Pot, chronic, weed, blunt. Whatever you call it, I don't like it. I certainly don't want it anywhere near my classroom or my students.
However, I did not get my wish three years ago when I became the yearbook adviser for The Huntsville Hornet. When I took over the job, there had been a revolving door of advisers who in a couple of cases, did not even finish the school year. I was given a lot of information from the editing team and a LOT more from the staff. We should back up a little...I was in my 9th month of pregnancy when I took the job. I had taught 8 years of elementary school and two years at the intermediate level. I started doing the yearbook at the intermediate level and I really liked it. I say "doing" because I really did a lot of it. The book was an after school club with very sporadic attendance. I didn't know anything whatsoever about yearbooks or editing teams. I guess you could say I didn't know my picas from my...well, you get the idea.
So, long story short, I let my water retentive fingers dial the number for the high school principal and I let her secretary know that I was interested in the job. I went through the proper channels of applying and all of that jazz and before you know it, I was waddling in my principal's office interviewing for the best job I've ever had!
I started by meeting the editing team. I called each one of them and spoke to them over the phone. I then met them at the bowling alley...their choice, I hate that place, for a chat about next year. I really did a lot of listening at this point. Something told me that it would be a HUGE mistake to go in and start barking orders at them. I would have a full scale revolt right there at Huntsville Lanes. I could just see the headlines, pregnant journalism teacher strikes out with king pins of the yearbook.
I had my youngest baby girl, Addison Mae in July. I took a couple of weeks to recover from my cesarean delivery (not enough time, I know), and it was back to work. I had Addison July 12th and was at yearbook camp at Texas A&M on July 20th, and I don't recommend that route for anyone!
I really approached these kids as though they were wild horses and I was trying to coax them back to the coral without using a bridle or bit. I didn't have any sugar cubes in my pocket, but I did have one thing that enticed them right away...respect. That's right. Good old fashioned R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Aretha was on to something!
I learned that if I listened to these kids, ridiculous as their ideas may be, they were more open to the ideas of others, even open to...my ideas. We went to camp, we ate pizza, we had meetings, we ate pizza, we laughed, we got to know each other, we ate pizza. It wasn't long before they were eating out of my hand...or at least out of my pizza boxes.
We were able to establish a theme, design a cover, create a ladder, establish roles and responsibilities and it all worked. Simply because I showed them respect. They were so relieved at the fact that I cared about what they had to say. I needed them and they needed me. You know what? They were a group of kids with talent and I wanted them to see that about themselves.
Seems like things were going along swimmingly when all of the sudden, they weren't. One of my editors came to me with a panic stricken look on her face. I knew something wasn't right. She said, " I have to tell you something and I don't want anyone to know that it was me who told you."
I got that, "I might throw up" feeling in my stomach because that phrase is usually never followed by anything good.
She went on to explain that another editor had hidden pot in her desk in my classroom. Now, I may live to be 100, but I will NEVER forget this moment. I felt like I had been kicked in the gut. I assured her that I would not reveal how I found out, but that I would have to involve the police.
Later, my room was searched by an administrator and a police officer with a narcotics dog. They found the drugs and removed them. This was, by far, my worst day on the job.
It was determined that the person who stashed the drugs was another editor. She ended up missing the completion of the book because she spent the remainder of the school year in DAEP.
If you fast forward two years later to this past school year, I now have a strong leadership team established and I've worked really hard to recruit trustworthy students who are interested in a good product. Essentially, we had to graduate the old blood and get a new type of student in the room. We had to dispel the rumors that the yearbook room was a place to "chill." Therefore attracting the students who were making the wrong kinds of choices. I am happy to say that we had done that. Things are not perfect but, the more we work, the more we learn and the better we become.
My purpose for sharing this story with you is that, if you are a first year adviser and you are struggling, I want you to know it gets better. Hang in there and use your rep for support, they can be invaluable.
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