Yearbooks and sentiments

One of the biggest challenges at the end of the school year is yearbook season. So many students ask me to sign and sometimes it's hard to come up with something meaningful, thoughtful and personal for each kiddo that asks. Why do I feel as though I must be pithy or profound? I should have just a few quotations that I rotate among the books. I know they share, though, and they compare what everyone wrote. That's a lot of pressure. I don't have the personal relationships where I feel comfortable putting some inside joke or offhand remark that could later be misconstrued or misinterpreted... or, heaven forbid--years later looked back at as being non-sensical! So I feel a pressure to perform. At the end of the year, when I'm exhausted and ready to be done. I am out of nice things to say to anybody. Some teachers have just signed their names by their photos in the faculty section. I just can't bring myself to do that, though.

Sentiments are running high with the seniors as they begin marching practice and go to all the events that they have planned for years. Some of them don't want to leave, some can't wait to leave but many, many of them are just confused. They know it's big changes but they are not sure what those changes will mean. Up and down, laughter, tears and some anger. Interesting to watch how the anger comes out, too. Smothering parents wanting to shield their children from the wild frenzy of parties--uninvolved parents setting their kids up for the free-for-all of this week. I can't wait until I can sigh relief because everyone has safely made it through the graduation season.

Then, of course, there are the sentiments of all the underclassmen who are excited to move up the food chain. Juniors who have Senior-itis already and who think their work here is done. Attitude, attitude, attitude. And the relief of freshmen who are no longer the bottom of the pecking order. Every year it is fun to see them swagger.

Next, naturally, are those who must take finals. I think it's very odd that our school dangles the threat of taking final exams as incentive to come to school. If you have not missed more than three days of school you are exempted from final exams (provided you are passing the course). So final exams are seen as a bit of punishment and no one wants to take them and there is much wailing, whining and complaining about the whole situation. Leading into frustration and failure on everyone's part. And this year our fearless leader has insisted on our submitting copies of the exams for her approval. Rather futile on her part, how will she know if the exam is relavant or appropriate? Eh, whatever, I submitted the exam and it uses the format of the mid-term; plus I submitted the study guides I provide the students so they can practice the extended response answers. So finals week drags endlessly on and the only students I get to spend double-block periods with are those who aren't terribly excited to be there, who don't perform well on tests (meaning, they are not passing the course) or they don't have very good attendance (usually from skipping classes).

And so I ask again, what if this is as good as it gets?