How would I know the stock of Twitter is performing horrendously? I'll show you my portfolio. #Yikes (This should probably go into my other blog.)

The SUNY Plattsburgh PRSSA held its second annual golf event on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015. This year's event nearly doubled in size. And it raised more than $1200 for the PRSSA students travelling to the November PRSSA National Convention in Atlanta.

Click the image below to see the video produced by Isabella Sofia, SUNY Plattsburgh PRSSA member and PR major.

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Today was one of those days that reminded me why I do what I do. Yesterday was great too. Thank you students. Thank you colleagues. Thank you PR profession. Thank you people who donate in support of the students. Thank you.

My Response (to the original email below) :

Great thought piece. In my profession I must give the illusion of variety while maintaining absolute structure. As a college professor I must educate, interact and unfortunately entertain. Many students believe they detest structure and actually think they can (or are currently) avoid it in the future. Yet, if I want to throw a dash of variety, or change the course to bring in a relevant idea, they fault me for disorganization because it wasn't noted on the syllabus that was planned more than four months earlier. This is true even if they are given extraordinary opportunities.

This is why my job is so exciting. I need to assist many of these young minds into thinking for themselves while viewing structure and planning as an asset.

Personally I see variety with each changing semester. Each class dynamic is different and
 lessons planned months in advance must be changed minutes before lecture to relate to the world at large.

A word of advice to my fellow professors - have a detailed syllabus with grading and assignments, but leave some wiggle room with the topics and in-class activities. As long as you make a time-slot for interaction, you can give let them decide if it's variety or structure.

~ Rachael



The original email:

from - Rob Hatch via infusionmail.com

"I have a question for you, Jurekrl.  (Do note that this is a form email as I signed up for the Chris Brogan blog as jurekrl)

Are certain days of your work week more important than others?  

Here’s what I’m getting at.

Athletes practice. Often. Their days are structured. Their workouts are different each day. The intensity varies. Some even have, dare I say it, #daysoff.

Depending on the sport, athletes may have a day to focus only on form, or endurance, speed or strategy. Then they put it to the test. Maybe on a Friday night under the lights or on Sunday or even a few days each week.

Variety is the...

In larger organizations operational structure is imposed externally.  Monday may be filled with internal meetings or reports may need to be submitted by noon. Wednesday may be a day for smaller teams to convene. This creates a rhythm to the week and you can be asked to “perform” differently on certain days to serve the needs of the organization.

For some this might feel constraining. Others however enjoy the cadence, knowing what they are working towards, when to push and when to pull back a bit and attend to other things.

The variety an athlete uses to train acknowledges that there are many facets to her successful performance. It is built on the idea that the body needs variety in developing speed and endurance. She understands that not every day is all out. She works hard, but she’s preparing for something bigger.

Your week…

I’m curious how your week is constructed?  Is everyday the same for you?  Do you go all out or do you vary your workload throughout the week?  Do you give yourself practice days? Do you have days where you need to “perform”?

Let me know what YOU do and how it works for you.

-Rob

There were students who left for Thanksgiving break last week. Seriously.

This year's Educators Academy Super Saturday at the #PRSAICON was the first for this State University of New York at Plattsburgh professor. In addition to the expected pedagogical discussions, the Saturday sessions provided me with perspective. It's a perspective that solidifies the importance of staying connected and further developing a relationship with the Capital Region parent chapter. It also reminded me of a popular power ballad yelled at us by Cinderella in the late eighties.

While at the EA we heard about University programs big (Oklahoma University) and small (Albright College), those with graduate programs and those who are at the top for e-learning (West Virginia). The best connection I made was with Elizabeth Kerns from Central Washington University. Like ours, their PR program lives in a mid-sized state school with a young PRSSA chapter. The biggest similarity between our PR programs is the geographical challenge that forces us to teach creatively about an industry that in the students’ minds seems so far away; conceptually and geographically.
 
Like SUNY - Plattsburgh, students at CWU must travel at least two-hours for the nearest PRSA chapter face-to-face interaction. Coming most recently from Milwaukee, Wis. I took for granted the number of agencies available for internships, class projects and learning opportunities. Agencies, non-profits and corporate public relations offices in Southeastern Wisconsin are nearly as easy to find as Green Bay Packers fans. The professional adviser could pop-in to class presentations on her lunch break. Students could attend the luncheons and round table PRSA sessions without missing class or costing them their lunch money in gas. Cinderella's lyrics, "You don't know what you got until it's gone" played in my mind while Dr. Bonita Neff talked about the $13,000 student senate grants and up to $50,000 budgets their PRSSA student agencies receive from near-by clients to run campaigns.

Instead of becoming downtrodden, I looked over to my new-found PR geek comrade Liz and we began devising a plan. An integral part of the future success of our programs will be to build and strengthen the current relationships with our parent chapter. Our student chapter is working hard at moving beyond establishing policy and procedure into developing strategy and implementation. A major goal is to strengthen our relationships with Capital Region professionals. We are grateful for the support and are eager to share our ideas with any Capital Region member.

Why do all ethical dilemma examples have to be so far-fetched?  We deal with ethical dilemmas all the time (or at least I do in my Polish-Catholic world of contemplative guilt). Why do even the examples from Harvard deal with killing pregnant women, your own child, or a cheating wife? 

Why can't we have a good 'ol legal vs. ethical issue like back in the 90's when I went to school. I'd really like to find a good example so I can put to bed the - poor mother stealing formula for her baby - example that was used back in the day at UM-Morris.

Anyone have any realistic examples, communications/media related preferred, to use?

Thanks!