Yearbook

Course Overview:

In the children’s book Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox, a young boy searches for ways to find lost memories for an old woman who had lost her own. Through his persistent questions and vivid imagination, he inspires her to remember events from her past. A yearbook should allow any reader to do the same when it is visited years later.

But let’s be honest. The most thorough inspection any yearbook is going to get happens within hours and days of the distribution of that book. Years later, specific spreads and certain people may be revisited, but few people spend their time reading every article; they are too busy with the latest best-seller or iPod download. Clearly, the memories a yearbook captures must be as relevant in May or August when the book comes out as in 20 or 30 years. So many events occur during a school year that scenes from Homecoming seem like a distant memory in May, especially after prom.

With that in mind, what is the real purpose of the yearbook? With blogs and Facebook and easily shared digital photos, why do people still care about the yearbook? Is it the perfect place, as the daughter of a friend claims, to write heartfelt sentiments about friendship? Is it the proper forum to address controversial issues? And is it an accurate reflection of the people who not only immersed themselves into sports and clubs, but also of those who chose more diverse interests?

 The straightforward answer is that the yearbook is a publication that reflects the events and lives of people involved with a school during that given year. Historically, yearbooks were little more than picture books, often including literary works and art. With the explosion of desktop publishing in the last few decades, yearbooks have become even more journalistic, reflecting not only the design and photographic capabilities now available, but including coverage that showcases everything from reporting of events to first-person profiles. In these ways, the yearbook still fulfills some standard roles: it is a memory book, a history book, a record book, and/or a reference book.  Some also believe that it is a public relations tool for that particular school. While a yearbook should be all of the above, I would like to add three adjectives to the list of things a yearbook should be: honest, thorough and accurate. These descriptors may, at first glance, seem contradictory.