Would you like a chalupa with that diploma?

Here's my diploma...brought to you by Carl's Jr.

But Annie Kidder of the parents group People for Education countered: "The minute you end up with a Wal-Mart Public School ... you are taking away the notion of the importance of public education, which is to provide every child, no matter where they live or the income of their parents, with an equal chance at success."

Exactly! who cares whether or not your school district can afford sports and music programs or actual text books just so long as we can maintain the notion of the importance of public education.

"Fuck You, I'm Eating!"

Wether or not she articulated it properly, I think she makes a good point in that not a lot of people are going to take a graduate from Taco Bell High all that seriously. Whether or not that's a fucked up notion (and, for the record, it is), it's something I can definitely see happening. People are already up at arms over the Nominal Corporate Takeover of something as trivial as a sports arena, so I can definitely see how this may hurt the child's chances in the long run.

That all depends, of course, on who the rights are sold to. A graduate from Microsoft High may actually end up with a better shot than someone from a regular high school. Hopefully the people in charge will be a bit more responsible than to sell the name to a Wal-Mart or a Taco-Bell.

I don't think it matters all that much, actually. Why would any corporation get involved at all if they didn't think they could get something out of it? Whether the corporation in question is indoctrinating the kids to crave Taco Bell and Pepsi products or to buy Microsoft products, it's still corporate indoctrination. I'd guess that, whatever the corporation, the chief appearance of that corporation will be in product placement - in other words, you'll get Taco Bell for lunch or Microsoft logos all over the place; it's not like it's going to manifest in teachers sent directly from Silicon Valley (or, alternately, your local fast food establishment). I'm not sure you'd want that, anyway, since computer programmers aren't generally known for their teaching abilities.

Simon: And think about this: what's Eric Scott plus Earl Hammer, Jr.

Jerry the truck driver: Scott and Hammer Jr? That's 'The Waltons'!

McClane: And figure out which school has something to do with The Waltons!
Zeus: Did you say The Waltons? As in Sam Walton? My kids go to Wal-Mart Elementary School! Fuck!

You're right -- doesn't have the same ring to it.

"Carl's Jr. ... Fuck You! I'm Eating!"

Here's to hoping that the inevitable Carl's Jr. School of Arteriosclerotic Arts has THAT emblazoned on their institution's burger-and-smiling-star-shaped crest.

PS: apologies to the above poster who beat me to the punch on the Idiocracy quote; didn't see it as I scrolled down!

Okay, not that it was all that funny when I did it, but come on - it's only five posts up.

Exactly. Bears repeating.

On the plus side(read:size) it would be pretty easy for these places to come up with mascots. The south side Burger King's. The taco bell border runners. The KFC chicken shits,The Panda express stray cats, etc.

ESPECIALLY if you're applying to Taco Bell or Walmart. Think about it.

"Think you've got what it takes to be Taco Bell material, son?"
"Well, I was always taught in school to think outside the bun..."

That's when you bust out into the Taco Bell almamater.

Shoe. In.

Oh of course - the influence would obviously not go beyond brand or product placement, but I was just talking about the perception from the outside world. How prospective employers or college admissions people are going to view a student from Taco Bell High, just because he came from Taco Bell High.

The Road to Jennifer Government begins.

I don't think that would be an issue. If that was the case, students from small towns with High Schools no one has ever heard of would never get into college. College admissions don't care about the name of your H.S., it's all about grades and money. If you have the money and/or the grades, you're H.S. could be named Anal Rape High and it wouldn't make a bit of difference (but showering after gym class might suck)

It all depends on how much funding the companies are giving to a school. Unless Taco Bell for example is willing to build, staff and run a school, I doubt they'll get their name on it. It's not worth it because of the small amount of visibility compared to cost. It's not like having your company's name on a stadium, which would be seen by millions of people every other day.

I know people have been quoting Idiocracy in regards to this story but I do remember this being touched in that 2015 episode of the Simpsons with the Pepsi Elementary school.

Sure I find this really strange and inappropriate (There aren't other ways to get more funds into the schools?) but how exactly would this be a hinderance to getting employment just cuz your high school changed it's name to that? For that matter, who ever had such an interview where the employer gave a shit about the high school you went to.?

The next logical step is sponsored national healthcare plans--"This flu shot brought to you by Mazda. Zoom zoom zoo--OW!"

Even if you disregard the idea of colleges being less enthusiastic about applicants from Taco Bell High, there's still the question of pervasive corporate influence via a barrage of advertising, meal plans*, and perhaps even curriculum. In the latter case, I'm not saying that History of Taco Bell 101 is going to pop up as a social studies elective, but I could certainly see a highly unusual focus on the advantages of a (very) free-market economy showing up in how textbooks are ordered and maybe even how curriculums are designed.

Basically, there would be an agenda. A corporate-run public school would be teaching ideology in a way that public high schools typically attempt to avoid nowadays. If your parents want ideology paired with your basic education, they send you to a private school or home-school you.

* The idea of Taco Bell having a hand in menu options at a public school should be terrifying enough (and you know that they'll have a hand in this aspect of the school - gotta create Taco Bell customers of the future). I read about a situation in which kids with behavioral problems were given nutritious food at lunch instead of the fast food-style shit they'd been given prior, and they became more well-behaved and got better grades.

the only "good" food to eat at my high school was mc'ds tacobell and premade subway they brought in.