9486 in the collection
Restaurant Fundraiser A McShock For Official
Ohanian Comment: Call me naive, but I admit to being stunned by this event. Kudos to Council member Leventhal. Kudos to teacher Heather Dilatush.
I once argued against my school taking an annual field trip to an amusement park, feeling that a school should demonstrate higher standards. My principal's argument was that it's what the PTA wanted to do (and they were financing it). Money should never trump pedagogy. Or sanity. This McTeacher venture is truly outrageous and appalling. And as Heather Dilatush points out, the school is selling out its dignity--and children's health--for ten cents on the dollar.
By Lori Aratani
Call it the Big Mac Moment.
It happened Thursday, about a half-hour into a routine Montgomery County Council committee meeting on food marketing in the school system. Ameena Batada, co-author of a report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, was briefing council members.
"And at the McTeacher's Night, teachers actually go and work behind the register," she said. "So students can see their teachers behind the cash registers at McDonald's."
Council member George L. Leventhal (D-At Large) interrupted her, disbelief in his voice.
"Teachers are enlisted by McDonald's to work behind the cash register at McDonald's, and students are recruited to go to McDonald's that night to see their teacher dishing out the Big Macs?" he asked with horror. "I never heard of that."
About 20 minutes later, Leventhal spoke up again. "The McDonald's thing really bothers me a lot," he said, his sentiment partly fueled by a concern about childhood obesity. "I mean, I don't know if we'd have a fundraiser at the local cigarette store."
Schools receive a percentage of the sales from McTeacher's Nights.
Sue Amick, president of the PTA of Cedar Grove Elementary School, one of a handful of the Montgomery campuses that have held McTeacher events, said she shares Leventhal's worries about childhood obesity. But she said she doesn't think such events are the problem.
"Offering one night at a restaurant is not going to cause a child to be obese," she said.
Council President Michael Knapp (D-Upcounty), who was also at the hearing, was unfazed. He said McTeacher's Nights have been held at his daughters' schools. "It's just a fun night out," he said.
McDonald's officials said in an e-mail: "Through our long-standing affiliation with educators, including the Maryland State Department of Education and Montgomery County Public Schools, we have developed and supported local initiatives that recognize academic achievement and support the well-being of children. For example, McTeacher's Night brings educators, students, parents, and friends together to raise money for a designated school related cause."
Kate Harrison, a spokeswoman for the Montgomery school system, said it is up to PTAs to decide about fundraising events. "We're not going to get in the business of telling our parents where they can eat," she said.
Dear Councilmember Leventhal:
I am writing to let you know how much I appreciate your very appropriate reaction to the "McTeacher's Night" fundraiser.
As a teacher in Fairfax County, I am insulted every year when I am asked to participate by working behind the counter at our local McDonald's for "McEducator's Night". I am not begrudging anyone who works at McDonald's, however I take my job seriously and do not identify my teaching as "McTeaching" or "McEducating."
Additionally, what other profession asks their professional staff to work at a fast food establishment to raise money? What the article failed to mention was that school receives 10% of the proceeds, so you can guess who really reaps the benefits of this "fundraiser."
What is also amusing is that in our Metro section of the Post, there is a piece in the "Week in Review" about the Virginia Senate targeting trans fats in the public schools. The folks quoted in the article that stated that, "Offering one night at a restaurant is not going to cause a child to be obese--and "It's just a fun night out"--are missing the point. This fundraiser sends a mixed message to the community about how serious we all are about childhood obesity.
Thank you again for your thoughts. This ridiculous and uncreative idea of a fundraiser needs to end.
Heather Dilatush
— Lori Aratani
Washington Post
2008-02-03
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
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