| << Against a Longer School Day | 1996 > August | self-producing >> |
Tuesday, 6 August 1996
Staples Back-to-School Sale ::
Relating to ‘Against a Longer School Day’...
I saw an incredibly offensive commercial the other day. It was for Staples, announcing their back-to-school sale. The music was “the most wonderful time of the year”, which we usually associate with Christmas. A father is dancing through the school supply aisle of the Staples store, while his children glare at him, stone-faced.
We’re supposed to think it’s hilariously funny. Sorry, but it seems just a little too realistic to be funny. It reflects something about our cultural attitudes towards school. It suggests that it’s normal for children to hate school—and that perhaps one of the prime functions of school is to relieve parents of the responsibility of dealing with them for a significant portion of the day. And yet parents are always talking about how they think their children’s schools are good schools, as if to reassure themselves that their children’s schools couldn’t possibly be as horrible as they remember their own as being.
I guess my bias is showing. Can you tell that we homeschool?
| << Against a Longer School Day | 1996 > August | self-producing >> |
2 comments
How interesting that you interpret the commercial that way. I always saw the children’s dejected attitudes as mourning the end of summer and all the fun activities only summer brings and playing all day. I never saw it as ‘hating school.' Perhaps that’s because I never hated school and my four children don’t either.
Funny, I’ve always loved that commercial. I’m a stay home mother and while I love the flexibility of summer vacation (we do unstructured play, weekly outings and daily supplemental lessons), I do look forward to the few hours of personal time the school year brings. During the summer, I’m ‘on duty’ twenty-four/seven. It’s worth it, but frankly, it’s exhausting. During the school year, I have time to develop my talents/interests and replenish my emotional/intellectual reserves which only goes toward making me a better mom.
Glad you love homeschooling. Isn’t it fun how all kinds of different things are effective for different situations/temperments.
– Tante, Sunday, 13 August 2006, 20:53 PDT
Please post your paypal account number so I can send you a quarter. You need to buy yourself a sense of humor.
To me, These commercials just punctuate the fact that by the end of August most kids are bored out of their skulls. Every day I see kids sitting on their front steps, whining that there’s nothing to do. Parents just celebrate the fact that the whining will come to an end...
– Jim, Monday, 4 September 2006, 13:13 PDT
This discussion has been closed. Thanks to those who participated.