In our continuing series, a Mobile Ed Guide to School Assemblies, we offer assistance to you, the parent, who has been given the unsung task of selecting and arranging shows for the children at your school. And, in this series, we attempt to answer all the questions you may have or may not have even considered yet as you approach this job.

We have been giving you a guide to the world of school assemblies, aimed primarily at parents who are new to this exciting world.

Recently we have been developing a “Beginners Guide to School Assemblies” through this blog.

Just as school assembly programs cover all topics, they come in all different price ranges. Some are jaw-droppingly expensive. Some are surprisingly reasonable. Some are even ... gasp! ... FREE!

When it comes to picking school assembly programs some people know exactly what they would like to schedule. Some don’t have a clue! (There is a lot of that mentality about, actually!) When you set out to determine what shows to schedule you will find that you may have some staff who saw, say, a guy doing a Martin Luther King program at another neighboring school and thought it was great. They would really like you to get it for your school. You may also find that the principal really wants something on character issues or "character counts”. You may have a librarian who really wants to get in a particular author. The art teacher may want a residency by a particular artist. And so on.

Once upon a time, this country was a simple, evolving place, with farmers and pioneers spread out all across a rapidly expanding frontier. Without television, movies or radio, entertainment was exclusively live, and often rare, according to the the geographical location of one's home. So enterprising promoters began to organize tours to bring entertainment of various forms to remote locations. Shakespearean actors brought the bard's great works to tent-theatres during California's gold rush. Vaudeville was born, with musicians, dancers, comedians and dog acts sharing stages, some grand, some primitive, in venues all across the country.

So, you just got home from a PTO meeting and, somehow, someway, you have been, shall we say "volunteered" to be the new cultural enrichment officer, or school assembly coordinator for your school. And you, proud parent of a newly minted kindergartener, have absolutely no idea what a school assembly is. OMG! Wow! What do you do now? Well, relax. We have you covered. Welcome to Mobile Ed Productions' Guide to School Assembly Programs. We have your back!

Today we begin a new series, our Beginner's Guide To School Assemblies!