Monday letters: Schools turning kids into hucksters

My son came home after the third day of the school year and announced that the school had an assembly for the first fundraiser of the year. A company representative spoke to the students about cash and prizes they could win for selling the most items, including time away from the school day via limousine rides and mobile video gaming stations.

Of course my son was eager to participate after hearing of these prizes.

I am deeply troubled by this method of fund-raising. Taking time from the instructional day to encourage children to compete in selling items for cash and prizes seems incompatible with an educational setting and frankly unethical in practice. Surely there are other fund-raising methods that do not include selling items offered by an outside company for cash and prizes.