How to Train an Army and Fight a War At the Same Time

The Yearbook elective gained 10 new staffers this semester. For once, our staff actually fills up all of the seats in the classroom, and then some. This is probably the largest the elective has been in years, and with all these new staffers, some changes will have to be made.

*Dramatization of the swelling numbers of Yearbook staffers

For one, I’ve already set a plan into motion for training the newbies while still getting work done. Ever since the slip with Deadline 1, we’ve been playing catch up on all the deadlines. I know that it’s important to train the new staffers, but I don’t want to dedicate TOO much time to training, because I don’t want to risk falling behind again. Therefore, I initiated Operation H.T.G.R. (or Hit The Ground Running). There will be a few lessons here and there to give the rookies a foundational knowledge of yearbook, but they’ll be learning the specifics in their beats (or groups).

Hannah the Fearless Photo Editor shows the newbies how to upload a photo.

Malorie and I took some time to rework the beats so they would include the new staffers. (In case you don’t know, a “beat” is a group of 2-3 staffers who are assigned to keep updated on the happenings of a certain aspect of the school. For instance, those on the Drama beat are required to know when the rehearsals are, who got what lead role, when the show is, etc.) These new beats are a mix of experienced and rookie staffers, and the goal of this experiment is for the experienced staffers to show the newbies the ropes, show them how to keep up with a beat and how to stay organized.

However, I don’t want the new staffers to think yearbook is ALL work. I have to balance a relatively rigorous training regimen with enough staff bonding so they ENJOY their time here. Get to know everyone, bring little surprises in the form of baked goods. Morale is extremely important for a staff, and it especially helps out when the staff is under pressure.

Look at these happy editors! Their morale is DEFINITELY high!

This seems to be some sort of test of my leadership. I had gotten used to working with the same people under the same conditions. Now there are new (inexperienced) staffers, two deadlines left and not much time to complete them in.  My goal is to help these new staffers assimilate into the elective, and perhaps enjoy their time so much that they join again next year. Should this work, it would fulfill the “Legacy Initiative” I wrote about for last month’s extra blog post.

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

I am extremely proud of the visual aesthetic of my presentation. I put a lot of work into the slides, and I feel like it helped maintain the attention of the class. I know that others were certainly engaged by the design of my slides. I tried to compensate for the fact that a lecture on staff management tactics would get boring.

2. a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

   AE    P       AP    CR    NC

    b. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

I didn’t do anything exceptional, or worthy of an AE. All of the research I cited in the presentation was tailored toward supporting my answer. I made the time requirement, spoke clearly, and did my best to engage the audience as I spoke. My activity did what it was supposed to, teach my answer in a tangible way. I accomplished all of the P requirements, but I did not go the extra mile (this time around).

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

As cheesy as they were, I feel like my pun hook worked to grab the class’s attention. I was able to calm down my nerves and speak slow enough to make time. My presentation time also worked in my favor, because if I had presented later in the day, the class would have gotten more anxious and paid less attention to my content.

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

I would have changed parts of my activity. As demented as it sounds, I intended for feelings to be hurt when people were excluded from the party planning process. It was the best way, I thought, to really teach people the benefits of having a shared vision. I would have figured out a different objective for the activity, but kept the premise of “Shared Vision Leader” and “Bad Leader” in different groups.

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

My second EQ answer will be “A successful editor-in-chief organizes his or her staff using various media and a hierarchical staff structure.”

Blog 12: Mentorship 10 hours check

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?

I am doing my mentorship here at IPoly, in the Yearbook elective.

2.   Who is your contact?

My contact is Mr. Shawn Strand.

3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?

Since I’ve only recently gotten this mentorship avenue approved, I’ve gotten 7 hours 10 minutes done. It was difficult to work during the holiday break. I will be completing the full 10 hours afterschool this coming Friday (January 9th).

4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.

So far, I have worked on organizing a staff of 20 staffers and 9 editors towards the goal of completing the second deadline of the yearbook. I held a progress meeting to judge where the problems were. Many staffers hadn’t turn in their photos or copy (the writing) on time, so the deadline completion has been going slowly. 2 editors and I are designers, so we have been working in a frenzy to input content into the spreads of the book. I also met with our representative from the yearbook publishing company, who provided me with helpful insight and advice.

Blog 11: Holiday Project Update

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

Since school’s been out and I haven’t been able to gather the entire staff together (due to vacations and other scheduling issues), I’ve mostly worked with the designers in cranking out spreads from the content that has been submitted. I’ve tried to stay in contact with everyone, and reminded the staff to turn in any and all copy or photos they have so Cesar, Jason, and I actually have something to design with. Since copy has to be edited by the copy editors, I’ve made sure that they check everything to make sure it’s proper and ready to be placed into spreads. Aside from that, there isn’t much that I can do without the staff.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

I’d say the most important thing I learned is that you should always, always plan ahead. Since we took too much extra time completing Deadline 1, we fell behind on Deadline 2. Before break I started assigning stories for Deadline 3, so this doesn’t happen again. However, I failed to emphasize how crucial it was for everyone to submit their work before break. The designers and I didn’t have much to work off of, and that was mostly on me. Of course, I also learned that you can’t always rely on the staff to do yearbook work during a holiday break.

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers for your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

I would interview one of the past editors-in-chief of the IPoly Yearbook, either Elissa Fultz or Emma Seyffert. They would offer a perspective that I can relate to, and have the clarity of hindsight to add to their advice.