Page 30 - Tonilee & Bobbye Social Media Special Edition Oct Nov 2011 (1)

What Our Schools Can Teach Us All

By Rob Weinberg

As a 30 year communications professional, I have a tendency to Some companies do
find marketing messages in unusual places. My clients encour- help. Area restaurants
age this tendency (to my wife’s chagrin), and it’s interesting where hold fundraisers and
things sometimes pop up. realtors contribute
So it was when I recently attended the fall choir concert at Rancho sales commissions.
Bernardo High. I left heartened by youthful energy and song, and Others have parties,
troubled by the message being sent out by my daughter’s school. charging guests a
Like all business owners these days, I find my sleeve being tugged donation of classroom
at by dozens of worthy causes seeking funding. Rotary, temple, supplies to enter.
abandoned pets…the list seems endless. Like me, you may
Realistically, I’d go broke supporting them all, so I choose a few have been oblivi-
and hope others can pick up the slack. ous to the desperate
Yet looking around the RBHS auditorium that evening showed me conditions at our local
the school is in desperate shape. Every fourth seat was missing schools or figured
or broken. These talented kids were selling pastries (yummy but it’s someone else’s
of marginal nutritional value) to pay for music, microphones, and a problem. It’s not – the
piano accompanist. school funding issue
And did I mention the library, hobbled due to budget cuts? has been left at all our doorsteps, regardless of age, race, gender,
Admittedly, I don’t typically spend lots of time at the school and its or parental status. We need to address it, and FAST!
condition never struck me before. But I got an education that night, Admittedly, I don’t know all the answers. Maybe the schools should
and realized this one school was symptomatic of a larger marketing be selling sponsorships of seats in the auditorium for $100 apiece.
issue. Perhaps it’s something else.
Yes, I said the beaten up auditorium is a marketing issue. Whatever the solution is, silence can no longer be part of it.
RB - an affluent zip code – sends a beleaguered message from Here’s the bottom line – our schools are in trouble, and everyone
its schools. Anyone genuinely concerned about our nation’s future needs to help. That’s why I was at the principal’s office the after-
must consider this message, look beyond the next election, and ask noon after the concert donating a load of gently used computer
30 how our future leaders can possibly get a solid education if they equipment. It wasn’t much – just what I could afford. However, as
lack the right tools to work with. one teacher observed, “it may not be new…but it’s new to us.”
We’re not talking about higher salaries for the teachers, either. As a father, business owner, and taxpayer, I urge you to find ways
Debating why athletes are paid 20+ times more than those molding to help your local schools. Donating cash, goods, or volunteer
our greatest assets is best left to politicians, pundits and econo- services will all help make students and their families better citizens
mists. and customers, both today and in the future. And that’s a message
Rather, I’m distressed that the message we’re sending with poorly worth communicating.
maintained schools is that kids aren’t important. Business owners, Let’s all pitch in. The family you help may be your own.
with a higher propensity to view the big picture, quickly recognize
that their own children won’t benefit in these schools and take jobs Rob Weinberg is a Madison Avenue veteran and principal of
elsewhere. The MarketBuilding Team – a strategic marketing firm based in
Then everyone left behind suffers as local jobs and property values Rancho Bernardo, CA. You can get his advice through a free newslet-
quickly become devalued – all because we aren’t making our ter, a weekly marketing advice column, or by hiring him as a part-time
schools shine in every way possible. marketing executive. You’ll find him online at www.marketbuilding.com.

Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary

Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary meets for breakfast
every Tuesday 7-8:30am at the Country Club of
Rancho Bernardo, 12280 Greens East Rd. San Diego,
CA 92128 (next to Rancho Bernardo Inn).
The Club is involved in local community and
international projects. For more information call
Karen Mortimer, Membership Chairman at
858-204-2292 or email at Karen.Mortimer@yahoo.com

www.rbsunrise.org