Comments:
>> Kethryvis » Tuesday, December 3, 2002 02:53 PM

Hell, I'm glad to be graduated from high school. But I'm not immune.. when my major was listed as Computer Science, I got 3 calls in 2 months and 3 letters from various branches of the military to be recruited. I know they got my info from my college, because each time they emphasized the computer skills I could acquire. Ticked me off, but I'm an adult and could deal with them as such. If I were in high school, I'd be pretty damned mad, and my mother would be livid :)

>> Anders » Wednesday, December 4, 2002 03:34 AM

Have you read "Fast Food Nation" yet? The corporate advertising in many US schools is a very lucrative arrangement. Money for the schools in exchange for impressionable youngsters with allowances. And a deep fryer in every classroom.

>> Darren » Wednesday, December 4, 2002 09:51 AM

Nope... but I just finished reading through Stupid White Men (which confirmed my general feelings about the States, but makes Clinton look much worse than he did before I read it)

>> Darren » Wednesday, December 4, 2002 09:59 AM

And, though advertising in schools is still an ethical no-no, it's only giving advertisers access to the students public sphere.



That's much less of an ethical taboo than giving the advertiser (in this case the military) direct access to the students' private lives.

>> Anders » Wednesday, December 4, 2002 12:06 PM

Well, if schools are supposed to be institutions of learning that prepare students for productive roles in society... advertising and poor nutrition distracts and detracts from success... while military recruitment by the government is totally within the rights of the state.

And not to go all "Yes sir, yes sir, anything you say sir", but the military is an essential service and offers many careers and opportunities. Being a government funded entity that wants students to help protect the country, they should have MORE access to the students than, say, a giant corporation that wants to wedge the student into a cubicle where he will fatten like veal over the next 40 years until retirement.

So there's a quandary for you... which is the lesser evil: the US military, or the US super-corporations?

>> Web Monkey » Wednesday, December 4, 2002 12:13 PM

I don't know what industry you're in, Mister, but poor nutrition and advertising are ways of life for web developers!

>> Darren » Wednesday, December 4, 2002 12:17 PM

Funnily enough, the education system in British Columbia was, in 1995 at least, being tweaked to push people more towards blue collar work / labour than executive, academic and social service positions.

We were basically being 'bred for labour', with a focus on how to fit within the workforce.

Funny thing is, that happened after my graduation - a generation that was so indoctrinated into being 'a good consumer' that it had "Consumer Education" as one of its required classes.

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