Parents,
Before you fall into the social media trap of having K-12 teachers sign the same book for your child as a high school graduation keepsake, think about what your child (young adult) will do with that book in the days, weeks, years following graduation.
If your offspring is not sentimental, will they take that book to college with them? Will they bring it back home? When they leave the nest will they take it with them? Will they sit down with it once a year and read through all the tributes? Will they read it to their children and grandchildren as a way of promoting themselves? What if they never reach the success promised to them in that book? Will they feel good about themselves?
What will they do with that book?
How many copies of that book will end up at Goodwill in 15 years?
You know the book of which I speak. I won't mention it here because I hate to promote it and I hate to promote this tradition.
Oh, it starts out great. The kindergarten teacher wrote the nicest things about your little wunderkind. In fact she took the whole back page to express just how your absolutely amazing angelic bit of DNA wrote not only their alphabet and numbers but also a five paragraph treatise on why composting the leftover lunch refuse would be good for the environment and put an end to global warming forever- complete with graphs. The first grade teacher was similarly complimentary, but didn't use the whole page. Fast forward to the 5th grade teacher and you might get two sentences.
This is where I come in. I now teach 6th grade. It's middle school but the traditions are still strong with this group. For the first time in my career, I was asked by a number of parents (who all thought they were being original) to write a little something for their kiddos to receive at high school graduation, read frequently and cherish forever.
These are all wonderful, caring parents. Decent people with big dreams for their kids. But I don't think they remember what it was like to be in middle school. The student that was described as "so caring" four years ago is now a great lump who sits in class and does nothing but dish out negative comments to their classmates on a daily basis. The one who was "incredibly creative" in elementary school now whines when asked to design a board game that teaches the scientific method. The one who was "always in a good mood"? Suspended for vaping.
It's not the kids' fault they are suddenly incredibly ordinary and consistently annoying. It's puberty.
The simple fix for this is to NOT have the middle school teachers sign the book at all. Wait until high school when the kids become real people again and then continue the tradition. I guarantee the graduate will not even notice the absence of those pesky teachers who just kept nagging them to turn in their work.
But if you insist on carrying through with this- a few suggestions to make the process smoother:
1) Ask us before Christmas break. The glow of the new school year doesn't fade until about February, so you'll be getting a much better view of your child than you will get at the end of the year when we are emotionally, mentally and physically tired.
2) Realize that we only see your child for about 48 minutes per day. Much of that time is spent with the lessons, so deep personal interactions are minimal and we do not get to know your child like the elementary teachers did.
3) Realize that many of us have 125 or more students per day. If I had to sign 125 of those books, I would not write anything meaningful. I would just break out the ink pad and stamp of my signature and get to work...
4) Be very specific about whether this is a surprise for your child. It is easy to mix up the books that go back to the parent in the brown paper bag and the ones that get handed to the child. Also, if there are middle schoolers carrying the books around in the school, you can bet that the other students will see the book and the whole concept will no longer be special. It might be a surprise to your student that they get this at graduation, but they will have seen the idea previously.
5) When you ask, give us a way out. I declined all the requests this year because it was overwhelming. I simply could not come up with anything meaningful for each request in the short amount of time I was given.
6) Ask yourself why you are doing this. It might be that you want to keep the book at your house long after your bird has left the nest. You want to reflect back and read the nice things people have said about you your student. You want to have a written record to show others. It's natural to want to brag about yourself kiddo, but there comes a time when it's just embarrassing. Let it go. It will be ok.
I love all my incredibly ordinary and consistently annoying students. We've had a great time this year and frankly, I will miss them. On the last day of school I will say goodbye, wish them all well, and tell them to come see me next year when they are "big 7th graders".
And then I will start planning for next year.
