Susan Hyde is a university American literature and composition instructor, freelance writer, wife to Steve and mom to two wonderful boys. She has published stories for Pregnancy Magazine, The American Chesapeake Bulletin, iparenting.com, The Bad Mother Chronicles, Suite101.com, MainePets.com and Raising Maine Magazine. Her homeschooled boys, Aaron and Robby, inspire her daily to be a better teacher and learner. @EducatingMama
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Subway Disses Two Million Homeschoolers.
May 26, 2008 01:04 PM
No matter their chosen curriculum, most homeschoolers seek opportunities for authentic, real life, hands-on learning. We take our kids on frequent fieldtrips, we ask them to help with projects that require math, writing and critical thinking... and, along the way, we often end up hungry and in need of a quick, healthy lunch.
The marketing department at Subway is sponsoring a writing contest promoting healthy eating. Wow... cool... an opportunity to talk about nutrition and to write for a "real life" situation... right? Wrong.
At the bottom of the web page that promotes the contest is the following disclaimer: "Contest is open only to legal US residents, over the age of 18 with children in either elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted."
... and so, in one six-word sentence, Subway chose to disregard two million potential customers... who might need lunch on the way to their next authentic learning event.
Oh, and, yoohoo... hello? American Public Schools? There are now an estimated TWO MILLION kids who have fled the system... and I guarantee you that most of those who have made the exodus will NOT be left behind.
For what it's worth, though, the words "basket" and "United States" were both misspelled on the original web page announcing the contest. They've taken the time to change "Untied States" to "U.S." (maybe the public school elites in the marketing department couldn't figure out how to spell "United"?). "Bastket" remains unedited.
Click here for Home Education Magazine's take on the subject.
The marketing department at Subway is sponsoring a writing contest promoting healthy eating. Wow... cool... an opportunity to talk about nutrition and to write for a "real life" situation... right? Wrong.
At the bottom of the web page that promotes the contest is the following disclaimer: "Contest is open only to legal US residents, over the age of 18 with children in either elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted."
... and so, in one six-word sentence, Subway chose to disregard two million potential customers... who might need lunch on the way to their next authentic learning event.
Oh, and, yoohoo... hello? American Public Schools? There are now an estimated TWO MILLION kids who have fled the system... and I guarantee you that most of those who have made the exodus will NOT be left behind.
For what it's worth, though, the words "basket" and "United States" were both misspelled on the original web page announcing the contest. They've taken the time to change "Untied States" to "U.S." (maybe the public school elites in the marketing department couldn't figure out how to spell "United"?). "Bastket" remains unedited.
Click here for Home Education Magazine's take on the subject.
LUV2LOSE says,
I think the home schooled children were excluded because Subway fears they have an unfair advantage. I'm willing to be most home schooled kids can write circles around their public, private, and parochial school attending peers! Joking aside (although that wasn't exactly a joke) what good reason could Subway really have for banning children who are home schooled??????
May 26, 2008 01:20 PM
divagirl says,
Jackie - this very issue came up when I was teaching, and this was the "rationale": You were correct about the "advantage" thing. It seems that corporate America thinks that a student should have a teacher present when writing so as to ward off plagiarism... So, are we to think that MOST of home-school moms are writing their children's work??! Hey, school kids are not all writing in class; many do theirs at home,also, and I don't see anyone getting all bent out of shape about it. Does Subway not think that THOSE moms may be "helping" a bit??? Not only is this flagrant descrimination, but just plain stupid marketing from a business POV. One word, Susan: Wendys.
May 26, 2008 01:45 PM
LUV2LOSE says,
Oh man! Back when my kids were in middle school and I would go to the science fairs it was obvious that nine out of ten projects were done by the parents AND equally obvious was that the teachers all knew it and didn't care. Perhaps they thought that these really cool projects reflected well on their teaching abilities?
May 26, 2008 01:53 PM
SBHFreelance says,
Most definitely, Jackie... and, you know what else? When I teach my college composition students about plagiarism, I'll frequently hear about how students "know someone" who bought a paper... or how "everyone does it." Having been a public school English teacher with anywhere from 85 to 155 students in any given year, I know exactly why it is that students can go on to college thinking that they'll never get caught. English teachers in most public school situations are often overwhelmed by the number of papers they have to read...
May 26, 2008 04:21 PM
Girl Talk says,
Susan, it seems absurd that they would disregard and discriminate against home-shcooled children... that's just unbelievable!
May 26, 2008 04:20 PM
LifeAsISeeIt
jro says,
This is indeed unbelievable. Thanks for sharing, Susan. Any plan for a letter to Subway or course of action from the homeschooling community????
May 26, 2008 06:10 PM
Bootstraps says,
Good idea Jen. What better way to get the writing still in and do some civic action, too. So strange that Subway would dis homeschoolers. Can't imagine plagiarism is a viable reason.
May 26, 2008 07:41 PM
SBHFreelance says,
The Home Education link provides some contact information, and there is at least one petition "out there." I posted a complaint to their essay contest site, and I think that a good number of us will use our dollars elsewhere.
May 27, 2008 11:02 AM
Happy Mom says,
This is nuts on a grand scale and a bummer on a minor personal one too since until now, Subway was the only place I'd be willing to stop and grab food when on the run. We'll have to stock up on snack bars and trail mix now I suppose! In addition to letters, hopefully the power of the protesting dollar will communicate a message loud and clear where it matters.
May 27, 2008 10:08 AM
SBHFreelance says,
I'd love Subway, but I won't be eating there either. Other establishments with school age events -- like Pizza Hut, for instance -- do include homeschoolers.
May 27, 2008 04:26 PM
yomama1081 says,
I just read an article about a young lady-very accomplished, excellent grades, active in the community, who had the organization she won a scholarship from yank it back because she was homeschooled. No more eating fresh for me, either!
Jun 13, 2008 09:10 AM
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