Samantha Levine Current Event Nine

Samantha Levine
10/26/09
Current Event Nine

On Wednesday, October 21th, 2009 in the Irish Independent, based in Dublin UK, the article: Should Irish classrooms be open for business? Principals are clamping down on marketing aimed at commercially exploiting pupils was published. Irish schools do not supply a national code of practice covering marketing activity in schools. Since there is no code, there are differing opinions and ideas about marketing within various levels of schooling. Many companies market to schools allowing opportunities for parents to see what their children can have. For example, parents are busily collecting Tesco vouchers in the hope that their child's school will be able to acquire a computer.
INTO drew up guidelines for the issue of marketing which have been circulated to schools. According to INTO, the guidelines state the "relationships between schools and commercial enterprises, if based on sound principles, can contribute to the education of children in primary schools…” “However, it is essential to ensure that pupils are not exploited for commercial ends in schools.” Also, “…commercially driven schemes which seek to promote brands, increase sales and direct purchasing decisions of children and their families should be discouraged. The INTO guidelines, which have been implemented in a number of schools, discourage vouchers schemes such as Tesco's Computers in Schools.” On the contrary, spokesman Seamus Bannon states that “the scheme is discretionary and the vouchers are being issued to shoppers anyway. So far, 2,300 schools have taken part.''
So the question that is presented without a simple answer is if schools should side with Joseph Fogarty of the lobby group, The Campaign for Commercial-Free Education, (stating that “marketing-driven schemes aimed at children and families should not be allowed in schools”), or with Germaine Noonan of the Schools Business Partnership (who believes that “there is a danger that schools will throw the baby out with the bathwater if they are encouraged to ban all commercial links”), or with Sheena Horgan, a specialist in marketing ethics at public relations company Insight PR, (who believes that there is a need for a code for schools and companies throughout the country)?
I believe that Sheena Horgan is right and as long as there is a code for companies and schools to follow all will be okay.
http://www.independent.ie/education/features/should-irish-classrooms--be-open-for-business-1919297.html