WTH Yearbook Staff?!?!?!?!?!

WTH Yearbook Staff?!?!?!?!?!, originally uploaded by Kris. Click on picture for details.

So...Yearbook is going well. NOT!

Hatin'

This week I hate yearbook.

Anyone else?

One more week, and then I'll be DONE.

Probably done like a turkey, though.

Making Five Points

Melissa over at The Scholastic Scribe had a fun meme the other day that she invited all her readers to participate in. I could use a kick in the rear for some topics, so I begged her to give me some inspiration.

The Process

• She gave me 5 random well-thought out words for me to reflect upon.
• It is my job to say something profound about these topics. Some of them are tricky, so profound is probably not going to happen on all the topics.
• If any of my three readers would like to participate in this meme, please comment and I'll swing by your blog and leave you with 5 words.

The Product

Middle School
I've written about crazy middle school life several times over the years. I think I'm better suited to teaching high school, but I like the school, program, and level of students I teach at my middle school, so I've stayed there for far longer than I thought I would--or could!

I think the hardest thing about teaching 8th grade is that the students are at such varied developmental levels. Some of them are so mature that I forget how young they are, while some are so immature, I can't believe they've even made it to 8th grade! Immaturity isn't always a bad thing, though. I think it's hard growing up in today's world, so if some of them are able to maintain some innocence, I'd like to encourage that! What's tough about teaching this age is trying to keep it real with them without scaring or scarring them!

I think the best stories come from daily life, so I think a review of some crazy times would be most entertaining.

• Did you know that a lot of teenagers actually like their parents and try to please them? It's true! I know I shouldn't, but I help them keep this secret.
• These middle schoolers are great philosophers! Some of them have already figured out the secrets of life and relationships. They really do have deep thoughts--just listen to them.
• As mature as they can be, they still cling to childhood.
  
• As childish as they can be, they like to mimic adults.

Middle school is the biggest mind trip for everyone involved, but I'm starting to catch onto their humor:

Reading
Read is my drug. If I don't get my frequent doses--in an written or electronic form, I start to get twitchy, itchy, and cranky.

Some low-grade read get me by from day to day, but at least twice a month, I have to have a fix of some entertaining fiction. A few times a year, when I have more time, I try to overdose on books, thinking it might get me through when reading time is scarce, but it really doesn't.

This summer I've have tried to overdose a few times, but I've only had hit after hit of low-grade read. It sucks. That low-grade leaves no residue of euphoria that the good stuff does.

At any time, if you'd like to see my latest brain candy, just check out my Shelfari bookcase to the left. And if you want to read something more inspiring about reading, avoid any posts about my quest to earn my masters in reading, and instead, check out this more entertaining post about books from 2006.

Traveling
Miss Teacha was very anxious to hear about my unconnected vacation in July. It was a bit unnerving knowing that I would be at least four days without Internet, and there was also a possibility I would not have cell phone service either.

Initially, I was a little stressed out because I started a class on the day I left for vacation, but I was able to contact the instructor where I basically said, "Sorry I'll be out of contact for several days. Going to visit Grandma. It is what it is." I didn't end up having any penalties to my grade because I was able to catch up when I came out of the woods. Whew!

I was also a bit nervous thinking that because I spend so much time connected that I might find myself going through withdrawls. How humiliating it would be if I were addicted to the Internet! How stupid would I be if I broke out in cold sweats if my Blackberry had no bars. I might be a dork, but I didn't want to be a Super Dork.

Guess what? No Internet! No cell phone service! We didn't even have a land line in our motel. Not that there aren't landlines in town...just none at the Pierce Motel.

It was peaceful.
(And not as bad as it looks.)
I liked it a lot.

Yearbook
As big as a pain in the arse yearbook is, it has also opened doors for me over the years.

Way back when I was still in college, hoping to graduate and get a job in my hometown, I discovered a way to get my foot in the door. I knew the yearbook adviser (who also taught English) at the junior high, and she agreed to let me come in a few times a week to observe and volunteer so I could learn a little about yearbook. This was a brilliant idea because my friend was going to be moving at the end of the year. A job opening!

Perfect idea, except that after the yearbook teacher left, the district didn't refill her position. I still don't know how that was justified, as class sizes were already upward of 40, but what could I do?

I was hired for my first teaching position in the middle of August, five days before school started. I always felt like I barely landed the position, which was hardly a cherry job to begin with, but I was desperate. I don't know for sure, but I think the principal hired me because I said I'd do anything. And since my resume showed me to be quite the jack-of-all-trades, I found myself teaching high school English and publications. Obviously, I had no idea what I was doing.

I did a pretty good job, but did I mention, it's a pain in the arse?

After I traded schools, I swore off yearbook. And that lasted one year. The yearbook adviser bugged me for half the year to take over yearbook the next year, but I refused. When she left at the end of June to teach at another school, I reconsidered my options. She had a better schedule than I did--even with yearbook. So, I went to the office and told the administrators that I'd like to be considered for her position. I was pretty lucky that they didn't laugh me out of the office because I'd had such a horrible year that I nearly quit teaching--in the middle of the year. I ate humble pie, acknowledged my utter failure, tried to convince them I had once been a good teacher and I thought I could be again, and then...I reminded them that I had 7 years of experience as yearbook adviser.

And here I am. Middle school yearbook is a cakewalk. Trying to publish middle school newspaper that isn't lame is another story...

Marge Simpson
I don't know much about Marge Simpson. Or any of the Simpsons.

Somehow I was off the planet when the Simpsons became popular, and then I just never watched the show. There's a time in my life, in my early 20's when I didn't have a television, and when I did, I could only pick up PBS, there was no rock station in my hometown (I missed the Nirvana era!), I was working, going to school, playing D & D and being a drama groupie in my free time, and in the middle of that, I became culturally inept in a lot of areas.

Melissa might have thought I was a Simpsons fan because of my banner, which I am super tired of now. Sometimes I collect avatars to use in ComicLife. Fun, huh?

Phew! So there are my five subjects, essentially five mini-posts for me. Let me know if you want to play along!

Thanks, Melissa, for getting my brain going!

I Survived Yearbook 2009!

We had our yearbook party today, and I made it through the day with only two tear-filled anxiety attacks. Sheesh! Only.

I make this yearbook thing as simple as I can, but the stress still builds. Within 30 minutes of my arrival at school, I learned that a few of the teachers I'd recruited to help supervise the party had either called in sick or had been called into service to sub during their preps for those sick teachers. Afterall, if it's Friday, we must be short substitutes. I tried not to freak out, but that didn't work out very well. For good measure I took a Pamprin and 3 B-complex vitamins with a swig of Monster. Note to self: This would have been a good week to be on the Happy Camper pills. Bunk or no, I don't care. Placebos work for me.

Note to self: Next year, yearbook staff members will be required to gift me with dark chocolate and Pepsi the week of the yearbook party.

A few hours later, as we were trying to get the invitations to the party sorted and delivered to teachers, I had another anxiety attack. My English classes weren't cooperating with me much either. Of course, my lesson for the day was crap, with students mostly working on their own on a reading assignment that would have been better with some class discussion; however, part of the reason for that had nothing to do with yearbook. It had to do with Day Two of Textbook Collection. PEOPLE! Didn't I say I didn't have time to deal with textbook collection* other than the day I asked for them?

Frankly, I could not expend my energy dealing with my students' shenigans today. Don't worry, I'll be fresher on Monday. I told them that, too. "I'm sorry I just can't pay as much attention to you today, but next week I'll pay double attention, okay?" I didn't mean for it to be scary, but some of them should probably be afraid. Very afraid. The others, the cooperative students, will get more love from a less stressed-out teacher.

My yearbook rep showed up to help with the party. I hadn't seen her since my last yearbook party, but I am in e-mail contact with her when I have problems, which isn't very often. Didn't I say I like to keep this yearbook business simple? The party had a few problems, but nothing that I couldn't have handled, but I was ever so thankful to have her there to be another one of me, helping solve the little distribution issues. I don't believe I would have had another anxiety attack, but it was a relief to know that there was someone who knew what should happen at a distribution party to help. She's an expert at it!

The party was awesome. Plenty of supervision. No problems. The book is awesome. It was a fun time.

When it was over, you know I deserved a margarita, but I still had to work at my night school. I planned ahead, though. I had stashed a frozen lemonade for that point in the day when I could put feet up on my desk and enjoy some peace. Any residual stress melted away...

Thank goodness yearbook is done for another year.



*On textbook collection: yes, my plan worked very well, and I have passed on the word to as many colleagues as I can find. I have made some kids mad, though because I told them they could not bring their textbooks to me between classes or after school. I know! It sucks that they brought them all the way to their lockers and forgot to bring them to class. So close! Sorry, more homework!

I vaguely recall one of my more hard-headed students bringing his book in just before 3rd period, about the time I was beginning to hyperventilate through anxiety attack number 2. Silly boy. No. I don't want your book. I didn't have a measly 5 minutes to log back onto the system to scan his book in. Try again on Monday.

I also told students that their parents could not drop off their texts in the office. Why should I have to drag those textbooks upstairs? Making me walk across campus to check in their books is inconsiderate. Dropping off books in the office is for after school is over and the parent doesn't want to pay $50 for a book that was never lost.

They Know Yearbook is Top Secret

Our yearbooks have arrived! I spent my morning prep on Friday showing it off to some admin and office staff (and we talk about how the yearbook is a distraction to the students!) and finalizing some release party details.

When it was finally time for yearbook class, I tried to gather everyone to announce that I had a copy, but a bunch of them had more important business or something. I held up the book, and those who weren't hanging out in the back room or the bathroom bum rushed me and wrestled it from my hands. It was that violent. Then they huddled in the corner of the room with that one book for about 20 minutes.

They are so weird.

Yearbook Deadlines, Taking Photos, Feeling Pride

Yearbook deadline is killing me.

We have taken a lot of pictures this year, and the staff members, it seems are always wandering out to just shoot some pictures. How we are short, I don't know. Okay, I do. They take a lot, but we are down to icky pictures and same ole kids. We simply need more.

We're down to the mass candid pages in the back of the book. It's middle school. Our book is small. You know, those pages with just kids doing stuff. Not a crisis. A crisis is a lack of sports pictures after the season ends. Pictures of students being themselves? Easy! Just get it done!

I sent one of my editors out during one of my English classes (she was finished with her work) to take some candids. I told her to go to the cafeteria during breakfast to get some good picts. Those kids are just hanging around, and they WANT to have their pictures taken with their friends. THEY'LL POSE! Tell them to stop flashin' their signs or they won't be in the book. They do it, or you go to another group. How easy? She came back a few minutes later, telling me nothing was going on. I told her to go back in 10 minutes. She never did. She just wanted to sit down and read her book. I was so irritated with her!

I sent out a different staff member from another English class, and she came back with a bunch of pictures. (Nice to have the smart kids who finish everything early in my English classes and who are on my staff, too.) Unfortunately, most of them were blurry. Irritating under the gun, but I can't be too mad because at least she tried to help out. She took some cool pictures of a chess match. She has a great eye for perspective--if only she would stand still when she pushes the little button.

I spent my prep trying to get those extra pictures. I sneaked into 15 classrooms and shot about 60 decent shots. How damn hard is it? Of course, the teachers might be nicer to me than my wandering staff members, but I enter and leave without speaking to anyone. That's what they've been told to do, too. Phantom photographer. Some of the teachers help by asking their students to grab their projects to show or to look up and smile.

Of course, I really needed to use my prep to proof and print pages so I could get them to my administrator. Now I'll be giving them to her when I need to back desperately soon. "Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." She would never say that, but now I am in the vulnerable position of that famous saying.

I went to the basketball game after school because I was summoned by the dean to get a photo of the winner of the free throw shot contest at halftime. I took probably another 25 shots of fans in the stands. Easy peasy. They begged me to take pictures of them. They posed. They smiled. They threw up signs. I told them I wouldn't take the picture. They stopped.

In the course of one day, a little over an hour's worth of time, I have so many pictures of beautiful, smiling, happy students. Nearly a 100 to choose from. Of course, I've been doing this a while, and I have fewer mistakes, but initiative helps.

Not that hard.

After we're done with the book, I'll send my picts to the broadcasting class for the 8th grade video they produce at the end of the year.

I've already passed on pictures to the magnet coordinator for the banner they're making for the Magnet Schools of America conference (we are getting an award again).

(I know some yearbook advisors would never share pictures, but as long as it doesn't ruin my yearbook surprise or sales, it's no big deal to me.)

These last two points have nothing to do with my yearbook crisis, but I think it's cool that our staff contributes to other areas of our school. I think it would be cooler if I could say that ALL of the pictures were taking by our wonderfully talented students. Instead, I get the credit. Bummer for them. Another day at the office for me.

I am really so petty that I would take credit for all of the pictures? Hardly. I tried to get some pictures out of the magnet coordinator because I knew she's been trying to capture the essense of our school when I took my pictures to share with her. She would not surrender them. She took our pictures with relief and said, "Oh good! You all take much better pictures than I do!" Not me. My staff. The pictures I gave her were taken by all of us.

We all collectively get credit for the yearbook and the photography, as we don't tag credits on our photos. But you know how it goes when the books come in or they see their own photos on the video. The students say to their friends and family, "Look! I took that picture!" If I end up taking most of the pictures, they lose out on that source of pride. Oh, I am proud of my good shots, too, but I'd rather be proud of them for theirs. Either way, I feel good.

What do they get? My irritation and no glory. Man, it must suck to be on the yearbook staff.

Butt...

It started a few weeks ago when I sent some girls out to take some pictures, and they came back with a dozen bad pictures, including...

"Why do we have a picture of a pigeon's behind?"

"Miss! It was a really cool-looking pigeon--see the coloring? It's different from other pigeons, so I wanted to take a picture of it," they tried to explain. It looked like a nasty pigeon to me.

"Okay, I appreciate that you are looking for out-of-the-ordinary things, but why a picture of its behind?"

"Well, it was running away from us, and it was really hard to get a picture."

So, at least we know who won't be taking basketball pictures this season.

And speaking of basketball...

We had our first home game yesterday, and the Giggle Girls showed up to take pictures. I coached them on angle to look for and where to stand, but they kept backing up away from the court--and I caught them trying to take pictures of action across the gym. I should have stressed, but I didn't. Lord knows I have wasted rolls of film trying to get great shots, and with our digital cameras there is no money wasted for bad shots. But then with our crappy digital cameras, it's nearly a miracle if we can get a clear shot.

During class, we uploaded the pictures, and I projected them on the board. Sure enough, many of the pictures had 80% gym floor and some tiny, grainy people. There were some good pictures, though. Some clear action shots with players' faces--from the other team of course. That is a total Yearbook Murphy's Law, by the way.

The rest of the pictures were of butts. Butts rebounding. Butts blocking. Butts dribbling the ball away from the camera. And cheerleader butts. Now cheerleaders don't move that much. Why did the Giggle Girls shoot from behind the cheerleaders? That was poor judgment. The other photos were just bad luck. I think, anyway. When they start saying, "Oh, but #24 has such a cute butt!" I have to wonder about motives, and I want to rip my eyes out at the thought. Thank goodness for delete.

So, much to the chagrin of my hip, young staff, I decided that Honky Tonk Badonkadonk should be our new theme song.

They are hardly amused by my sense of humor--or taste in music. Maybe torture by Trace (my country crush!) will motivate them to take better pictures. If not, at least I'll be amused during yearbook. And why shouldn't it be about me? Staffs come and go, but the yearbook adviser never dies. She just gets crazier.



Shhhh! Don't tell them that some of my favorite family photos are taken from behind. Is this okay, though? Let's wait to read the comments from my mother and my brother! ;-)

Yearbook Ponderings

We are in too deep to be thinking about such inane things, but to my fellow yearbook advisors, what do you call your individual pictures? When I first learned this gig we called them mug shots, but I notices in the last few years, the term used is portrait pictures.

I prefer mug shots--sounds cooler and fewer syllables when you are barking out orders, ya know? It takes the newbies some time to catch on, but it makes it even more confusing for all of us when the company and its web-based program uses the term portrait.

Do I have to use the new jargon? I like the old jargon. Sure, I bent a little when I labeled all the mug shot pages as portrait pages on the ladder.

But then I thought...

...maybe we need to give a few years to see if these subjects of these pictures are more portrait-worthy or more mug shot-worthy. Just a thought.

Going Out With a Whimper

It might be a little early to proclaim that I've hardly had to throw any tantrums to get the yearbooks finished...but it might be true. As a staff, they got an earful on Tuesday. Individually, some of them have gotten an earful several times this year. Today was the day for pages to be finished, and almost everyone did. Quietly.

"Jamie, is there any reason why your pages cannot be finished today? I adjusted your layout so you CAN get it to work."

"Okay, miss."

Twenty minutes later, Jamie is sitting on the floor chatting with her partner.

"Jamie! Did you finish?"

"Yup."

And that's how most of them are. They finish and don't tell me. They don't mark their pages complete. They don't run up to me and beg for my approval when they finish. It's so strange. They just go back to their ipods, and well...whatever they do.

Of course things aren't perfect. A few of them are having difficulties with their pages. Of course. It's what's yearbook is all about. Damn difficulty. The biggest difficulty was trying to get the band director to submit her name rosters. It's been weeks. The quiet-kid-from-the-corner has been bugging her, and today I stopped by to implore that she finish because we have a deadline. I suggested to the kid that he try to get some waterworks going today. Plead with her that his life is on the line or something. He respectfully declined to resort to such measures. I had a good laugh at his expense, though. He's warming up.

The band teacher finally finished her rosters, and there goes our biggest issue. Can you believe how easy we've had it this year?

I spent all day proofing and doing minor tweaks. Tomorrow will be the same. By Friday I'll be blind from squinting at the screen, and my wrist will be limp from the fine tuning mouse work of moving elements 1/8 of a pica to find perfection. And I'll be so thankful that I'm finished--and that I'm a teacher instead of a graphic designer!

A Yearbook Rant

How long should it take you to do a page? One page. One. That's about five pictures and their captions. And what goes in that text space? I don't know? What's the feature of your page?

I know you have developed amazing talent as a designer since you joined yearbook this year. That's why when everyone worked on designing layouts, yours was not chosen to be used. Don't worry, though. You and your other middle school friends can continue to use your amazing talents on your MySpace pages. So, when I make it easy on you (and me), just use the layout that I give you. Don't delete elements. Don't change the color. Don't change the font. This page does belong to you, but there are rules to follow. Why don't you take your supreme creativity and use it with your photography?

You wanted so badly to do your page, but it does require a little creativity. We could be like other middle schools and just have portraits and club/organization pictures. We do have limited space. And we've chosen to include student life features. Remember? That's the cool stuff everyone has enjoyed seeing the last few years? You joined the staff. This is what you've been living for. Step up already. Don't ask me a million questions about what you should do. Don't be so co-dependent. If I don't like it, I'll tell you. Or if you're lucky I'll be so glad to be done with all this that I'll let it slide even if it's only okay instead of brilliant.

You had so many great ideas at the beginning of the year. Where are they now? Yeah. That's a great theme you've chosen. How about thinking outside the box and not simply repeating it on each page. Again. Creativity. Maybe a thesaurus?

Creativity isn't putting yourself three times on your page either. Again. This isn't MySpace. It's the yearbook. You want to be in the book? You are on the yearbook page. That's right. We have a whole page to ourselves in a 72-page book. Pretty cool, huh? Since I'm doing the page as a gift to my dear staff, and I haven't submitted it yet, I suppose I can just take all the pictures of you out.

Yes, that's right. I'm doing a page. I've done a lot of pages. I'm probably going to have to do your page, aren't I? What if I just put a big title that says, "(Your name here) did this page. That's why it sucks!" Yes I would dare. Okay, I won't. My reputation is on the line, too.

So, anyway, don't be a hog. You're in the book. You probably haven't even purchased your book yet, have you? What about your closest friends that you keep trying to put in the book although they are already in it? How about going out and meeting new people? I know your world is small, but there are 1295 other students that this school.

You know that kid who sits in the corner reading obscure books all year long? Yea, well, he's done eight pages to your one. I know his job was pretty easy because he just had club pages, and it's mostly just group pictures--but typing all those names! He did have to go take some pictures, but he did that and placed them already. Sure, he screwed up a few, but then he went out and took more. The point is he has been working diligently and is almost finished. Oh, and you know what else he did? He followed the directions given him. You know, I felt sorry for him because nobody else wanted those pages, so I was going to help him, but he has barely needed my help at all.

You. You need help.

The Only Time I Speak of IT Is to Complain

Arg. Yearbook.

The final deadline is fast approaching. Yet another year where I am constantly saying little prayers, "Please, God. If you will just help me get through, I swear that I will plan better next year. I won't procrastinate! I'll be a good little yearbook adviser. I'll even be early on my deadlines! " And that is why I am destined to burn in hell. And you thought it would be for other reasons...

I've had a long day of yearbook work today. I'm stuck between being picky about design to really having no clue about design and thanking my lucky stars that nobody else at my school does either. The only comfort I know is that if I left things up to my students, the whole book would look like MySpace captured in a book. It would be flashy, clashy, and filled with MySpace-face poses.

The program I use comes with template designs, which are actually pretty nice, but I'm so tired of the same old thing! Of course, I have to tweak with the templates to make them more useful to us, but my poor brain has hit a dead end of ways to tweak. And by now I hate the color palette and the fonts. Hard to believe that just a few months ago, we though our decisions were INSPIRED! I'm telling you--I'm tapped out! I'm afraid I might need to be put out to pasture. That sounds so peaceful!

Rambling Yearbook Reflection

The major thing I regret not doing this summer is tweaking my publications curriculum. I hate to admit that although we've put out a good book the last two years, the curriculum hasn't been rigorous enough. In the first couple of months I am able to do direct instruction, but once we start having deadlines, the class time is short for me. It's also pretty short for students who have deadlines, but they meet deadlines at different paces. So, it's not uncommon that there are students who are sitting around doing nothing. I know. It's terrible. I never allow that to happen in my English classes. It's my own stinkin' fault. I get buried with deadlines, and the lumps in the corner become my last concern for the moment.

Unfortunately, that laziness breeds laziness and I can't get many of them to do anything when I do need them. Some of them are so undependable that I can't trust them when I do need them in a crunch, so they've just scored more free time.

So, in the eleventh hour I am working on structuring much of the class so students have to work independently on a variety of modules when they aren't working toward deadlines. At this point I seem to have plenty of materials, and for the first time ever in my career, I will have a class set of textbooks--at their grade level--to use. (I don't know when they are arriving, though...) I am working on deciding what should come first. What will hook the students to be interested? (Most of the students I had last year didn't care about journalism and were there only for yearbook.) What essential skills and concepts do we need to get the newspaper off the ground and the yearbook a running start? What skills can wait?

You see, it isn't until about 3/4 through the year when students have explored the different issues in journalism, written different types of stories for the newspaper, practiced elements of photography, and designed yearbook pages that they truly understand what we are trying to accomplish in our publications class. My students are unskilled and unexperienced as we stumble our way through the year producing things that represent our school. Yikes! Once I have them fully trained, the year has ended, and they move on to high school. It seems quite unfair, doesn't it?

When I taught high school, I usually had students for two years, and the editors generally had been there for three. It makes the biggest difference if I have people on staff who know what they are doing and can help train new staff members. I don't have to begin from scratch each year that way--not to mention the amount of time I save establishing who is capable and willing on the staff.

Don't I have students who return for a second year? The majority of my students are 8th graders. Last year I had four students in my class who had taken the course in 7th grade, and this year it looks like I have four again. (I had more, but some aren't invited back.) I suppose is enough that I can assign each one a team to look over, but only one of the four is going to do any good. The rest will be like the near-sighted leading the blind.

And it is what it is.

Editor Betrayal

Our yearbooks have arrived, but it’s a secret that they are even in the building because our party isn’t for another week and a half. Of course, I had to go look at the book, and my principal couldn’t stand the excitement either. I haven’t even told my staff because they can’t keep secrets that well, and the next thing you know I’ll have all their friends harassing me to look at the book, too.

My yearbook students, who are basically past wanting to do anything, are begrudgingly making posters to put up all over the school advertising the release party. The truth is we’ve only sold half our books, and we will be able to sell most of the rest in the next week. Students either buy them at the beginning of the year when they are less expensive, or they wait until the last minute and pay a premium price. It’s frustrating, but our rep says it’s that way all over the city.

Today I implored my staff members to use word of mouth to advertise by asking every single student they meet if they have purchased a book and tell everyone how cool the book is going to be.

I was so close to passing on the compliments the principal gave and maybe even showing them the book when my editor piped up, “That’s not truth in advertising.”

“Are you serious? You don’t think our book is good?”

“No.”

I was instantly angry at her betrayal. Nice way to support the staff and our efforts, little miss snotty editor! I did not agree with the theme the class chose this year, but I told them--and especially the editor--that if they could work it out, we could do it. These were her ideas! What didn't she like? I’d be the first to admit right here if I thought the book wasn’t good. It is good—better than last year—with a lot of special little details that I’ve not seen in other middle school yearbooks. I overreacted in anger and told her to leave if she felt that way. She didn’t leave, and now I will be irritated with her the rest of the year because she was being such a brat.

(I’ve been disappointed with her and the other editor all year long. They aren’t the hard-working, creative students they were last year. My relationships with my editors have always been this way. It’s like a marriage. You think you know a person, but then you make a commitment to each other… I could do a whole series on yearbook editor nightmares I’ve lived.)

If the rest of the staff could not see my anger, they are blind and deaf. I tried to regain some positive stature:

“For those of you who take pride in the work we’ve done this year, please tell all your friends to buy a yearbook.”

Then I recruited help to do some last minute party planning from the enthusiastic staff members who will probably turn on me next year when I give them leadership positions.

Digging My Way Out

I've been going through one of those periods of time where I have a gazillion things to do, and sleep or breathing isn't one of them. How is that different than normal, right? I've been through these phase so many times...you'd think I'd be less grumpy as I go through them. (I was in a crazy busy two-month block when I met my husband. I actually told him I didn't have time for him. At least he knew what he was getting into.)

This crisis in time can be contributed to the fact that I took two online classes. I finished up this week, and did a great job, but it has sucked every ounce of time. I've been days behind in grading papers, and frankly, I haven't been having much fun. I've been kind of neglectful of my family, too. Uhm, yea. Their dad had to make dinner the other night as I rushed to finish my paper. Very scary.

Yearbook is weighing me down to the max right now. I'm behind and in over my head. It's largely my fault, but then I am dealing middle schoolers, and their ideas and my ideas don't always mix. Not to mention they are developing skills...uhm...yea. Thank goodness for digital photography now or we'd be broke paying for all bad pictures they take. Honestly, putting together a good yearbook takes creativity, talent, and motivation. Some years I have it and some I don't. Sounds like a personal problem, doesn't it? I mean my staff, of course, but sometimes I can't even think of how to grow those traits in them. This year I have very creative kids, but only half are motivated, and then only half of those have any talent. Actually, it's a good staff year, come to think of it.

Here's the funny thing: my yearbook rep left a voice message asking me to give her a call because she knows of a high school in need of a yearbook advisor. A few days ago she was e-mailing me because I'm behind on deadline. In a friendly way, though. Just asking if I need help, which I don't unless she can stretch the day a few hours. All I can say is if she thought of me, all of us yearbook advisors must be hanging by a camera strap most of the time! I'm catching up, though. My supervisor approved 30 pages today so I can send them in and then are we are rockin' and rollin'!

And speaking of rock and roll, I have a continuous stream of company in the next few weeks. Can't complain about that, but you know I'm never going to get any papers graded--and I'm collecting research papers tomorrow.

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Desensitized in Nevada

One of my yearbook students thought we could do this whole casino and glamour theme for our yearbook. You know, because we're in Las Vegas and all. It was all I could do not to fall on the floor laughing.

Hey kids! Would you believe that there is no way in the paved hell down the Strip that we could promote gambling in our school?

I know it might seem strange since without gambling, who knows where we'd all be. I know it puts food on your table and takes food from mine, but noooooooooooooo, we cannot do a whole glitzy casino themed yearbook.

Although...we wouldn't have to think to hard to get some catchy titles going:


Makin' the Marker--8th Grade
Eye in the Sky--student life
Whales Rule!--student council
Dark Days--life outside of school
Sports Book Wins and Woes--sports
Rat Pack Comes Back--music
Confessions from the Pole--cheer and dance team
Bluffin' the Dealers--academics
Pit Bosses--administration

Uhm, yea. Let's NOT EVEN GO THERE!



If you need help getting the joke, check out these sites here, here, and here.