Selling Kids Short

Teaching Tolerance recently received an email from a concerned citizen. Her local school is raising money for sports programs by offering a special cafeteria “Fast Pass” to students who can afford to pay an additional $10 fee to the school:

“Students whose family can afford it get to walk ahead of students already in line for lunch and get [their] lunch before the others already waiting, often getting the last of an item that the other child was waiting for,” the writer shared in alarm. “…Some get to eat right away while others—who couldn't pay—wait longer and longer as long as Fast Pass children keep coming.”

Clearly, fundraising is a necessary part of school budgets in this day and age. But should institutionalized class discrimination be part of the plan? The existence of a Fast Pass immediately establishes a class system based on financial privilege, stigmatizing those students who cannot afford the additional fee. (At this particular school, 32% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.) To make matters worse, Fast Pass sales are not announced in advance and they sell out quickly; those who cannot pay $10 on the spot at registration will likely never have the opportunity to purchase a Fast Pass.

A program like this runs counter to the purpose and promise of public education, which is not only supposed to be the great leveler—a builder of equal opportunity—but also the primary influence on how our values as a democracy emerge in society. How will students develop respect for others, to truly believe that “all men are created equal,” when a school reinforces class inequality by privileging wealthier students?

This divisive practice does not align with the goals of thinking educators who want to teach respect for diversity—including diversity of economic status. Fortunately, there are alternatives. Administrators, faculty and students can work together to raise money in ways that reinforce the values of cooperation, mutual respect and equal civic participation.

These are just a few suggestions for fundraisers that allow greater participation of the school community and do not privilege one group of students over another:

• Create and sell a calendar that features photographs of the great diversity that exists in your school. Include photos of happy, smiling children of all races, ethnicities and economic classes working together on school projects or playing at recess, and make sure to include a photograph of each class so that every student appears in the calendar.

• Plant sales help students learn about biology and allow everyone to participate. Seeds and tiny terra-cotta pots are an inexpensive initial investment; students can plant the seeds, tend to them as they grow, and in a few months the school can hold a plant sale with the results.

• Hold a family-style fundraising dinner in the school cafeteria, where everyone passes the plates and eats together as a community.

• Stage a student art sale. You can work with a company that reproduces artwork on mugs, posters, etc., but original student art, modestly (cheaply) priced, will bring pride to students as their abilities, not their identities, are celebrated.

• Collect used and outgrown clothing and sell it to Goodthrift, http://www.goodthrift.com/, which pays by the pound and helps design the campaign materials and picks up the collected items. This has the added benefit of teaching children about the importance of the environment and recycling.

• Physical activity is also important for today’s youth, given the growing problem of obesity among children. A “walkathon” is something every student can participate in, especially if you call it a “move-athon” to allow students who use wheelchairs or other appliances to participate. In addition to family and friends, solicit local businesses to support the participants.

Events like these tear down walls of difference, instead of creating them like the Fast Pass fundraiser. Such activities support the essential task of our public school system to create responsible and participatory citizens who can work together on an equal basis.

Editor’s note: Fast Passes (or versions of the Fast Pass concept) are not used exclusively in cafeteria lines and can be effective logistical tools when administered thoughtfully. Many schools use Fast Passes fairly and effectively as behavioral incentives or for other reasons that do not violate student rights.

Silos-Rooney is assistant professor of history at MassBay Community College in Massachusetts.