"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Shop at Gap Inc, Support TFA

For the next four days you can use this coupon to get 30% off all Gap Inc. clothing (all Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic stores). Added bonus: Gap Inc. will donate 5% of what you spent to Teach For America. It's American consumption with an extra dash of misguided philanthropy: head to malls in the leafy suburbs or metropolitan temples of consumption to buy clothing made by unfairly compensated overseas laborers (or outright child labor, of which Gap Inc. has a mighty impressive record) and then donate a little extra to support temporary laborers looking for a short gig in public education before jumping to more lucrative sectors (or starting their own charter school). Parents affluent enough to shop at Gap stores can rest assured that their little Jimmy or Jenny are wearing hip clothing while their purchase subsidizes ill-prepared teachers for America's urban schools serving mostly non-white students.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous12:16 AM

    It's gross and absurd, as you so thoughtfully point out. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete