School has gone too far -- yearbook control

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
I understand censorship here; this is a public site which can be read by anybody. Some words are so offensive that we might turn off the very people who need or want our help. I even though I use a little salty language with my friends, a lot of bad words can turn me off in a hurry. But this school thing is ridiculous. The kids OWN the yearbooks (at least in our schools you only get one if you buy one). What you write or somebody else writes on your own property may be in bad taste and it may come back to bite you in the (not sure what word I can use here but you know what I mean) many years later but that is a whole different thing. I taught in public schools for 35 years and I know that once somebody in power there gets a stupid idea it can get out of control fast. Even when they have good ideas they tend to run them into the ground and become idiotic.
Maybe somebody should plan a party where the kids can get together and sign each other's books off school property. This is a free country after all. It is important for our kids to learn the difference between not doing things for a good reason and following a bad idea like sheep just because they are told to. Of course, with most difficult children, we don't have to worry too much about the following like sheep part. LOL (oops - guess that woudln't pass muster at the school either!)
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
LOL (oops - guess that woudln't pass muster at the school either!)

Yup, but in real life it's OK. in my humble opinion (oh no, school wouldn't like that either), they do get ideas that just backfire on them. Such as no gum chewing... They decided to allow it this year hoping the students would be more responsible if allowed. I feel for the janitors. 6th - 8th graders just aren't known for being that aware of others!

I think the whole yearbook thing is just a red herring. What's really going on...?
 

eekysign

New Member
Maybe somebody should plan a party where the kids can get together and sign each other's books off school property. This is a free country after all. It is important for our kids to learn the difference between not doing things for a good reason and following a bad idea like sheep just because they are told to. Of course, with most difficult children, we don't have to worry too much about the following like sheep part. LOL (oops - guess that woudln't pass muster at the school either!)

Honestly, I don't know if that would even be safe anymore. It's gotten pretty restrictive out there!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_v._Frederick
 

Andy

Active Member
I always thought signing of yearbooks was a personal thing. I so disagree with schools that set aside time just for that (my neighbor girl told me that they spent several hours in school just signing books). This should be something done outside of the classroom time (between classes, before/after school, ect.) and there is no way to police it.

It looks like a way for the school to come down hard on one student they may have had problems with all year. I would hope the parent of that kid asks for proof that a fair sampling of all books were policed, not just the kids who are always in trouble.

I would not hold the school responsible for anything written in my child's book. This is not a "lesson" but actually an option. I would also not hold the school responsible for anything my child wrote in another book.

The problem would be when kids don't keep track of their own books which when fallen into the wrong kids' hands can lead to that kid writing nasty things in the book. That should be dealt with on a single basis, not by the "no one write filth in a book" rule. Maybe that is the problem? You would hope that when you ask a friend to sign it would be a meaningful message but you know when someone who doesn't like you gets hold of your book it may be vandelised.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
When I was in high school, we picked up the yearbooks at the beginning of the next year... Which made it a little more interesting to see what got written. We were also told not to let our books out of our sight. Which, given the fact that they were $50 (about 20 years ago), made that easy.

We never had yearbooks in grade and middle school...
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
This is really an odd thing to get up in arms about. Maybe its a sign of the times.

We didnt have yearbooks until Jr High in my day. Yes I walked with dinosaurs. I have my yearbook from 9th grade and my yearbook from my sophomore year of HS. It was standard back then not to get them until your last year of Jr High and then you could get them all through HS but I only got one.

From what I remember, we got our friends to sign them the last week or so of classes at lunch and before and after school. No one paid any attention to what was written in them. Honestly...not much is in mine...lol.
 

DazedandConfused

Well-Known Member
The elementary school I work at sells yearbooks. They have since Daughter went here. I don't know about further back.

I do remember one teacher (thank goodness she's not here anymore) wouldn't allow her students to sign or even LOOK at their yearbooks during class. I can certainly understand not wanting instructional time used for that. However, the last day all the other classes on her grade level were setting a bit of time aside so students could sign yearbooks. She threaten to confiscate any yearbook caught open.

What a you-know-what (and I almost NEVER use that word)!

As far a acronyms go, I don't think there is anyway to effectively regulate that without expending a tremendous amount of energy.

I can just hear the announcement:

"Attention students! The teachers and administration will now inspect all yearbooks for acronyms. It is our goal to keep all yearbooks unfettered with acronyms. Anyone caught with an acronym in their yearbook will spend a night in the box*!"

*I just couldn't resist the reference to the movie Cool Hand Luke.

Honestly, I hope it backfires.

 

donna723

Well-Known Member
When my son got his yearbook the year he was a senior, his friends wrote things in there that even embarassed me, and that's hard to do! To me, it kind of trashed his yearbook and it's certainly not something he will ever want to show to his kids someday. But it was his and he paid (a lot!) for it - I have no idea how much of the signing was done during the school day and how much was done after school.

I can understand the schools point, but it will be almost impossible for them to police. How can they control what someone might write in there after school hours?

Oh, and on the acronym that starts with "W" ... there is a funny story about that - Janet, you may get a chuckle out of this! One state (and I believe it was North Carolina) issues license plates with random 3-letter combinations and then several numbers. They made a whole series of license plates with that particular 3-letter combination and issued them to hundreds of people! They didn't know that it was a frequently used acronym in texts, emails, etc. When they finally figured it out (some State officials kid told them), they offered to replace the offending license plates with different ones. Some people exchanged them but lots of people opted to keep them! If their license plates are manufactured in the prisons like ours are, I'll bet those inmates stamping them out were laughing their hineys off while they were making them!
 

Abbey

Spork Queen
Crimany. When I was in school we didn't even have acronyms. We just wrote it out and hope your parents didn't see it. You're not going to stop kids from writing stuff. You get rid of some...others will pop up. Dumb thing to get worked up over.

Abbey
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Donna...I think it was NC. I think I saw some of those plates...lol. Of course, now we have even more acronyms now so even more license plates say things. I dont know if there are any LOL plates but there may be. I feel sorry for some poor fellow who is named William Theodore Hooper because he probably cant get his initials...lmao.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Whew! This hit a nerve!

Anyway, easy child gave me an example of an acronym COOL that was being turned into an insult -- I can't even remember what the words were, but it was a very juvenile insult. There are always going to be mean kids. But this is the end of the school year, and if you think you're going to change the entire school culture by dictating inane controls, you're going to be very disappointed in the results.

We've got about 9.5 hours of school left. And then a whole new year at all new schools for all my kids. :D Change can be good!
 

Marguerite

Active Member
A couple of thoughts on this one.

First, a couple of points in the school's favour - yes, they are probably worrying about obscenities, even in disguise, because kids probably DON'T want their (expensive) yearbooks trashed by other kids' immaturity. It's difficult to complain, after the stuff has been written in it. And the whol point is, posterity.

And speaking of posterity, how many of us can recall acronyms from our youth? what happens in years to come, when you're showing the yearbook to your kids/grandkids and they ask, "What does that acronym mean?" and you just can't remember? Acronyms date, fast.

However, on the subject of policing it - it does seem rather ridiculous. Surely it would have been more appropriate for the school to say (if they must interfere at all), "Don't write anything obscene, even an acronym which could have an obscene connotation. The yearbook is for posterity and whatever you write should ber this in mind with dignity."

But it's like a lot of us say, with parenting - don't make rules which you can't police or enforce. It's not only pointless but it undermines your authority and makes you look stupid.

As for banning all acronyms - you mean they would ban, "Way To Go, USA!" ? It's a bit ironic when the country you live in is most commonly known by its acrnym. Surely the school isn't meaning to imply tat referring to your country as "USA" is disrespectful?

And a final word on the site censor - I understand acronyms which have a certain letter of the alphabet (although I got caught by that one too) but I can't for the life of me understand why the profession of a person who practises politics, is censored on this site. Censored in the singular, not in the plural. "Politics" is not censored. Just the person who practices it, with "-ian" on the end.
It bugs me, because if I want to talk about the topic in general, perhaps comparing US politics to Aussie politics, I have to tiptoe around it or end up with a post that doesn't make sense because it's overloaded with asterisks. If it were simply a matter of avoiding the entire topic of politics, then surely "congressman" would similarly be censored? Or other words relating to religion as well, since classically the topics to avoid in social situations are sex, religion and politics.

It's interesting how slang terms change in just a few short years. A certain word which I now know to be unacceptable, was in common use when I was a kid. The movie "Blazing Saddles" is full of it. Another movie which I loved, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" is unfortunately very UN-modern, the racism (even embedded in satire and humour) makes it uncomfortable watching these days.

So for ALL kids out there planning what to write in the yearbooks - remember, you want people to understand in in 20 years time, so plan carefully. I would avoid acronyms anyway, unless you provide a translation in footnote.

Marg
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
Since you are done with this school - ANYWAY......

Send the principal of this elementary school a blank card -


Inside put

YYUR
YYUB
ICUR
YY4ME

or

No acronym here -

You? You are an idiot.

:sick:

I would bet that someone put an acronym in his college year book and it wasn't what he thought it was.....
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
YY UR (Too wise you are)
YY UB (Too wise you be)
ICUR (I see you are)
YY 4ME (Too wise for me)

Like I said beats writing in -

PRINCIPAL, YOU ARE AN IDIOT
 

mrscatinthehat

Seussical
I had to laugh actually at this. easy child (I realize she is in high school not elementary) got her yearbook and the theme was computer stuff. It was FULL of acronyms and the like as part of the yearbook. I mean acronyms are everywhere. It is part of the day and age we live in. Acronyms have been around a long time. They just weren't a part of everyday language like they are now.

TTFN
beth
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Omg star...wow...you are the best! See...you need to work making personalized license plates!

Im always going down the highway trying to figure out what plates mean...lol.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
On the suubject of licence plates (number plates, here in Oz) - we also play acronym games with them. A lot of medical terms, especially hormones, use three digit acronyms (and Aussie licence plates tend to be 3 letter/3 number combo). The other 'game' for high school science students, is chemical compounds. The first person to mention the name of a chemcial compound (or element, if it's a 2 digit motorbike plate) is the winner.

That quatrain of Star's is one that has stood the test of time. Remember autograph books? Or were they just an Aussie fad back inthe 60s? I had that one written in mine. Then someone else wrote,

11 was a racehorse,
22 was 12.
1111 race
And 22112.

A clue - don't read it as compound numbers, read each digit aloud.

So I was wrong - some acronyms are forever.

Marg
 
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