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News last week that Lucasfilm and its flagship Star Wars series was purchased by the Walt Disney Company sent shockwaves through the hearts of Gen-Xers across the galaxy. Many are concerned that their beloved childhood saga will be sullied in the hands of Walt’s vast empire. In the worst-case scenario, the takeover would mean that Episode 7’s great TIE Fighter sequence would involve the Thunderquack, the jet of Disney’s winged superhero Darkwing Duck. At the very least, we are likely to see more of Jar Jar Binks (who must have been the result of some pre-takeover Disney sponsorship deal).
Essentially, the fear is that what has become a beloved institution might be sacrificed on the altar of larger corporate interests. And while nostalgic concern over a movie franchise may seem frivolous, there are beloved institutions ripe for corporate takeover closer to home.
At a September board meeting, trustees with the Calgary Board of Education amended policies related to fund development and naming rights; the changes would allow the school board to recognize donors and sponsors by naming learning spaces after them. The motive for the change in policy is the need for technical equipment for hands-on learning experiences in Career and Technology Studies classrooms. The board says that it is having difficulties meeting industry standards and program requirements for equipment without external partnerships. In short, they are suggesting that public education in these areas is underfunded to the degree that programs cannot be offered without corporate money.
Troubling, to be sure. Our students are a vulnerable, impressionable and captive audience. Profit-driven corporations do not donate supplies selflessly. There is no doubt that a software producer can gain a lot of future business when students learn how to use its operating system. Similarly, learning how to cook in a kitchen stocked with the best commercial-grade appliances will create brand awareness that could last a lifetime. In more specialized and emerging technical fields, the vulnerability is greater. Expensive robotics, animation and 3-D design equipment is highly alluring to students. Businesses can make themselves look good by donating such equipment to schools, where they wow an impressionable young audience, thereby ensuring a generation of loyal customers.
So what’s the problem? We all know that equipment for CTS courses is incredibly expensive and schools might not be able to offer innovative, appealing programs without the generosity of corporate sponsors. Students get access to great equipment, and businesses get to contribute to their community. Win–win, right?
I don’t believe so. In public education, the sanctity of an unbiased curriculum must be paramount. Students must not be pawns, and parents and the public at large must know that children are not being exploited in schools. They trust us to present students with some of the grand truths in life and to give them the skills to be free, independent critical thinkers. I worry that we would be unable to do that if we were beholden to outside corporate influences for our learning materials or our programs of study.
I have no doubt that the equipment and programs being offered as a result of sponsorship are fantastic, but in this province we should be able to fund those fantastic opportunities in an equitable way without the need for external sponsors. And the reliance on corporate funding is increasing. In 2011–12 school jurisdictions raised $198 million through fundraising and donations, up from $73 million a decade ago. We must be leery of the influence of outside money, for it is widely accepted and expected that “he who pays the piper gets to call the tune.”
And the question of naming rights is doubly problematic. Naming is advertising. Scotiabank is not paying $1 million per year to have its name on Calgary’s Saddledome without expecting a return on its investment. Likewise with Rexall Place, in Edmonton. By selling the names of our public facilities and programs to the highest bidder or most generous donor, we are not only advertising products to our students, we are also advertising to the world that our kids, our curriculum and our integrity are for sale.
I welcome your comments—contact me at jonathan.teghtmeyer@ata.ab.ca.
