Icky Outside

The weather this week has been, for the most part, rainy and miserable.  Don't get me wrong - I'm glad it has finally gotten cold.  The rain AND the cold has been a little icky, though.  It's that drizzle that just soaks into your bones and leaves you chilled all day. 

I've got a terrible show called Man vs. Wild on in the background as I fold clothes and straighten up my room.  I'm biding my time until Good Eats comes on and trying to ignore the tv.  This show is awful - he is a survivalist who makes his living jumping into horrible situations in the total wild.  He eats terrible bugs and sleeps in caves and mud and all kinds of dirty ickiness.  YUCK! 

Anyway, it's a quiet night in Crazyville.  If I had a fireplace, I'd light it.  Then again, I'm getting sleepy and a lit fire and a sleepy fridaynightgirl is probably not a good combination. 

Went to visit my alma mater today.  I had been wondering if I romanticized my high school days in light of "today's high school" experience.  Turns out, I really didn't.  The high school that served as a second home for four really fun years of my life is a LOT bigger but other than that it's the same place.  Except for the fact that the beloved choir room is in the same general place as it used to be, there is very little about the high school that is recognizable.  It's well lit and warm and remarkably clean.  The kids are clean cut (mostly) and seem to be well-behaved.  (side note: they did look oddly at me when they saw my nametag from the competing district - they had no way of knowing that I was a Tiger, Class of '94)

I was excited to get back to work.  My mind is tossing around ideas that have almost NOTHING to do with Public Relations but more with creating a culture.  It's a lot of sociology.  Ah, a research project.  I have a theory that "urban" societies may not foster the same kind of nurturing culture that children need in order to thrive because they are consumed with survival.  Keeping the children alive is an accomplishment in itself.  Survival takes everything the adults have and the children are otherwise left to fend for themselves for whatever they need.  Education becomes an afterthought.   

I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this, so I'm on a hunt to see if I can find others who share my thought and provide some ideas how to create a culture that not only accepts but loves ALL children; regardless of skin color.  Only once these children feel accepted, cared for and CHERISHED, will they feel safe enough to take the enormous risk that is the learning process. 

What does this have to do with MY job, you might ask?  Afterall, I'm the Public Relations Director - isn't it just my job to spin the news in our favor?  Yes, but the motto for the Office of Public Relations is "Creating Community."  If we can't all get along (come on - this is real life), I can work to create a community where we identify something in which we believe very strongly - children.  I may not care for you and you may not care for me but we both care about the kids and that gives us a starting place from which we can work. 

By understanding this need for a culture that cherishes children - even those that aren't our own - I can help the educators sustain this culture through communication - now that IS my job. 

*rubbing hands together*

This is going to be AWESOME!