South Dakota Teacher “Dash for Cash”

[RedAngie]

A minor league hockey team and a mortgage lender sponsored an event where teachers who volunteered to participate could scramble for money on the ice between periods of the hockey game.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna8704
“A group of South Dakota teachers scrambled for cash between periods of a minor league hockey game to help raise money for their classrooms, a promotional event that is being criticized over its optics and concerns over teacher pay and shortages around the country.

Ten teachers competed for $5,000 in the “Dash for Cash” on Saturday, in a promotion put on by the Sioux Falls Stampede Hockey Club and CU Mortgage Direct, a local lender.

Videos showed teachers on their knees scrambling to collect dollar bills in the middle of the rink, many stuffing the money in their shirts, as spectators watched.

The event drew widespread criticism after the videos went viral online, with critics calling the competition demeaning.”



Many (almost all of whom were not present) are outraged and say the stunt was demeaning. From what I’ve read, not a single participant feels the same. They say it was a fun event in which they willingly chose to compete.

Thoughts?

 

[Sinder]

People love to complain

 

[Allison]

I would never do that.

 

[Carol_]

My income doubled in the past month, but I’ll still bend over to pick up a dime on the street. Free money is free money.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Poor SD educators.
The adjective works figuratively and literally.

 

[wvjules]

They could have, you know, donated the money to the schools.

 

[NYCgrrl]

They could have, you know, donated the money to the schools.

Which is what they wound up doing when others pointed out the optics. Plus several thousand more.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

If I was presented with the opportunity to participate, I would be in the thick of it. It sounds like fun.

 

[ronandannette]

A minor league hockey team and a mortgage lender sponsored an event where teachers who volunteered to participate could scramble for money on the ice between periods of the hockey game...
..The event drew widespread criticism after the videos went viral online, with critics calling the competition demeaning.”
Many (almost all of whom were not present) are outraged and say the stunt was demeaning. From what I’ve read, not a single participant feels the same. They say it was a fun event in which they willingly chose to compete.

Thoughts?

Oh for Pete’s sake, it wasn’t the Hunger Games. This kind of thing goes on in small towns all over and it’s fun. Your last paragraph says it all.

They could have, you know, donated the money to the schools.

They were donating money to schools. After the ridiculous backlash, the companies donated $15,000 more dollars so each of the participants could have the full $5,000 for their school, according to the news report I heard. Everybody happy now? My guess is that the companies won’t sponsor anything next year.

 

[Kitty 34]

I played basketball with a bunch of other Moms (some were teachers) to raise money. It was quite a site to say the least but it was all in good fun and went to a good cause.

 

[sam_gordon]

So instead of being upset that teacher pay is low, and teachers don't have enough money for supplies, let's criticize the people who put on the event. Yup, makes sense.

 

[momz]

I would not have participated. But if someone else wants to grovel around on the floor for dollar bills, go for it. But, for me, the potential gain is not worth being in the embarrassing position to be crawling around on the floor in front of a cheering crowd for dollars. I'm a professor and I can't imagine my students seeing me doing something like that.

 

[dcassetta]

The optics on this were bad. The organization could have funded the teachers' needs and gotten great press for that instead of having them scramble on the ground.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

They were trying to do a nice thing of donating money to teachers and did it in a stupid tonedeaf way. I doubt any malice was intended, but somebody needed to think this through

 

[neverlandsky]

I absolutely wouldn’t of participated. I had a job wanting me to lay my entire body on the dirty retail floor to form a shape with others so they take a picture for social media for advertisement. I was the only one in the group that refused to it and opted out. Employers were shocked I wouldn’t do it.

It’s demeaning and embarrassing these type of “stunts” for social media / to go viral.

 

[mom2rtk]

No good deed and all that.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

I see it as the same thing as any other event that companies put on. It was to get the name of the company out there. Whether it worked for or against the company is irrelevant; it did what it was supposed to do. (In this case, there is some backlash; but the company did follow through with those teachers in the end, so it ends well.)

I see it as no different than a bridal shop holding a 'who can hold onto the dress the longest to win it' or 'shoot a basket from mid court to win $10K' or a 'hula hoop the longest for a trip to Maui' contest.

Would I do it (whether as a teacher or not)? Maybe.

 

[kdonnel]

I can see both sides.

Turning teachers into strippers cleaning up the ones off the ground can be funny to many.

Turning teachers into strippers cleaning up the ones off the ground can be demeaning to many.

Teachers are some of the worst valued individuals in our society based on pay and resources provided. My wife spends in excess of $2000 a year of her salary buying needed supplies for her classroom.

If they wanted to give back to the community, raise the money and give it to the teachers randomly selected.

Don't make them perform so you can profit off others donations.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I'm a school librarian - I would have gladly participated in an event like this for the chance to get $5000 to buy library books with. In my opinion it's just silly fun.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

No broken bones or cracked skulls this time around on the ice? Sounds like an accident waiting to happen.