Feel assured that you are not the only one who hears it...or the only one who feels a compelling urge to smack the one/s who say it! I would simply state that it is time to try something new. The President and I (VP) of our PTO face this dilemma with every new idea we have! We have simply said this is what we want to do because we believe our school needs this-and we work on our projects anyway. Communication is terrible here but it is a challenge we were aware of when we took the positions. It's not easy but keep up with the new ideas!
Oh how I hate those words! That and "oh that will never work!" I usually try with the "politically correct" response and if that doesn't work I will say "that sounds like an offer to chair this event, thank you!" That usually shuts them up b/c those people don't really want to do it,, they just think their opinion is always right. Hang in there and if all else fails smack 'em! hee hee
I just left my son's elementary school after 10 years. The last four I was a dowager president. I have actually said,"We do it this way because it works." Sometimes with complicated events, things can go wrong and after ten years I had some experience with that. So if you have a system that works don't discount it. Also, people who are overly stressed, which many parent volunteers are, don't want to have to worry about the potential consequences of change along with everything else.
Ask them how they came up with the current system. What other things have they tried? What was their experience? Did you notice something at the last event that you think this new approach might improve? Finally,if you are going to make changes you need to take full responsibility for them.
ALso, sometimes people who have invested a lot in an event have a hard time letting go becuase in some ways it may become part of their identity (ie school store lady, Spring Fling Chair). Parent organizations evolve over time because of the interests of the people who become involved. If you feel like you are not going to be valued on one committee, start something new rather than trying to change what is.
Originally posted by Lisa Snyder: Well some of the members are getting a little bored with the same old way of doing things, so we would like to try somethig different. We don't want them to stray because of boredom! </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by kmamom: or, alternatively, "We always do it this way/use this vendor because it works."
How many more times would you have to hear this before you felt yourself actually fall over the brink of insanity? I heard it the other day and literally had to control the compulsion to smack the person who said it on the side of the head. And yes, I do seem to have frustration and anger issues these days.... [img]tongue.gif[/img]
Does anyone have any pithy combacks for this gem we all deal with?
Originally posted by kmamom: or, alternatively, "We always do it this way/use this vendor because it works."
How many more times would you have to hear this before you felt yourself actually fall over the brink of insanity? I heard it the other day and literally had to control the compulsion to smack the person who said it on the side of the head. And yes, I do seem to have frustration and anger issues these days.... [img]tongue.gif[/img]
Does anyone have any pithy combacks for this gem we all deal with?
