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Shame on Scholastic! As the Director of a Child Development Center and Preschool, I recently booked Scholastic to have a book fair at my Center to promote family literacy. I specifically requested that any commercialized products be excluded, as I am sick and tired of the "subtle" product placement corporations are marketing to our children. According to consumerism and economics expert Juliet Schor (The Overspent American), the average 10-year-old has memorized about 400 brands, the average kindergartner can identify some 300 logos and from as early as age two kids are "bonded to brands." Some may call it brainwashing, others say it's genius; regardless of how you see it, the approach is the same: target young kids directly and consistently, appeal to them and not the adults in their lives and get your product name in their heads from as early an age as possible. Why are their children's preschool picture books based on PG-13 rated movies? I have emailed Scholastic's representative and completed an online survey expressing my dissatisfaction. I will also no longer be considering Scholastic as a developmentally appropriate purveyor of children's literature.
The Campaign For Commercial Free Childhood has an online petition that educators can sign about this very topic: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/621/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1852 I encourage you to sign and take action and let Scholastic know that we want families to have access to buy low-cost, quality books without being influenced by advertising products that have no educational value.
As ECE leaders, we need to hold media accountable whenever it is within our power to do so... It's an injustice when low income families have their options limited by media distribution sources such as scholastic books. I KNOW that scholastic has appropriate books on their reading list. We can't put perceived profits and assume that the preferences of children in low income communities is towards barbie and wrestle-mania...
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