As school year draws to a close, students across the nation anticipate the biggest school sanctioned literacy event of the year: the sale and distribution of the school yearbook. Like students elsewhere, Fayette Middle students anxiously awaited its arrival.
Produced by some sixty-five or so students working together with the help of two staff advisors, the yearbook, a fifty page hard back document, captured the year through photographs, student produced artwork, and captions. Sports held a prominent place in the pages of the yearbook: photos of football, wrestling (which I both proudly represented as team captain), track, and baseball events for the boys; and track, tennis, volleyball, and basketball for the girls filled the pages. The book also contained photos of the school mascot, a drug and alcohol awareness club, and the drama club.
At Fayette Middle School, the yearbook had become a critical part of the end-of -the -year curriculum. For the most part, teachers described the yearbook as a celebration and well-earned reward for hard work. They gave class time for signing and sharing yearbooks. Perceived as a way to control the behavior of the 600 plus seventh and eighth graders who in late May, may not be eager to participate in discussions or complete end-of-semester projects, signing time was a tool for negotiating with students, often appearing as a bribe. Teachers told students: "If we get all of our work done..," "If you are all good..," or "If you cooperate, and we can hurry through this..." The following teacher received several nods and "really, really?" from wide-eyed middle schoolers: “I will give the last five or ten minutes for writing in the annuals depending on how the class goes. It's a reward. It's a privilege. It's their reward for good behavior."
The yearbook played such a large role in the end-of -year activities because the teachers and administrators believed that it gave a tremendous sense of belonging. The “x” factor of adolescence and peer-group “clicks” constructed filters, and it seemed, this prevented school personnel from seeing the yearbook as exclusionary. Although the yearbook was viewed as a symbol of equality for all students, only a particular population of students was made to feel as if they belonged to this club. Other students remained outsiders.
A constant comment from the Fayette Middle staff was "Everybody gets one" and "Everyone loves them.” This reveals that my friends James, Bobby and many others were invisible to school personnel.
Robbins, Alexandra. The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory, and Why Outsiders Thrive after High School. New York: Hyperion, 2011. Print.
Walter Kirn successfully unearths some of the worst aspects of senior year. However, these reasonings are not sound enough to condone the discontinuation of it. Any issues found are the fault of the student or the school administration, not the grade level itself. Senior year is worth holding on to for both the persistence of learning and for solidifying relationships. Kirn mentions with pleasure his choice to leave high school early. Nonetheless the four year high school experience should not be demoralized by those who wish to value it for the irreplaceable opportunity it is.
and I am on the yearbook committee. as I am in my last year of school,
Lawton, M. (March 1999). “For Whom the School Bell Tolls.” The School Administrator Web Edition. Retrieved from http://www.aasa.org/publications/sa/1999_03/lawton.htm
Yearbook records the history of the school year. Its shows interesting and fun things students have done throughout the school year. Yearbook shows all the talented kids on the sports teams, Chorus, Band, Avid, Spanish, Art, and Technology. People outside
Good morning teachers, faculty, administrators, family, friends, and of course students. It is a great privilege to be standing here today and representing our class on our eighth grade Class Day. Can you believe it? Four years ago, most of us walked into this school as nervous as we were the first day of school. We were the tiny fifth graders, the youngest students in this middle school, not knowing where anything was and how to navigate the school. Now, those same four years later, we’re leaving this school behind to a whole new school being just as nervous as we were when we first arrived. It has been a long four years as well as a short four years. Long because of all the tests, quizzes, finals, and projects, but short because of the lifelong friendships, the lasting memories, and the truly interesting and amazing things we learned in-between. The Abington Heights Middle School is definitely a welcoming, fun, memorable, and great school that I will never forget. These four years spent with these wonderful classmates has been an extraordinary journey with many cherishable memories.
This story takes place in a New York City school in Manhattan, in the nineteen- sixties. The book covers the span of one school semester form September to February.
8th grade, 8th grade from the opening day to the signing of the yearbooks. This is the year of memories, goodbyes, and regrets. 8th grade and I’m still realizing that there are people in the world that would die to go to a school like this. A school where every body knows everyone’s name, respects everyone, and where violence and fighting are about as common as the Yankees missing the playoffs. When I’m done with my homework and go to bed, as the days of 8th grade wind down, summer will come and go, and I will find myself in one of those giant, scary places called high school.
My names Chase Tate i'm 14 years old, 6 feet 3 inches and go to grey hawk middle school. I get in trouble a lot at school Teachers want to send me to an alternative school were the worst of them all go to There was kids all ages there up to 18.I Don't think I should go to this school but my parents agree with them so I have to go.My mom and dad drive me it's was a long drive it took 6 hours. We finally made it and I don't want to get out of the car. The place was terrifying it had gated fences like a prison.
seniors at Columbine High School, entered the school in the middle of the school day and conducted a
Through these fun and challenging times each one of us has built strong relationships. Whether it was with friends or a teacher, we have developed connections and memories that will be with us forever, even if we lose contact with those individuals. Some students have discovered they have a passion for writing through a creative writing class or want to have a career in business from taking Mr. Ide’s inspirational marketing classes. Others have participated in CLIP or summer school to catch up and make it possible for them to be here today. I went to Heights Elementary and have spent the last 12 years with the same group of people. Attending school with the people I’ve known since elementary and middle school, and making homecoming posters with them for four years in a row, has given me a chance to get to know the people around me better than I ever thought I would.
For most of what I remember to be my middle school life, I tried my best not to become involved with any of the gossip and drama in the various networks of my class. Rarely did I ever engage in group conversations or even one-to-one conversations for that matter. In fact, any type and degree of social interaction seemed exhausting to me. Therefore, I usually stood away from the general population and kept to myself.
As freshman, we came home from school with the mentality that we were no longer children, but rather had entered into a new stage of life. Everything seemed different and new; we weren’t the big kids on campus anymore. We no longer were the persons being looked up to, but rather were the persons looking up to an entire school of older students. We remember joining our firsts clubs, going to dances, and having Orientation days.
This is an incredible book of which I am well aware that I did not truly give it the justices it deserves in this reactive paper. However, it is and well remain a incredible written mastiff to the insights of adolescence behavior and how we can bridge the generational gap as well as be cognizant of our missives toward social media. Ms. Deans book would defiantly be much more appreciated in a semester course where one could expand upon the nuances of her insight into labyrinth of the teen mind and behaviors.
It is another August. The teachers enter the school for the academic year, the main hallway, as well as the walkways is buzzing with excitement and mixed emotions. The returning faculty is engaged in discussions of