Lessons From M. Mouse: Or, How I *BELIEVED* Disney Could Help Public Schools
A forest of thorns shall be his tomb! Borne through the skies on a fog of doom! Now go with the curse, and serve me well! ‘Round Stefan’s Castle, CAST MY SPELL!
―Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent casting her spell to stop Prince Phillip
In 1991, I obtained credit for renewing my teaching certificate by attending an EPCOT seminar entitled “Marketing the Good News About Schools” (public schools), designed by the Walt Disney World Seminar Productions and Florida State University. I kept the fancy plastic notebook, stocked with highlighted paragraphs, emblazoned on the bottom corner with Jiminy Cricket.
I ran across the notebook while doing some cleaning recently. It seems strange to reread the notes now. I mean, who is marketing good news about public schools these days?
The seminar introductory letter says, and this is most important and what I got out of the meeting’s intent, “Amid all the thinking, creating, and planning, please remember to pursue the one element characteristic of all successful learning – having fun!” Can you believe it? They were telling us the public schools needed FUN! And cranky kids and missed fast passes aside, Disney knows fun!
We educators attending the seminar knew all along that where we worked you could Lessons From M. Mouse: Or, How I *BELIEVED* Disney Could Help Public Schools: