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So today was Logan's 7th day of school. He came home and I opened his bag to find what wonderful things his teacher had sent home today.
I have tolerated "new math", I have tolerated sub-par reading, I have paid $4.50 for the "weekly reader" which for first-graders consists of roughly 5 words per page. I have followed the rules, I have been a GOOD parent.
But today Logan had a packet from Readers Digest - you know, the sort of thing where you shill candy bars and magazines to your friends and family and earn money for the school.
Only it wasn't FROM the school. Or at least not obviously. I asked Logan and he said "some men came to my class and told us we had to sell things". I said "you don't HAVE to sell things" and he said "no, they said we HAD to sell things..." leaving the ominous "or else" off. "But Dad, you can earn prizes so I guess it's ok but I don't want any of the prizes".
The prizes include... no lie... a BEER HAT, a "hydration station" (didn't someone just DIE in the news of water poisoning?), a cotton candy machine, an inflatable massage chair, a foam hand, and a light-up pen. The ULTIMATE prize, if you sell like 300 magazines, is a COBY mp3 player with an inflatable set of speakers.
So I sent the following e-mail to the school:
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Mms ***** and *****,
We were rather concerned today when Logan came home bearing a Reader’s Digest sales packet. We shan’t pretend ignorance – we of course aren’t that old, and they were doing this sort of thing when we were in school, too. We went to our grandparents and family friends and hawked candy bars or magazines or what have you. Fair enough.
The problems we have boil down to:
- It wasn’t in his red binder, and there was no school communication about it. We had to prod Logan to get information about it. When asked what it was, Logan said “we have to sell things!†and when we gently corrected him “you don’t HAVE to sell thingsâ€, he replied “yes, we DO. Some men said we HAD to sell things.†We are of course going to give the school the benefit of the doubt and assume that there weren’t strange men in the classroom telling our child that he HAS TO SELL, and of course Logan is quite a literalist. However, we can certainly see how things may have transpired.
- Nothing in the packet seems especially appropriate for a 6-year-old. Many of the “prizes†aren’t appropriate for kids of ANY age. The beer hat, the “hydration pumpâ€, the cotton candy gin? Again, we realize this is voluntary, but the more we looked at it, the more disconcerted we grew!
- We have no idea what this is for. One must assume the school benefits, which we of course support! However, this is in no way indicated in the literature. Just a bunch of sales tips, such as “push the extra special items and the Reader’s Digest subscriptions, kids!†and “always tell your parents where you’re going when you go out to sell!†– in a more sarcastic moment, we are forced to wonder if sales & marketing has been added to the first grade curriculum?
- He’s been at school … A WEEK. We don’t wish to be rude, but … a WEEK into the school year for this sort of thing? Logan comes home with new ideas and experiences, and a happy face every day, and we have no desire for that to change. This just seems to have been handled very poorly.
- Logan is six years old. This is his first introduction to anything like this, and we had quite a hard time explaining things to him. He went to bed tonight really not sure “how he was going to sell enough things to get any prizesâ€. That’s more than a bit upsetting to us as parents.
We of course at this time shall decline to participate in any such “fundraising†efforts unless they’re handled a little better. Perhaps an official school notice (heck, even one of Ms. *****’s nice “note to the parents†sheets!) detailing the program, what we’re raising money for, etc. would have been apropos. Of course we want to support the school and will do so in any reasonable manner. But this just wasn’t appropriate.
Sincerely,
Jason & Julie Goldovitz
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Are we overreacting? I mean, we just got SO ANGRY about this. I think the worst part was it made Logan feel bad and anxious. And his teacher didn't explain it or soften it at all.
I have tolerated "new math", I have tolerated sub-par reading, I have paid $4.50 for the "weekly reader" which for first-graders consists of roughly 5 words per page. I have followed the rules, I have been a GOOD parent.
But today Logan had a packet from Readers Digest - you know, the sort of thing where you shill candy bars and magazines to your friends and family and earn money for the school.
Only it wasn't FROM the school. Or at least not obviously. I asked Logan and he said "some men came to my class and told us we had to sell things". I said "you don't HAVE to sell things" and he said "no, they said we HAD to sell things..." leaving the ominous "or else" off. "But Dad, you can earn prizes so I guess it's ok but I don't want any of the prizes".
The prizes include... no lie... a BEER HAT, a "hydration station" (didn't someone just DIE in the news of water poisoning?), a cotton candy machine, an inflatable massage chair, a foam hand, and a light-up pen. The ULTIMATE prize, if you sell like 300 magazines, is a COBY mp3 player with an inflatable set of speakers.
So I sent the following e-mail to the school:
-------------------------
Mms ***** and *****,
We were rather concerned today when Logan came home bearing a Reader’s Digest sales packet. We shan’t pretend ignorance – we of course aren’t that old, and they were doing this sort of thing when we were in school, too. We went to our grandparents and family friends and hawked candy bars or magazines or what have you. Fair enough.
The problems we have boil down to:
- It wasn’t in his red binder, and there was no school communication about it. We had to prod Logan to get information about it. When asked what it was, Logan said “we have to sell things!†and when we gently corrected him “you don’t HAVE to sell thingsâ€, he replied “yes, we DO. Some men said we HAD to sell things.†We are of course going to give the school the benefit of the doubt and assume that there weren’t strange men in the classroom telling our child that he HAS TO SELL, and of course Logan is quite a literalist. However, we can certainly see how things may have transpired.
- Nothing in the packet seems especially appropriate for a 6-year-old. Many of the “prizes†aren’t appropriate for kids of ANY age. The beer hat, the “hydration pumpâ€, the cotton candy gin? Again, we realize this is voluntary, but the more we looked at it, the more disconcerted we grew!
- We have no idea what this is for. One must assume the school benefits, which we of course support! However, this is in no way indicated in the literature. Just a bunch of sales tips, such as “push the extra special items and the Reader’s Digest subscriptions, kids!†and “always tell your parents where you’re going when you go out to sell!†– in a more sarcastic moment, we are forced to wonder if sales & marketing has been added to the first grade curriculum?
- He’s been at school … A WEEK. We don’t wish to be rude, but … a WEEK into the school year for this sort of thing? Logan comes home with new ideas and experiences, and a happy face every day, and we have no desire for that to change. This just seems to have been handled very poorly.
- Logan is six years old. This is his first introduction to anything like this, and we had quite a hard time explaining things to him. He went to bed tonight really not sure “how he was going to sell enough things to get any prizesâ€. That’s more than a bit upsetting to us as parents.
We of course at this time shall decline to participate in any such “fundraising†efforts unless they’re handled a little better. Perhaps an official school notice (heck, even one of Ms. *****’s nice “note to the parents†sheets!) detailing the program, what we’re raising money for, etc. would have been apropos. Of course we want to support the school and will do so in any reasonable manner. But this just wasn’t appropriate.
Sincerely,
Jason & Julie Goldovitz
--------------------
Are we overreacting? I mean, we just got SO ANGRY about this. I think the worst part was it made Logan feel bad and anxious. And his teacher didn't explain it or soften it at all.
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