Tag: planning

Thaw Out Your Kids By Lining Up a Summer Job!

On By JenniferOzgurIn ParentingLeave a comment

Ice, Ice Age, Icicle, Winter, Cold, Snow

Everybody on the East Coast is talking about how flippin’ cold it’s going to be this three day weekend.  Freezing or not, what better time to start thinking about plans for this summer!

Taking on a job or volunteering position is an excellent way to teach responsibility and learn about what possible career topics they are considering; it gets your teenager thinking about their future…. Just at the time they are consider what courses they’ll be taking for next year.  And doing it now — before the mad rush in June — is an excellent lesson in preparing and not procrastinating… not to mention that they’ll have many more choices available to them.

Friends, Summer Camp, Leaders, MentorsIf your child is over 18, then they are an adult and can apply pretty much anywhere, as long as they meet the job description requirements.

If they are under 14, they are generally too young to be getting a “real” job with an actual employer.

But those three years in between get a little tricky.  Every state has their own child labor laws.  Some deal with dangerous situations, like knives.  Some deal with food preparation or the presence of alcohol.  Others regulate manual work, such as pounds required to lift.

Looking for ideas?  Try:

  • The mall- ones stop shopping for tons of options
  • The YMCA- they have a lot of programming and camps
  • The library- a great, safe environment
  • Pools- if they’re a swimmer, there’s time to get a junior life guard certification
  • Babysitting- there’s an online course offered by the Red Cross

 

If you can’t commit to putting your teenager on a set schedule because you want a flexible schedule, volunteering is also a great option…. And if your child is under working age, maybe it’s time to start planning your family vacation!

No matter what you decide, make it your #153Promise to set your child up for an awesome summer. Coffee, Mug, Winter, Drink, Coffee Mug

Goodness knows we need something to get us through the next few months!

-Kisses! XxXx

 

153Promise Action Plan

On By JenniferOzgurIn Organization and Business, Uncategorized, Writing5 Comments

Business Idea, Planning, Business PlanEventually, I hope to turn this post (which will be edited along the way) into buttons at the top of the site, so keep coming back.

My most recent research about where I want 153Promise to go revealed that I need to flesh out several elements.  First, there’s the dreamy/fun part.  I’m good at this stuff:

  1. A Premise (focus on the past and present)
  2. Core Beliefs and Values
  3. A Vision Statement (focus on the future)
  4. A Mission Statement (focus on the present)
  5. Goals (big picture and maybe not measurable… does not change and it tied to Vision and Mission… guides everyday decisions)
  6. Objectives (actions that are measurable to achieve the goal… may change in order to adjust… ARE the everyday decisions)

Then there’s the less fun/technical stuff:

  1. A Strategy (what to do)
  2. Tactics (how to do it)
  3. An Action Plan (the order in which to do it)

I found these buzz words everywhere on the internet.  Apparently, it’s common knowledge (or should be) in Fortune 500 companies and successful organizations around the world.  However, since there are TONS of articles and blog posts explaining the finer distinctions between all of these terms, I shouldn’t feel too bad.  In fact, I should be pretty darn tickled with myself that I’m even thinking about these issues going into trying to make 153Promise a success!

I did find one site, Innovation Excellence, that did an excellent job of stringing many of the words together:

“Values should underpin Vision, which dictates Mission, which determines Strategy, which surfaces Goals that frame Objectives, which in turn drives the Tactics that tell an organization what Resources, Infrastructure and Processes are needed to support a certainty of execution.” – (Mike Myatt, 1988)

For all of this, I’m really going to need some help.

I’ve already started making contacts and speaking to some people who are in the position to help me.  The most interesting discovery is that what I want to create — a resource for families to be proactive about mental health issues — does not really seem to exist… yet.

As it stands, it seem to me that there are many resources once a person is diagnosed with a mental illness, addiction, or in crisis.  There’s also many places to go if there’s financial burdens (social services) or groups to deal with surviving with loss.

But what about educating families so the above agencies are not stretched so thin so they can better use their resources?

Parachute, Training, ParachutingI’m not saying we can prevent ALL bad things from happening… life itself is risky.  But how about realizing that fact WAY in advance and start packing a parachute instead of hoping someone below will be holding a net to catch your fall?

I actually really like that analogy!  Every person has their own parachute, but the nets below are a catch-all for the masses.  I know I’m going to feel a lot more secure jumping if I know I had help packing my own safety device, rather than jumping and hoping that some random thing at the very end will be there to bail me out.

Back to my point- I think I can tackle the dreamy stuff this weekend.  The technical stuff?  Well, that’s where I will have to enlist the help of others who, quite frankly, know much more than me.  That means I’ll need to work on yet another element:

  1. A “Founder” of 153Promise– that’s me!  : DSinger, Frank Sinatra, 1947, Microphone
  2. Board of Directors- people who will help me with the major decisions that get a vote
  3. Advisory Board- people who are experts that offer an opinion that do not necessarily make executive decisions regarding to organization
  4. Executive Director- is that me?  SHOULD is be me? is that the head of the BOD?  Is that the same as the COB?  (Why am I getting visions of the Rat Pack and Frank Sinatra?)
  5. Chief Executive Officer- is the ECO the same as the ED?
  6. A Chief Financial Officer- I don’t pretend to know anything about finances, but I better be in-the-know regarding all figures, or I’ll get robbed blind… I’ve been in the restaurant business enough to know that!
  7. Trustees- essentially, the purse strings

I also realize I need to be smart right at the start… and although 153Promise is a “.com” for now (so I can sell my “One Million Kisses” book), should it be a non-profit?

Reason being, in all my internet surfing, I found this nightmare testimony  at blueavacado.org about a BOD firing its founder.  So I need to make sure I am always part of the voting and cannot be usurped, in addition to keeping in mind that there’s also financial issues to contend with.

Even though an organization may not be for profit, that certainly doesn’t mean that money isn’t important!

To quote my students… “So yeah…”  There’s a LOT I need to consider, and it seems like this is the perfect time… just when a logo makes is seem a whole lot more real… I better start thinking like it is.

(The Big Elephant in the room is when to start seeking out the advice of a lawyer?  That word has a negative connotation, but a good one certainly is an asset… but I don’t have the money for now… but if that’s the case, I may not be able to afford NOT to get one if I wait to later… thus a great catch 22.)

Hand, Keep, Head, Brain, Imitation

Right now, I’ve only got a bunch of dreams and a book coming out in several weeks (with no upfront cost to me).  But once I start selling books and both my publisher and I start making money (hopefully!) I’ll really need to start to consider what I’m doing since with money comes more options and responsibility.

So my biggest lesson thus far is no matter what you do, if it’s something new,  treat it like a business.

Kisses! XxXx

 

 

 

Cell Phone Angst… and Challenge

On By JenniferOzgurIn Health, Parenting, Relationships, School, Uncategorized6 Comments

How old are your children?  When did they get — or do you plan to get them — cell phones?  Why?  Smartphone, Woman, Girl, Iphone, Apple Inc, Touch

I ask because I fail to see cell phones improving the quality of life in tweens and teens.  Rather, I only see anxiety and a giant paradox regarding cell phone communication: the more kids use their phones, the less connected they feel to the people with whom they are supposed to be communicating.

I’m going to put my Teacher Hat on for this post and speak from the perspective of the educator.  Here is what I am seeing during the school day:

  1. Texting each other the first and last few minutes of class.  About what, I can only guess, as I cannot legally go into their devices… (But YOU can… if you dare.)
  2. Taking “selfies” and/or “Snapchatting/Vining,” then obsessively checking to see how many “likes” they are getting.
  3. Increased requests to leave the class to “go to the bathroom” or “get a drink.”  Presumably to use their phones so they don’t get in trouble during class.  I can’t tell them no, but they are losing instruction time, as their trips are longer than necessary to sneak in a few more texts.
  4. More requests to text parents because they “forgot” something.  This irony is that the more they rely on texting parents, the less they need to communicate with their families BEFORE  and AFTER the school day is in session.
  5. Notifying me that they need to go to the office to pick up something… presumably because they just got a text saying their item from #4 was just dropped off.

(On my own time, I even saw a post on a Moms’ FB group asking what other mothers would do if they saw test answers on their kid’s phone!)

You may ask why I don’t just have a policy… I. DO.  So does the district.  But if/when I go to enforce it, I have been subject to major tantrums.  And this is not just from the students.  I have been accused of “stealing” property when I confiscate the cell phone, enforcing the policy, and then returning the phone at the end of the day.  I have been called a “train wreck” and was told that I “need mental help.”  There have been threats on my job and my life.  I have been the victim of theft to retaliate against me.  All because I have asked that phones are out of my classroom.  I have a thick skin, and administration supports me, so I just handle it like the strong human I am.  But what concerns me more are how the STUDENTS are actually suffering.

Some students are so dependent upon their phones that asking them to part with them for the 40 minutes I have them for class is almost impossible for them.  So I implore all parents…  Please do not contribute to the angst.  I am only asking for two things:

  1. Tell your kids that you do not want them using them during classes and if you get a report from their teacher that they were seen out, you will suspend them from their phone for a day… then week… then moth… then cancelled.
  2. Tell them that you will no longer be available to them DURING the school day. (Or if that’s not doable, at least only during their or your lunch for a one-time contact point to send or receive a communication.)  That means you’ll have to do a better job of planning rides, and they will not be able to have you run them forgotten items.
Portrait, Face, Pale, Expressive, Eyes, Nose, MouthBlame the teachers.  Blame your boss/job.  Or even tell them you are making the 153Promise to them that you want them to spend the school day concentrating on… school and not on social drama.  Explain to them that the more you rely on the cell phones, the more anxiety it actually causes because it’s no longer a communication device- it’s an enabling device that’s preventing them from developing good habits of planning, self-reliance, and security/trust among family members.
So I’m throwing out another challenge: enact the two rules above.  Just like the Bus Challenge, I am going to suggest that the more either you or your child balks at the “Phone Challenge,” the more you may need to add it to your lives.  I’d love to know who does it and how it goes!
Kisses!  XxXx

Congratulations, All New Fiances… Now What???

On By JenniferOzgurIn Love, RelationshipsLeave a comment

A colleague of mine came into school yesterday with some new bling.  She and her boyfriend have been dating for seven years and they’ve been discussing marriage; even to the point of looking at houses.  So she knew “The Day” was coming… just not when.

As it turns out, he was being stealthy, planning something before the holidays.  Nice.  She was truly surprised and she showed me the great photos- complete with rose petals and the backdrop of Central Park.

I told her that she would be the inspiration for my post today, since I figure that a lot of proposals would be happening this holiday week.

I know it’s tempting to rush out and get wedding planning books, bride magazines, and begin calling around to find just the right venue.  However, I am going to strongly suggest the FIRST item you buy is this great book:

Cover art

There’s also a workbook that comes along with it you can buy.  It’s well written — intelligent but digestible — and if you like his stuff, he’s got many more books about marriage, parenting, and emotional intelligence.

Because while the trappings of a wedding can be very seductive, once all the cake has been eaten and people finally take your “Save the Date” postcard magnet off the fridge, you’re left with this person you married.

The topic of how to raise children may not be the first thing couples talk about when deciding whether or not to tie the knot, but it’s important to keep in mind why your are making this commitment… presumably to have a family and create a stable environment for your children.

So to all those people who’ve popped or been popped to… Congratulations!

Now make the 153Promise to each other and your future family by digging a solid foundation to the life you are seeking to build.