Public Relations?

I did a TV interview today with 3TV about All Day Kindergarten in the Kyrene School District. This task came to me because I handle 'all things Kindergarten' at the district level. (Somebody said to me today, but I thought you handled Title I, and sex ed... yep... well... add Kindergarten to that mix!)

(If you'd like to see the interview, you can see it here... and you can catch both Colin and I in the video as it was shot in his Kindergarten classroom)

In the past year, I have been interviewed on television five times and have been interviewed countless times for the newspaper- all in ways that relate to my job. I don't mind doing this- and I have to admit that I still get a little thrill out of being on TV or being quoted in the paper. It's different than my regular work- and I usually get to speak about topics that I am really passionate about (no sex ed jokes here please!).

But, as I was coming back to the district office I started thinking about the media and how it relates to Kyrene- and then more globally about how it relates to our society. See, when I first started in Kyrene, I don't think we were 'covered' nearly as much in the media. Sure, every once in awhile there was a story- usually more print than television- and especially in the local papers- but it was every once in awhile. Now, it seems like our district is on TV all the time... just think if I've been interviewed 5 times this year and I only deal with a handful of programs... how many interviews have there been altogether?

Part of this is due to the public relations person that works in our district. She has strong ties to both the newspaper and the television stations- and she's out there asking for the stories. But I think part of it has to do with the incessant coverage of everything that is happening in our world today. Seems like the media is desparate for news to cover- and I don't know that it's always a good thing. Take the Swine Flu for example... that was one that got blown WAY out of proportion and I really think the media had a LOT to do with it.

So, here's the question... is the media coverage of our district good or bad? When I look at the story today- it's good. This was great coverage about All Day Kindergarten and all that it has to offer for kids. Hopefully it will expand a few individual's minds when they think about what Kindergarten is and isn't...

But what about when the story isn't good? When the story is slanted (like some of the recent coverage of the sex education curriculum) and not accurate? When the story is created simply to try to create some anxiety- to CREATE controversy? What then?

Seems to me that it's a bit like playing Russian Roulette... and I'm not quite sure I'm ready to play with that gun on a regular basis.

Guess that's why I chose *public* education and NOT *public* relations as my profession.

Can Women Have It All?

For those of you who also follow me on Twitter and/ or Facebook, you know that I kept a close eye on my hours at work last week. I ended the week with a grand total of 57 hours worked in 5 days. It was a really rough week for my physically and a very hard week for my family... but in a way it was a great 'work' week. I wrapped up a couple of big projects, presented something I've been working on for quite awhile to the Governing Board, and was audited (successfully) by the ADE. And this got me thinking...

Three years ago I left the principalship over weeks like last week. I found that 50-60 hour weeks were the norm for that job, rather than the exception. And, I have to admit, my work life during that time was very rewarding in a lot of ways. I rode the 'high' when projects got completed, when we had a good outcome for a student, or when an evening event was successful. I rode the high of looking over a completed week and knowing just how much I had accomplished during that time at work. In a way, I think I also rode the high of just having the stamina to complete multiple weeks like that in a row.

On the flip side of that coin however, were a lot of lows. I had the low of really not being with my kids- of not knowing my kids as human beings. I had the low of watching other people (mainly my parents and Joe) take my kids places and do fun things with them because Mommy just wasn't available. I had the low of not talking to my husband about anything real or important for months at a time. I also had the low of never, ever exercising... and eating like complete and total crap (which, by the way, was a habit I returned to quickly during the chaos of last week). And finally, I had the low of just simply becoming a person that I didn't really like very much- a person who was very selfish and self-centered.

Now, I have a job that has very few highs- last week was a big exception on that front. For the most part I sit at a desk and push paper. I spend a lot of time balancing budgets and working with numbers (not a huge interest area for me) and I feel like I have VERY little impact on children or on families (which is why I got in this business in the first place). My current job deals a lot with the 'politics' of education. I guess the best way to say it is that my current job has lots of lows.

But my current life has LOTS of highs. It's a high knowing my kids and being a solid part of their daily routine. It's a high that most nights we eat a home cooked dinner together as a family. It's a high to sit and do homework with Colin and watch him learn to read- bit by bit. Taking Julia to choir and Colin to Karate and being part of their activities is a wonderful high. It's a high that Joe and I manage a date night at least once a month, and that we have time to spend together most nights. One of the best highs is that he's still awake when I get home, even when I have a late night, and I can cuddle up with him and fall asleep in his arms. My new body is a high too- it isn't perfect- but is much better than it used to be.

I know which set of highs I want. And I've made choices that support that set of highs, and clearly show my husband and my children their value in my world. I know that some day Julia and Colin will be grown up and won't need me the way that they do now. I am proud of the choices that I have made in my marriage, in my family, in my career and in my life.

But, now and then, I do miss the work high. Just a little bit... and during weeks like last week I see how quickly and easily I could get drawn back into the fast paced high that work could offer to me. Probably a grass is always greener on the other side type of situation, but...

When our mothers and fathers and society told us (girls) that we could have IT ALL... were they lying to us?