Rebranding an Old Product

From Wikipedia: Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors, competitors, and other stakeholders.

On Friday I was heading to the grocery store from school and on the way I passed a trailer park. No fancy name, in fact the road is Mobile Home Park. The home on the end is what I call a "single-wide." I'm sure inside there is a kitchen, living/dining room, a couple of bedrooms and 1 or 2 bathrooms. When double-wides came along they were considered luxurious improvements to the single-wide. The term trailer was replaced with mobile home and then modular (they didn't have trailer hitches!). As I drove I was thinking about a friend who had just visited a city and was so excited about renting a "tiny house" in someone's backyard. She posted pictures of this "new idea."

This leads me to my rebranding thoughts. Aren't tiny houses just what may have been know as "starter homes" or "trailers" or "mobile homes?"  Many "tiny houses" are mobile so they avoid some of the zoning and tax regulations but they are still homes that people live in. Their appeal right now is they are generally built with the idea of being environmentally friendly. High efficiency and low impact. They seem to be the answer to the years of "McMansions" when everyone was building or buying houses that were ridiculously over-sized and energy wasters. I guess the 20 teens will be known as the housing market of energy savers and space savers.

I find it fun to watch as these fads come and go and the changes that happen. What is the future of the "tiny house" revolution? I have no idea but I find I can get caught up in the hoopla easily until one of these observations/thoughts hits me. Now I find with each Facebook (another weird fascination) post about a tiny house I'm a little less excited as I think, "how is this different than a redesigned trailer?". 

I love the idea of de-cluttering and reducing my footprint but for now I'll just stay put in the house that made an impact a couple of hundred years ago and still stands with lots of work needing to be done. The farmers that build the main part of this house probably never worried about their impact just the ability to stay warm and protected through all the crazy weather Vermont would send their way. I think I'll just be thankful for the shelter it provides and watch the fads in housing continue with "new and improved" ideas passing me by. I'm sure I'll never live in anything that would make Architecture Digest or House Beautiful!

(P.S. if you are monitoring my writing daily in February you will see I missed yesterday! I had this entry started and discussed it but didn't get it posted. I'm not perfect in any way so there will be another today to keep up my challenge.)

Sometimes Life is Difficult

Tonight I learned my son's roommate got a call none of us ever want to receive. His mom called to say his father had died. My son was wondering how to handle this as a friend. Such a tough thing for a 21 year-old to deal with. Hopefully he will be able to provide some comfort as his friend deals with this ordeal. I wish there was some way I could offer comfort to both of them.

Poetry with Ralph Fletcher

A few years ago I attended a workshop by Ralph Fletcher. If you want to learn how to get kids writing (and adults) read his work. He's a master at motivating boys to read and write and he's especially engaging as a presenter. At this presentation he shared a technique where you use parts of a published poem and then create your own.

The Good Old Times
by Ralph Fletcher

Sometimes I remember
the good old days,
Sitting on the kitchen floor
with my brothers and sister,
each on our own square
of cool linoleum.
I'm fresh from the bath,
wearing baseball pajamas.
Mom gives us a cup of milk,
two cookies, a kiss goodnight,
I still can't imagine
anything better than that.

We read and reread the poem and then wrote something it made us remember from the "good old days." We shared with a partner and then he had us take the bold lines from the beginning and end of his poem and fill in the middle with our own memory. In looking at my journal I can see all the changes, scratch outs, and edits I was making that day and then I revisited it 10 months later and worked on it some more. Here's how his inspiration became my memory!

Sometimes I remember
the good old days,
sitting on the soft rug
leaning against the hard couch.
Mom scratches my back,
knowing just where it itches.
Dad snores in the La-Z-Boy
while Beau snuggles in next to him.
Wonderful World of Disney on the TV,
a fire flickers and crackles in the hearth.
I still can't imagine
anything better than that.

This instantly brings a vision of a quiet Sunday night in the living room of our house in California. I would have been in elementary school (probably 4th grade). Our dog, Beau, was a major part of my life so I find it funny I picture him in the big recliner with Dad since I think he would have been with me. This seems peaceful and serene. I loved that house and my time in California. My favorite childhood memories always return to that area and that time in my life. I don't believe it really was as idyllic as I now picture (I know it wasn't) but this Rockwell image is one I cherish.

Thank you Ralph for helping me return to this spot through your workshop!

Yankee/Southerner

No matter how long I live in the north I won't understand some of the oddities I encounter as a child of the south.  I Recently attended a conference at a hotel in Vermont and once again I wondered how in the world something so simple is so foreign in this land!

When I first visited Vermont with my then boyfriend we went out to lunch at a fairly nice restaurant. I was always an iced tea drinker so I ordered "tea" with my sandwich. The woman showed up with a little hot pot and tea bag. I looked confused and said, "oh, I meant iced tea!" She made a funny face and said, "this isn't iced tea season." She said this with a very straight face. After she left I looked at Bruce and asked what that meant. He said he'd never thought about it but people in Vermont didn't really drink iced tea. When she returned I asked for a glass of ice so I could make my tea iced. I believe she thought I was from another planet. She brought me a little highball glass and 2 small cubes of ice. This is when I realized I was in a foreign land.

If you are reading this and are from the north you may not understand why this was all so confusing to me. In the south you are never far from glasses filled with ice and topped with the beverage of choice -- coke or iced tea. We like a little beverage with our ice. It is just the opposite in this foreign land I now call home. I sometimes order water and am asked if I'd like ice. Hell yes I want ice! I realize the water comes out of the tap ice cold but you still need ice cubes to make it a beverage.

Back to that conference. At lunch time they put out a beverage service with pitchers of coke, diet coke, lemonade, and "iced tea."  There was no ice to be found and the pitcher didn't contain any ice. I returned to my table ranting, "how can it be ICED tea if it doesn't have ice?" My colleagues kind of laughed but didn't see the importance in my whining. I found an employee and asked if it was possible to have a container of ice so we could truly have ICED tea. She smiled and brought out a container of ice. I believe I was the only person in the room to FILL a glass with ice and then cover it with tea. It was good tea (what a relief) and my afternoon could continue.

There have been over 35 years since my first tea experience in the north and the recent one. I have noticed more infiltration of southerners in Vermont and a fascination with the culture which means a bit more understanding of iced tea as an option. McDonald's started serving fresh brewed tea that is served in a tall cup with a full measure of ice. I am guaranteed a great cup of tea if there is a McDonald's in the area. In restaurants I still have to be sure to order ICED tea or I get one of those little pots of hot water and a tea bag. I also have learned to ask if it is brewed or fountain. The stuff that is served from the fountain is pretty nasty and I always have to stick to water at places that believe this is tea.

In most ways I have adjusted to life in the north but that incident last month reminded me that the Mason Dixon Line was drawn for a reason and I believe food and beverages may have been one of the reasons. That boyfriend who brought me to visit Vermont has been my husband for over 35 years and still puts up with my rants when it comes to ICED tea.

I have made one beverage concession in order to fit in more easily and that is I have learned to say "soda" when referring to carbonated drinks. I'm careful when I visit my relatives because a slip of that term will get me labeled "Yankee" faster than ice melts under hot tea! Any good southerner knows that the term "coke" refers to any carbonated beverage, but that's another story!

What College Did You Attend?

This entry is one of those thoughts that occurred to me in the shower! Sometimes I compose a whole essay in my head as I shower in the morning. If I don't write down what the thought was as soon as I'm done it's gone. This particular idea came to me in response to an earlier conversation with a friend who is convinced children need to attend the "right" college.

What is the "right" college? I've posed this when talking to many of the parents in my area since it seems to be a major topic of conversation. Kids are pressured to apply to colleges they aren't even interested in because you need to try to get into the "right" college. Between my two sons there were a total of 5 college applications while most of their classmates applied to a minimum of 10 each! We live in the NE and almost of the appropriate choices are private and very expensive. My children did not see the need to apply to these (in my opinion) over-rated/overpriced colleges/universities. My older son did attend a small private college but the fit was perfect since it was filled with geeky/nerdy students with whom he identified. He's proud to be nerdy, got a very good scholarship, and graduated with aerospace engineering degree. My younger son attends a state university that he decided he liked by their recruiting video! It was the only university he applied to and he had done the research to know he would be accepted and he qualified for one of their merit scholarships which he received. He is on track to graduate next year with a physics engineering degree. I think he'd rather be closer to home but he's making it work.

I grew up in the south and the only options discussed were state universities. There was no talk of a private college so you chose your university by the football team you supported! That may not be totally true but for some families you would be disowned if you attended the "wrong" university. I attended the University of Florida (NOT Florida State) and loved getting out and into a new world. It wasn't the right time for me so I quit after two years (I did receive an Associates Degree so returning was easy). When I returned in my late 20s I was ready to focus and get that degree. Guess what -- I don't believe I've ever been asked what college I attended to validate my worth in my career or life.

What concerns me is the pressure that high school children are being put under when the reputation or name is more important than the personal fit. I'm sure those Ivy League schools have good professors but so do the colleges and universities that aren't as well known. If I want a cut-throat, better-than-you environment it might be a good match but I don't think it would make much difference 10 years down the road. To add to the stress there seems to be only one direction being offered to the high school students -- four year colleges. Our world is changing so fast and the careers are very different from when I graduated. Many of our most famous business moguls dropped out of those "right" universities and pursued their visions to great success. I don't believe there is one right way yet my generation seems stuck on pushing the next generation on the same route of 30 years ago. There has to be a better way to guide our children and ensure their success as adults in this ever changing world.

This is the first "shower rant" I've actually jotted down in a journal and then taken to the page! I think I'll keep a special shower journal in the bathroom just so I can capture these DEEP thoughts that occur while I luxuriate in my very hot, very tiny shower!

February Challenge

I've tried to write in journals regularly and the result is A LOT of journals with a little bit of writing in each one. When I try to find something I remember writing I have to dig through many journals trying to remember when and where that writing took place. For my February challenge I am going to try to do daily writing on this blog.

A few educators who I admire because of their ability to get me to write and the amazing writing they get from their students are right next to me whispering, "if you want to teach writing you have to write." If I want to inspire children and colleagues I have to experience what I'm asking them to do. A sentence starter or story starter (whatever you want to call it) is not writing. It is filling in a blank or two to get a grade. I want children and adults I work with to write from their hearts, share their words, revisit their work, and be proud! It's important that I trust that our youngest (and oldest) writers can face a blank piece of paper and end up with something they want to revisit, share, hide, cry over, laugh over, and bask in its beauty.

Now it is time for me to embark on a month of writing in one place! As I thumb through my many journals and read some of my writing I am reminded of memories I've written about and taken back to a time that I felt was worth memorializing in words. Some are silly and some are sad. What is most frustrating is remembering something I've written and wanted to revisit it but I can't find it in the many pages of the many journals! I can beat myself up and give up or just accept that this is who I am and move forward. I'll move forward. . .

While thumbing through my journals looking for a piece that I wrote from a memory of my Uncle Mac I found writing related to my mom's death, my dad's stubbornness, my third grade teacher who looked like Katie from "My Three Sons," and many pieces about my grandparents. In most cases family was the common denominator. For my challenge I am going to choose one piece from one of the journals and expand on it or see where it takes me as a launching pad. Stay tuned as I try to stay on course and navigate through a month of writing on this blog (all in one place!).

Importance -- What Content?

What do you feel was your most valuable course(s) in middle/high school? That is what I've been thinking about -- A LOT -- in recent months. Why would this be of importance? In all the talks about how much time we teach the "content" areas and how we need more time for "content" I keep thinking about my life and my strong feeling that what now may be considered "fluff" is what I remember and return to as an adult.

Do I ever use the quadratic equation? Do I sit and compare the themes of two novels that I didn't choose to read? If I need to know what country is currently being attacked would I refer to an encyclopedia and write a summary? The answer to all these is no! If I want to cook dinner do I know how to measure, adjust, read a recipe, and create a meal? If I rip my clothes do I know how to mend or sew on a button? If I need to determine how much money I need to earn in order to create a budget ensures food and shelter can I figure that out? The answer to all of these is yes! Yes, they rely on me being able to read and to understand math but more, these skills mean I can live day-to-day and face challenges that are part of my everyday life and contribute to our society.

In a recent meeting a discussion was taking place about what is taught in a middle school course that in some schools is "Family and Consumer Sciences" or "Living Arts" or some other fancy name to not call it Home Economics. The content was  nutrition, drug/alcohol/tobacco awareness, and sexual education. I asked about cooking, sewing, budgeting. I was told the sewing machines had been sold or lent to another organization. Cooking falls in the nutrition area and the students learn about nutrition and fix healthy snacks during part of the year. I'm not sure household budgeting was mentioned.

I pushed on the topic of sewing and was told (by an administrator, not the teacher) that was fine for an after school activity but in this era we needed more time for content. That word "content" comes up a lot. I was pretty disappointed and shared my feelings. I was told if I could show a schedule that allowed "enough" time for content instruction and time for sewing to go ahead. What is enough "content" and why isn't the learning in all venues considered "content?"  How can students apply all this content if they aren't participating in real life tasks. All these questions!

All these questions have left me reflecting on my education and trying not to sound like, "When I went to school blah, blah, blah." I went to school in Florida at a pretty good junior high (7th-9th with about 2000 students) and we had the typical 6 periods a day and a lunch break. I had English, Math, Social Studies, PE, Home Economics, Science, Spanish, Typing (that dates me!), Art, Photography and I'm others across a school year. Our school day was 7:25-2:25 (7 hours). I think our lunch was 30 minutes and there was some sort of recess/break time on the patio. Our class periods were probably 50 minutes five days a week.

I tend to think of the baby boomer generation as fairly well educated individuals who are readers and competent with numbers and concepts. We attended fairly traditional schools in a time of limited technology. With the advent and explosion of technology our society has certainly changed and our schools have to keep pace. I'm not sure the sharp focus on cramming content into kids heads is the answer however. Meeting curriculum standards is the buzz but it isn't new.  There have always been standards (perhaps with other names) but they haven't been equal across or within states. Rethinking how we teach students in this age of technology is what seems to be difficult for educators. How do we make our schools look different and still ensure citizens who can think, read, write, compute, and contribute to a society? How do we prepare students for careers that don't exist or are so different from what we were prepared for the planning is impossible?

It is interesting to me that a simple statement like, "sewing isn't important when we need to teach so much more content," can push so many buttons for me! I want kids to be engaged, curious, interested, and occupied with tasks that are relevant and rigorous. Engaged students are what we should be striving for and returning to individuals who want to be part of a society that values all types of thinkers and doers. Perhaps planning, budgeting, learning through research how to make an article of clothing or craft as part of a class might engage students and lead to a lifelong skill that can be applied and adapted as need. Perhaps I'm completely wrong and my experience is unique but I think we still have a lot to learn as far as how we teach and raise this generation.