The addition of senior quotes in The Unicorn Yearbook at New Braunfels High School has been a hot-button issue for several years. Does the time and effort in including the quotes make up for the loss of space on our pages? How important are they really?
For the past two years, there were no senior quotes in the NBHS yearbook for the following reasons:
1. Participation: Out of around 500 students, only about half would submit senior quotes, making the senior portrait pages sparse and awkward.
2. Space is saved: The staff was able to add interesting show-stopper spreads with the spaced saved from not having to include quotes.
3. Lack or originality and/or inappropriate quotes: Some of the quotes that were submitted were highly inappropriate, forcing the staff to make a decision to cut the quote, find the student, acquire a new quote, etc. There was the added issue of students using Google to find the perfect quote, which ended up used by at least five other seniors.
This year we decided to use a QR code in the book, and compile the quotes in a video complete with sappy graduation music. The code connects to the video on our YouTube channel. There were many complaints about the quotes not actually being published in the book, but there was also praise in the use of technology (by the administrators). Many of the seniors enjoyed the video and the fact that they could play it on their TVs with ROKU and other devices. In the end, it worked for us this year, I believe, because of the absence of quotes at all in the previous years.
The young man in the picture above, Maxwell Barrett, a New Jersey senior, basically came out to his parents (and the rest of the world when his story went viral) in his senior quote. Allegedly, the supervisor at his school's yearbook said the quote had too much "shock value" and would not be appropriate to be printed. It was, however, and the recent high school graduate is being praised for his witty senior quote.
My questions are these: How can I as an adviser encourage students to be original when submitting their quotes, and to keep them appropriate? How can space in the book be saved for senior quotes? What can I do to raise participation when it comes to submission of quotes? Does anyone else have these problems? I enjoy the quotes and feel that seniors deserve to be able make their marks in the book and I want to solve this issue the best I can.
Amanda Wimmer
New Braunfels High School
New Braunfels, TX
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI just completed my first year as a yearbook adviser and I have to say that one of my more successful components was the incorporation of Senior quotes for every student who had a formal portrait.
To respond to your questions:
How can I as an adviser encourage students to be original when submitting their quotes, and to keep them appropriate?
Every Senior gets a quote sheet listing very simple directions. Keep it clean. Keep it fun. Avoid generic cliches. Limit to 25 words. Use quotes as needed. Don't try anything subliminal like writing out a message using the periodic table of elements. We already know all of the tricks when it comes to student quotes!
How can space in the book be saved for senior quotes?
We created a text box for every Senior and were overly generous with the Class of 2015. We have to revisit this issue.
What can I do to raise participation when it comes to submission of quotes?
Nag, nag, nag!! I gave Seniors 4 weeks to submit their Senior quotes. I enlisted the help of the Senior teachers, emailed, video announcements, and Editors spoke in their classes. I want to say that we had at least 80% of the class of just over 400 submit their quote. Then the Editors filled in the rest with a rotating list of generic quotes. My Editors kept a spreadsheet of quotes and emailed students if there was something questionable, over the word limit, or for clarification.
I enjoy the quotes and feel that seniors deserve to be able make their marks in the book and I want to solve this issue the best I can.
Quotes deserve to be in the yearbook for so many reasons! I was able to share my STUPID yearbook quote as what NOT to write and bring in my parents yearbooks from 1965 to show students how quotes transcend time. I will bring my high school's yearbook next week!
As an adviser with many years of yearbook under my belt, I hate senior quotes. Almost none are original. Many have meanings I don't know about. I'd much rather add what they did in high school--football, NHS etc. We don't have room for either.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting and engaging question, and I'm enjoying the responses. All I have to say is this as I read such posts: Thank goodness I don't do yearbook. But God bless those who do.
ReplyDeleteSteve Elliott
Arizona State University
Phoenix