http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/response-to-hs-yearbook-confessions-052010 This school tried to use the concept of the PostSecret books for their yearbook, but their principal is now banning the books and demanding that they all be returned for an edited copy.
No matter what happens, you get the feeling that the yearbooks of the future for that school will be edited by parents, staff and admin to such a degree that there will be no need for student participation.
It was anonymous I don't see why he is so upset. Don't we always tell students to talk about their what they are feeling.
Actually, I personally don't think ANY of that belongs in a yearbook either. Students can find some sort of venue but not the yearbook.
It's bordering on the line of almost being inappropriate. It's good of course that there were no names to the quotes. I don't know how the yearbook staff exactly went about obtaining the quotes, but, for the kids who said them, if I were them, I would have probably known they'd use what I said for something. I know I wouldn't of put my name on it. Maybe the yearbook staff got permission from those kids. BTW, I was on the yearbook staff my sr yr of HS. It was great!
Yes, but the yearbook isn't just their record. A yearbook reflects what the school is like at that time. It is a snapshot of the school and the students. It is supposed to be a positive image. It's like a time capsule and PR at the same time. It's not an expose. It's putting your best foot forward. It's really just a bunch of cute pictures. It's like a family album. Speaking of family albums, we know that Uncle Richard committed suicide and that Aunt Mary was our drunk. We know that our Brother Morris is the outcast and that Chatty Cathy is the avoided when the phone rings. Yet when we have a family album, we don't write these things (not even our scrapbooks). We put it together like one big happy family. Though it may seem hypocritical, family albums serve a purpose and that rosy colored portrayal serves a purpose too. We look at family albums to remind us about the good times and to show us happy snapshots of our family, not to feel morbid or upset. I still say a yearbook is not the appropriate place to let it out like they did and I will also say the yearbook belongs to the FAMILY and not everyone is going to like it (whether that be every student or whether that be the school). Since it doesn't fit what a family album is supposed to even be about, I'm with them for removing it.
I'm with Jaime. I think it's interesting that they focused on the other side of high school. I had a lousy high school experience. So, I guess, to me, I cheer the year book team for dedicating a part of the year book to the teens who are hurting or had it bad. When I look in year books, it's all happy happy happy people. ETA: I do see what others are saying though.
Granted, I do not teach secondary. But I'd be more concerned that these were even issues in my classes-if I found out that one of my students was dealing with any of these issues, I'd be working overtime to get them help. Maybe that's the elementary teacher in me talking, but those are my BABIES. Maybe this is the wake-up call the principal and teachers and parents needed, but it's sad that they even had these issues to write about in the first place. I remember Alice writing about a support group she had for kids who were going through cancer or divorce (can't remember which) in their families-that's the kind of support we should be providing our students, and this is just more proof.
I think it is a really cool idea. Maybe the secrets are a little inappropriate, but I'm impressed at that yearbook staff. Too bad all that work will go waste.
I think the yearbook moderator has some serious explaining to do. Either he or she read it all and had no problem with it, or that same person didn't read every word that went into a high school yearbook. Either way, it's a huge problem. I don't pretend that high school is a happy time for everyone who goes through it. But focusing on the negative isn't the job of the yearbook. It's a school publication with the school name on it. It's not Facebook or a kid's diary. It's a picture of what the school is and hopes to be. And I wonder who was hurt by the publishing of all those secrets.
In theory, it's a good idea. But in actuality... no, I wouldn't want some of those things published as a lasting reminder of my HS years. Aside from the fact that some of the published items are just disturbing, I would read them and immediately wonder which one of my kids wrote that? What did I miss in the classroom - could I have helped that kid? Gotten them services to help deal with their pain? And knowing teenagers - are the kids now walking around, trying to figure out who wrote what? What if they DO and someone starts getting bullied over their "secret"? I know HS is difficult and there are a lot of bad things going on in kid's lives. And yes, the yearbook usually reflects only the good... I just don't think that this was the way to go about showing the "full" HS experience.
High school is a difficult time for most students for various reasons. I was very short and skinny, so I got bullied and teased a lot - especially the first two years. I didn't play sports, so I wasn't part of the "popular crowd". But I still had lots of friends and I still had fun doing things with them. When I look back in my yearbooks, I am lifted up by the things my friends wrote when signing it. I didn't even realize the full depth of some of the messages until I read them again years later. I did the same thing my senior year. I wrote messages about our futures. One of my friends even said "Dang, your message was all serious instead of goofy or funny." Yes, it was. But I bet when they looked at it 10 years later, it meant a lot more to them then. I agree the yearbook is a reflection of the school, not just one particular class or group of kids, and it should reflect that. It should also focus on the positive to help us remember the best things about our school years. Do you really want to look at yearbook 10 years down the road and be reminded that one of the kids liked to say mean things to others just to see how they would react? Chances are, you probably already knew this if you ran into that kid and you don't need to be reminded of what a jerk (s)he was. Also, most of us grow out of that juvenile stage. I've become good friends with more than one kid that was mean to me in high school. Yes, life in high school is hard, but so is life in the real world. We get enough negative information about our world every day. I think it's nice to focus on the positive memories from high school and try to leave the bad memories behind.
I can see what others are saying about how yearbooks should focus on the positive, but why not bring some reality into them as well? As long as the comments submitted are given by the person they are about (as opposed to John being outed by peers) I don't know that I see the problem. Kids are troubled, and often times their peers don't see it. That comment about the elementary bullying experiences that continue to haunt/ruin my life could have been written by me, and I guarantee my classmates would have been shocked if they had known it was me who said it because I was so quiet and locked up inside myself. Perhaps with the natural tendancies of adolesents to be egocentric and all the difficult stuff kids face this sort of statement could be a way of opening communications and helping kids wake up to the world around them. A yearbook may not be the proper forum (perhaps the school paper which gets discarded after it's read would be better), but the kids do need to be heard. Could this possibly be an opening to addressing some of these issues in the school setting and fostering empathy? Could this be a way of helping kids and teens see that 1) they are not the only ones facing hard lives, 2) there are others out there who may be able to sympathize or help, and 3) show that action and reaction/consequences go hand in hand? If anyone needs to hear these messages it the teens of our society.
Well, I can see that they may have a record of every student who purchased a yearbook. In our state we have to record all money that comes in for any reason, along with the student name, and the purpose for the money. However, how can they enforce students giving the book back. I could see some saying "I lost it", or something similar.
I could see the school not releasing grades/diplomas until the books are all returned. As for the yearbook advisor, it said that he/she edited out most of the "inappropriate" secrets so they knew what was going into the book and didn't see a problem with it....IMO they should have edited it even more.
I dont think the entire focus or idea was that this was what the yearbook was about. It probably had all the other stuff like sports, clubs, candid shots, last wills etc. So this gave a voice to some of those on the fringe or sad in their daily lives. In short some folks had a venue to tell the truth. Big whoop. Now the people in charge have just brought MORE attention to something that embarasses them. And on a national level. Can you say dumb?
Plus, is it legal to take something back after a transaction has occurred? I don't know. Just throwing that out there.
I feel like instead of focusing all the time on getting back the yearbooks, the time should be spent seeing if anyone can help some of these students.
Good question. I would think they couldn't legally enforce it, but I don't know. ETA: Sorry about the bold font. I was playing with my settings, and will change it to something a little less out there.
For me, the book is not appropriate, but for some different reasons then you have stated. Anonymous secrets are fine for a PostSecret website, an opinion poll, and a crime tips line. However, a yearbook is designed to be a record of school sponsored events and their participants. Additionally, printing anonymous secrets is not a guarantee that the secrets are in fact true or reflective of a person's true feelings. Newspapers don't print anonymous letters. It is my opinion that anonymous secrets should not be published either, particularly in the school's yearbook. Furthermore, the staff person was definitely not in tune with the school's philosophy and views. Did anyone have a secret wish to be the first female president? Did anyone express a desire to have the highest GPA in college? Did anyone's secret involve anything productive or positive? I imagine there were those as well, but note that those were excluded. I think it is patently unfair to justify publishing someone's angst and sorrow for all the world to see by saying that the book should represent everyone. I think it is sad that the school's book was sullied in this manner, particularly when nothing can be done to effectively help those students who needed representation. I say they need help, guidance and support, all of which will remain unavailable to them.
I doubt the news story gave an accurate accounting (or even sample) of all types of secrets submitted, just the ones that caused the controversy.
I must admit I haven't read most of the other comments so there's a strong chance this was already said, but... as a parent, I can honestly say that the yearbook means a lot to me--maybe even more so than my child until they reach my age. It's a moment to capture all the positive things my kids did--from their clubs to sports to their quotes. It captures the memories spent on the soccer field, at National Honor Society inductions, at SADD car washes, at team picnics and pasta parties... With that said, I don't want to read it in 10 years and see "I had an abortion and didn't tell my mom." I'm sure I'll be criticized for this, but I want, just for a few minutes, to forget all the horrible, horrible things that happen to children. I want to remember those good times without having the focus being on the "dark side" of high school. This is not to say that I want to forget it entirely. No, I just want to have those moments where I can remember back to my children's high school careers and not be worrying about the "dark side."
I think this is beautiful. A creative, artistic way to give a voice to students who obviously need it. This is what a yearbook should be - an expression of the students of the time. Legally I am not sure how they are getting away with this. Tinker ruled that as long as the speech is not materially or substantially disruptive, it is constitutionally protected speech, especially since this seems to be an open forum, if students are being asked to contribute.
That's correct if the speech would not be attributed to the school. Keep in mind the school CAN censor articles in the student newspaper, and they CAN vet graduation speeches by the valedictorian. They could have prevented the yearbook from being published with this information. However, I don't think that means they can force the issue of getting them back once they've been distributed. The yearbooks are no longer the property of the school; they're the property of those who received them. I could definitely see a school improperly withholding graduation because of it, and getting successfully sued for it.
The Hazelwood court case allows all school admin to censor anything with the school name attached - plays, yearbooks, newspapers, etc. . . .
I just don't know about this. I lost my virginity to an ugly girl so I tell everyone I'm a virgin. I had an abortion and my mom doesn't know. I have sex with people just to feel wanted. I wish I had a black girl butt so I could dance. So "they could have pride knowing someone took the time to care"? Yeah, I'm not so sure this is some amazing form of therapy. And some were censored, so...what's the point. If you left out the most controversial, what about those people and their feelings and their need to share? I understand how some students are annoyed with yearbooks and the ten people who make up 90% of the photos, the superlatives I was against and when I was on the yearbook committee voted to eliminate (they were not eliminated, but we were able to get rid of the INSANE ones such as Best Looking...yuck!), I hated prom queen garbage and refused to ever vote such a thing...I get it. But I think in the end, this gets my thumbs-down.
I took journalism and was the school photographer my senior year. I was never in the "popular crowd" either and didn't get voted for any Senior Superlatives. There wasn't much I could do about that, or the homecoming queen or the clubs (that seemed to have many of the same people in each one). What I could do is make sure I took LOTS of photos of the other kids that never got included with these things and get those put in the candid shots and campus shots sections of the yearbook.
Hazelwood only allows censorship if there is a closed forum, in policy OR PRACTICE, which is kind of a grey area. If in the past they have allowed free, uncensored expression of students, they can't change their minds. So it really depends on what has been allowed in the past, or what else might be in the book.
Of course the small article doesn't give much info, but I'm with Sue and Jem. I would be worried about the kids who voiced these opinions. I'm sure the news article only mentioned some of the most controversial ones, but still, how about vowing to get more help for students next year. I would also worry about the damage it might do to these anonymous students. They have, hopefully knowingly, just been brave enough to put their secrets out their. Maybe this is the first step to healing for some of them, and the school has just told them to shut up. You are basically telling the students that people don't want to know these things. Even if the excuse is that it is inappropriate, the high school students won't see it that way. They are teenagers; they don't always think logically! I can understand that it wasn't an appropriate place to voice these opinions, but it already happened. I'm more concerned with how it is handled now.
I understand this viewpoint, but it's going to be difficult (at best) to get the help needed for these students since the comments are anonymous. Also, they are being published at the end of the year. Even if the staff could determine who submitted the secrets, the time frame they have to act on it is severely limited. That doesn't mean these issues should be ignored or glossed over. I had my own "dark secrets" in high school and there were plenty of times I felt nobody cared about me or my life. I liked the idea suggested by a previous poster that the "Truth Be Told" become a regular section in the school newspaper. That way, students could voice their secret concerns throughout the year and maybe give the staff a chance to help the students and follow their progress. On the other hand, the opening paragraph of the article did mention other yearbooks had won awards for including these secrets.
Hmm, yes -- Dean v. Utica. Most of my comment was really towards whether they could now force the return of the books, though. I don't think they can. I also tend to agree that I don't like the actual practice of putting in these anonymous dark secrets. Perhaps the idea is that once someone looks back on them when they're older they'll realize they weren't so dark or unusual after all, or look back and see problems they've overcome. If that's the case, though, what about the person with a life-altering issue, one that isn't or cannot be overcome?
