oh, but school employees told students earlier that the lights next to their webcams were coming on now and then due to a “glitch.” [More]
Detroit Schools Teach Kids To Work At Walmart
By 2.16.10
Walmart is teaming with inner-city Detroit schools to offer classes on how to land entry-level jobs, the raw story reports, citing the Detroit Free Press. [More]
New Bill Proposes Study of Junk-Food Marketing in Schools
By 9.22.09
New legislation proposed in Congress today would require the U.S. Department of Education to study the nutritional value of foods available in schools, as well as the forms of food marketing. Sponsored by Representatives Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Todd Platt (R-PA), the National School Food Marketing Assessment Act has a large roster of supporters, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Parent Teacher Association, American Heart Association, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
By 7.3.09
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That end-of-the-school-year DVD may have been homemade by the teacher, but that doesn’t mean it can’t pack an accidental porno cherrybomb. An elementary school teacher in Sacramento mistakenly included 6 seconds of a “home movie” in a compilation she sent home to students. Click through to the article for an awesome photo illustration of how adults think kids react to gross-out grownup stuff. [SFGate] (Thanks to Paul!) (Photo: Adactio)
Impoverished High School Seniors No Longer Able To Finance Gaudy Proms
By 4.26.09
The recession continues to rot America’s cultural core, this time by attacking one of our most cherished traditions: prom. Gone are the ice sculptures and $1,000 dresses. America’s children are now buying dresses off racks and trading limos for the family car. Imagine!
How To Raise A Smarter Kid
By 4.18.09
It turns out kids in wealthier homes have higher IQs, not because of genetics but because of environment. Surely you can be frugal (or just plain poor) and raise a smart one? A psychology professor suggests you focus on praising effort over achievement, and teach delayed gratification—something that also helps when it comes to financial responsibility, so it’s a win/win skill. You should also explain that IQ is expandable, not inherent: “Students exposed to that idea work harder and get better grades.”
Hey, Let's All Go To School At A Vacant Circuit City!
By 2.6.09
The Realtor handing Circuit City‘s soon to be empty real estate is suggesting that the stores be converted into schools. Awesome.
Teacher Sells Ads On Tests To Cover Printing Costs
By 12.2.08
Left to fend for himself after budget cuts, His tests cost over $500 a year to print, but this year he only got $316, one calculus teacher resorted to selling ads on quizzes and tests to cover his printing costs. $10 for quizzes, $20 for tests, and $30 for a final.
Dallas School District Caught Using Random SSNs For Foreign Workers
By 11.14.08
The Dallas Independent School District has been making up fake Social Security Numbers for foreign hires for years, even after being told in 2004 by the state’s education board to stop because it’s illegal. The numbers were meant to “expedite” the hiring process and get the employees on payroll, but they found their way onto Department of Homeland Security and IRS forms (which are kept in-district but shared with feds upon request), were used for criminal background checks, and in at least 26 cases were numbers in use by real people.
Save On School Supplies With Sales Tax Holidays
By 8.3.08
School supplies in eight states are tax-free this weekend thanks to sales tax holidays. Hurry though, because the savings expire at the end of the day, unless you live in Washington D.C., where the savings last through August 10. The full list, inside…
Bad Voodoo: Transforming Student IDs Into Debit Cards
By 3.21.08
Cash-strapped colleges are partnering with banks to transform student IDs into debit cards. The deals are a windfall for the institutions, but force students to open accounts laden with hefty penalty fees and surcharges.
By 3.13.08
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Wondering where the tax money you pay into the NYC public school system is going? Well, part of it goes to pay the salaries of about 700 teachers who are forced to sit in special rooms that are located all over the city. All day. And do nothing. Sometimes for years at a time. [Rubber Room via BuzzFeed]
