Hey! Pizza Hut! Leave those kids alone
March 5, 2007 · By Joel
Pizza Hut’s Book It, [is] an incentive program used by 50,000 schools nationwide to reward young readers with free pizzas. The program is now under attack by child-development experts who say it promotes bad eating habits and turns teachers into corporate promoters.
Book It, which reaches about 22 million children a year, “epitomizes everything that’s wrong with corporate-sponsored programs in school,” said Susan Linn, a Harvard psychologist and co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.
“In the name of education, it promotes junk food consumption to a captive audience … and undermines parents by positioning family visits to Pizza Hut as an integral component of raising literate children,” Linn said.
Or, in other words:
Let me explain to you how this works: you see, the corporations finance [children's literacy programs], and then [children learn how to read]… and the corporations sit there in their… in their corporation buildings, and… and, and see, they’re all corporation-y… and they make money.
I think Linn’s absolutely right. Encouraging eight-year-olds to read by offering them pizza is a terrible idea. Instead, we should sit the kids down, and explain to them that in ten years or so, they’re going to be taking the SATs, and it’s very important for the SATs that you be able to read, and you want to do well on the SATs, because if you don’t do well on the SATs, then you won’t get into a good college, and if you don’t get into a good college, then you won’t get the opportunity to be taught by geniuses like Susan Linn, and if you’re not taught by a genius like Susan Linn, then life’s really not worth living at all.
That method would be way more effective than giving them pizza.
Damn corporations with their money and their generous literacy programs just screw everything up.
I recall when I was a younger lad my local provincial library offered a similar system through local KFC outlets; it was sort-of like a coffee card, except after you checked-out 5 books you got a free coupon for a small KFC sandwich snack. Granted, I wasn’t a fan of the particular snack at the time, but it was a nice incentive all the same! I think the idea is a great one.
Granted, I would have read either way – even at 8 years old I was a voracious reader. Many fond memories of Roald Dahl stories…I should grab a copy of his autobiography, now that I think about it!
Okay, since when did pizza become a junk food? Someone forgot to tell me about this! Doesn’t pizza have all of the things recommended in the Canada food guide? Okay, I’m not saying eat it everyday, but come on, it’s a heck of a lot better than a hamburger and fries.
She obviously doesn’t have any kids of her own. If my kid will read a book for pizza, I’m all for it!!!
Um, guys – pizza is hardly “junk food”, and what is Pizza Hut doing that’s so wrong here??
Luckily, any rational parent at home watching the news can think clearly enough to realize Linn is out of her tree.
Pizza is generally not junk food but a slice from pizza hut has got enough grease to lube up a 747.