Selling at School

Ooh - this won't be pretty, or eloquent, or poetic, or philosophical...I'm just pissed. You would think there might be at least ONE place your kids go to that they aren't subjected to a hard sell/soft sell/anykindofsell.

At my kids' school, they had a writer and illustrator team come in and give a little seminar on how they made their dream (their book) happen. It was quite a good little presentation (as I listened to it a few times over as they brought in a few classes at a time). The women talked about finding something you are good at, practicing it, being patient, working hard, sticking to it, etc., and even a piece about not being jealous because someone is better at something than you are. They read from their book, and explained the background behind it - both the narrative and the artwork...and the kids even responded with a lively question and answer period thereafter.

And the ladies were done. They did say that a flyer was to go home with everyone that explained how they could have their very own book if they wished, and that they should talk it over with Mom and Dad. Okay, I'll give them that.

But then, one of the school staff really let the kids have it. "You could have your very own copy, with your very own name inside, written to you by the author and the illustrator. It would be very special and unique. You can only get that here if you buy the book through us. Wouldn't that be nice to have? Your very own special copy?"

That's not fair. That's just not fair. Of course every kid wants something special. Of course they'll want something personalized from the pretty ladies who talked to them about their dreams coming true. And now, for just under $20 every parent has to make a decision to either avoid the conversation and just send in the money without knowing the actual content of the book (okay, you should be able to trust your school on content - but even that's not a perfect process), or be beleagured by a child or children who now think you don't believe in them or their dreams because you won't buy the book.

Kids are vulnerable. Kids are susceptible to marketing. And as educators, the people we entrust our kids to every day, they should simply know better.

Cookie Time

First time selling Girl Scout cookies since I myself was a Girl Scout. Of course, this is my daughter's turn and I was so very impressed by her ease in producing the pitch, remembering the facts, and turning on the charm. What bothered me was how her persona changed when she participated in the sale with a group of other girls.

Very democratically, each girl took a turn at a house, as we went door-to-door in the old traditional style through our neighborhood. Rory had first dibs because she is the youngest, and the first door she knocked on she came out ahead and strong. Then she watched the older girls on their calls, who are not as bold, not as confident, and much more self-aware. And by Rory's next turn she had completely changed her approach to reflect that of the other girls. This disturbed me somewhat. Don't get me wrong, to an extent I understand...I do...and I can remember the need to fit in, the need to NOT want to stand out, the need to connect with peers on their level to receive their compassion, their sympathy, their perceived friendship. What I can't remember is when that changed for me...and thank goodness it did. Though admittedly, I have felt the pull of the comfort of "normalcy" particurlarly in the parenting mode - though I likely know quite a few folks who would say I've never been "normal", and quite a few who would say I'm the most normal person they know...

I pulled her aside and asked what happened to her approach and she shrugged, looked to the ground and mumbled the age-old cop out, "I don't know,". As the evening wore on she did come back around to her usual self for the most part, but slightly...damper. She enjoyed herself and was proud of her end result and was very tired - so I chose to not harp on her assimilation to the crowd.

Interesting to see it all from above, so to speak...as an observer. What I hope most is that I can teach her to find a balance - to be herself in all its glory, and at the same time, not let it blaze out of control.

Move over, June Cleaver

Two days into this domestic engineer mess and I managed to get the kids clean, ensure their homework was done, make dinner (with homemade french fries AND a green vegetable - OK, Rich did handle the steak on the grill) AND a cake (with decoration) for my husband's birthday, all ready at the right time - and we were done BEFORE 8PM. This allowed us to actually play a family game together before bedtime. What the hell is happening to me!?

So much time...

I am really bad at not working an organized job. I always envision myself as good at it, but then, periodically the opportunity arises and I am terrible. Whereas I could get an inhuman number of items done in a ridiculously small window of time, I seem to get nothing done when I have all day. I suppose I should be a bit easier on myself as this is only day one of my new unemployment. I should look at it as a brain break - before having to delve into new adventure. Right? Well, that's how I'm going to look at it. Brain break. Just hope it don't get dun broke!

2010 - a year of change

That's it. We'll start simple.