This weekend is the last of summer vacation for me. Teachers started back to school last week, and students start back on Monday. As I try to soak up the last rays of the summer sun I’m spending some time reflecting on just how I’ve spent my time.
Bear with me for a little reflection time….
This is my twenty-third year of teaching. There are only three people left in our building that were there when I was hired. It’s a weird feeling to know that you are now the “old” person at work.
It’s important to note, that I teach marketing at a career technical center. Before beginning my teaching career, I worked in industry doing marketing. That was twenty-three years ago. When I started teaching, not all students had cellphones and many of the phones they did have weren’t smartphones, Google searches were in their infancy, there was NO Facebook, there was NO Instagram, there was NO TikTok, there was NO LinkedIn, there were No Apple Watches, and AI was non-existent. Heck, I think we still had dial-up internet at home!
My point is that when I started teaching, marketing was completely different than it is now. Yes, customer service, target market, and the marketing funnel are the same, but the tools we use in marketing are different.
How we get our messages out to customers is different. When was the last time you flipped through a magazine, watched regular tv, read the newspaper, or listened to a local radio station? If you’re Gen X like I am, maybe you can say that you watched regular tv and listened to the local radio station today, but Gen Z probably hasn’t done any of these things in recent memory.
How people shop is different. The tools we use to measure and analyze key metrics are different. Everything is different, not bad, just different.
It is a daunting task to prepare students for a career in this new marketing world. Especially when you have very little experience in this world, beyond your own consumer experiences and a couple of summers working in a pro shop at a golf course.
What is a marketing teacher to do? There are several options.
#1 – retire, you’re too old
#2 – keep teaching the same way you always have
#3 – get more training, and experience
There really wasn’t a choice
Since my husband won’t let me retire yet, and my conscious won’t let me just keep teaching old-school marketing I came up with the following plan:
#1 – started following professional marketing people on LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. What were they talking about? What were they excited about? What tools were they using?
#2 – Started my own blog and started practicing what I “teach” in my classroom. Using social media to promote my little blog and then using AI (vidIQ) to try to improve my analytics. This was one of those times where I taught myself how to use the tool at night and then taught it in my classroom the next day.
#3 – Took a start-up course/workshop with other people in my community who are hoping to improve their current business or start a new business.
#4 – Got myself a part-time summer marketing gig with the Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau. My duties included: writing blogs (which is why I slowed down a bit on my Hive & Seek blogs), putting together the weekly partner newsletter, answering visitor questions, reporting on analytics, and an attempt at website updates (this was my biggest challenge). Check out my CAVB blogs:
5 Reasons Cadillac Is the Perfect Northwest Michigan Getaway
Throw. Laugh. Repeat. Disc Golf in Cadillac
Looking forward to a great year
Not as much time was spent travelling to fun Michigan locals. Not as much time was spent lying on the beach. Not as much time was spent reading. Not as much time was spent walking (Birkenstock is not happy about this). Leaving my summer bucket list a little less complete than I would have liked, I was able to gain some valuable, current, marketing experience that I will happily take into my classroom this year. Stay tuned for more on that as we navigate our way through the 2026-2027 school year. This fresh perspective and experience make me a little less nervous than I have been in the past and a little more excited to start this school year.
This year’s tagline developed by last year’s students: Be a Boss, Mind Your Business!
My tagline for the year: This Year We Stand on Business
☀️ Summer 2026 Bucket List
📚 Read Every Day
- Read for 20 minutes each day.
- Mostly completed, I would say 5 out of 7 days
✍️ Write Consistently
- Publish one blog post every week.
- Completed BUT not all blogs were for Hive & Seek
📱 Grow Hive & Seek
- Post on Hive & Seek social media twice per week:
- NOT completed, but I did make progress
🧶 Get Organized
- Organize my crafting area and supply closet. This is more for Chuck than for me. I like the cluttery-ness of my crafting area, but it stresses him out so I’ll try…
- Complete!
🚶 Stay Active
- Exercise or go for a walk 4 days a week.
- We started off the summer well, but this dwindled down to 2 days a week as the summer progressed.
🇩🇪 Prepare for Oktoberfest 2029
- Complete a German lesson 5 days a week to get ready for my future trip to Germany!
- Complete! I haven’t missed a lesson in 71 days.
Favorite Amazon purchases this summer:
Herringbone Vest – I can’t wait to wear this to school! Vests are in this year, so get yours now: https://amzn.to/4gRh0Fl
Flared Capri Yoga Pants – I wore these so much that I had to purchase a second pair: https://amzn.to/4ipPwZA
Fiskars Fingertip Detail Knife – This is really fun to use for collage: https://amzn.to/45FeE7c
Books –
Mad Mabel – https://amzn.to/4xamxgW
The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe – https://amzn.to/4qI0WKn
Yesteryear – https://amzn.to/4i9irkL
**Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, if you click on a link and order something (at no additional cost to you, I might add), I may receive a commission. Please click and order! Momma needs to pay off her credit cards from her trip to Spain, AND has an addiction to ordering too many craft supplies!**
Hive & Seek 
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