For many years we have brought great school shows to kids all over the country. But, of course, the kids don't get to select the shows. Instead we work with a representative from the school to do that. We set up our school shows through many different people. Often we do so through the school principal. Other times it is a secretary acting on behalf of a principal. Many times it will be a representative from the school PTA or PTO. Occasionally it will be a teacher. And they all do their scheduling in different ways.

One of our good friends is in Maryland today. His name is Frank, and his real job is that of principal at a school in the greater Cleveland, Ohio area. But today he is engaged in another passion. Frank is a Civil War reenactor and today he is in Maryland, along with thousands of his colleagues, reenacting one of the the turning points in the war, the Battle of Antietam.

We received a communication recently in connection to one of our blogs. It was in reference to a recent piece describing how well our anti bullying assembly - Stronger Than a Bully - has been received during the last year, and how we have now created a follow up program to meet the needs of schools wishing to repeat the show each year. The writer, with antagonism and totally unprovoked belligerence, cast aspersions, denigrated the reliability of client reviews, and demanded empirical evidence proving that the show had been effective in preventing bullying. Wow! Given that the writer had, apparently, never even seen the show, we can only assume he or she was having a bad day.

At this time, every year, around the country, young parents are being thrown into new volunteer tasks with their PTO or PTA organizations. Some are charged with fund raising activities, others with membership drives, while still others are made secretaries or treasurers. But to some falls the task of arranging school assemblies. And what, they think to themselves, is a school assembly? What is a school assembly program? What do you mean I am to arrange the enrichment programs?

As you may know, I married into a large Greek-American family. If you have seen the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you will have some small idea of what I entered into! The father in that film was always remarking on the wisdom of the ancient Greeks, and though the film obviously played this for laughs, there is great truth in the notion that much of what we think today was originally thought out by the great Greek philosophers of many thousands of years ago.

They say the only two things you can count on in life are death and taxes. Well, there is one more, at least. Prices continue to rise year after year for almost everything. No where has this been more true in recent years than in the world of road warrior school assembly performers. 

Everyone loves to save a buck or two, right? (Except for that baby on that annoying Jimmy Fallon commercial.)

I don’t know if you are like me or not, but I have come to absolutely love an occasional cup of coffee from Starbucks or one of the multitude of competing coffee purveyors that have sprung up just about everywhere in the last decade. Judging by the success of these little boutique beverage joints, I am not in any way alone. Seems like you can throw a stick these days and hit three or four caffeine concoctors without even trying.

For many years one of our most popular school assemblies has been the elegant and highly acclaimed Young Authors Day. This stunning school show is a magnificent way to get kids excited about writing, and never fails to deliver absolutely rave reviews from whatever school is lucky enough to schedule it.