I’ve had this blog for over twelve years. I’ve been credentialed to cover many events as a blogger. As a result, I’ve ended up on many marketing and public relations mailing lists. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been getting pitched a lot of different things.

Mannatech sent me their pitch, How Essential Oils Ease the Stress and Strain of College Life. I like essential oils, and the idea of using them to relive stress and strain of college life makes a lot of sense. I use various essential oils and they outlined some of the uses. I’d also recommend Rosemary essential oils. They have a bit of a musty sort of smell and are supposed to help with concentration. I can’t vouch for Mannatech, their products or their prices, but their pitch makes a lot of sense. They also sent me a pitch for one of their supplements to boost immune systems. Again, makes sense as a pitch, but I’m not really much of a supplements sort of guy, so I’ll leave it there.

I got a press release from Thomas Bus about a kid’s safety video they produced. I don’t think I’ll bother sharing the video, however. Their Green buses are much more interesting.

I also received a pitch for Plan and Finance Your Family's College Dreams: A Parent's Step-By-Step Guide from Pre-K to Senior Year. It looks like a useful resource, but I didn’t find anything particularly compelling about it.

Probably the most interesting press release I received was from University of Missouri: Negative Attention from Teachers Can Lead to More Negative Student Behaviors

Their research

found that students who receive more negative attention from teachers experience increases in problems with emotional regulation, concentration and disruptive behaviors. The researchers also found teachers gave African-American students, boys, and students who received free or reduced lunch more negative attention than other students.

The research report can be found at The Brief Student–Teacher Classroom Interaction Observation