Our schools may have trouble teaching children to read, write, and calculate effectively, but they seem to be doing a fine job of equipping them for trips to the mall or McDonalds. According to a front-page story in the the March 21 issue of The New York Times, many state-funded math textbooks routinely feature “a wide array of brand-name consumer products, from Nike and Gatorade to Disneyland and Topps baseball cards, many of which appeared in illustrations as well.” As the story explained, “school districts are seen as prime targets by computer software publishers, fast-food chains, soft-drink bottlers and other corporations, which believe that brand loyalty begins at an early age.”

No doubt it does. And what better way to ensure loyalty than to bombard an audience with the names and images of a particular brand. In one sixth-grade math textbook published by McGraw-Hill, students will find a ...

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