Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Idea. (Been a while)

So, I've had an idea. I don't know if it's a good idea. But it's an idea nonetheless, and I think it's worth taking a look at.

We'll cut to the chase.

What if in the commons at the high school we installed a huge whiteboard with lots of markers and erasers on leashes with a big sign above it that just said "Write on me" or "Go for it" or "Edit me"?

It's a risky endeavor. What could happen? What'd be the result if you let a student body of near two thousand write and draw whatever they wanted on a whiteboard that everybody would see?

You'd have people that just try to offend others. They'd write and draw things that ought not be written nor drawn.

You'd have people that write something studid, because they can.

You'd have people that would try to write something comical, or inspiring, or a "cute" note to their friends.

You'd have people with agendas trying to get their news out. Buy the litmag!

You'd have talented folks drawing quick drawings that make people smile.

You'd have SBO's trying oh-so-hard to garner school spirit.

You'd have unoriginal folks with a classic "Shirl*, will you go with me to Sweethearts?"
*(Yes, Shirl is a man's name)

Me? What would I write? "Kyle kissed a boy"? "Poo upsidedown"? "Come to Frisbee Friday"? "Go Warrior XC" ? Or something inspiring, something noble?

I don't know what I'd write. I know for sure what I'd erase.

But who would win? The vandals or the winners? Just going off of names, I'm gonna wager the winners.

It's an interesting prospect. It gives students an unheard of level of freedom. It's a lot of trust, cause they could put some very interesting stuff up on the whiteboard. It'd be totally student regulated. If I see something I don't like, I can erase it. If somebody else sees something they don't like, they can erase it as well.

Is it worth pursuing? I honestly don't know. Who knows if the admins will go for it. I'm not convinced that it's the right thing for us to do as a high school. I just think it's worth taking a look at.

Could it raise school spirit? Yeah, I think so. It shows trust. It shows community. It's a social experiment. Above everything else, it's new and fresh. Everyday wouldn't necessarily have to be the same old, same old.

What do you guys think? Plausible, feasible? Hmmmm.

8 comments:

Rachel Frost said...

That would definitely be interesting. The problem is that there would be those people who erase everything and write big cuss words up on the board, thinking that they're funny. It's kinda like the whole graffiti thing on the skywalk. You can erase it, paint over it, wash it off... but they put it up there faster than you can get it off.

Nick said...

I think people are generally a lot better than we, myself included, give them credit for. Sure, there would be those people, but I think they'd stop or at least not do it as frequently as time went by and everybody ignored their messages. Or you could have somebody watch or a group of people check the board in between classes or at lunch or something. I still want to try it out.

I guess if I want people to comment on my blog, I've got to be better about commenting on others, huh? Haha. Yeah. w00t.

Rachel Frost said...

Nick, you have a valid point. I was merely stating that there are those few people who always seem to try to ruin things for the vast majority. I think for the most part, it would be a great thing. It's just difficult to monitor stuff like this, you know? We have to take charge of things ourselves.

Jaron Frost said...

I think thats an awesome idea. Really brilliant, actually. It's like Wikipedia. And yeah, there would be the dumb kids who erase everything and write the F word as big as they can, cuz they think they're funny, but the next good soul who came around would surely erase it and write something better. I mean, it's not like you don't hear that word every other second in the hall anyway, what's reading it on the board for a couple seconds going to matter? The benefits outweigh the negatives, I'd say. It would be like a... meeting place, sort of thing. Imagine it - you're there, erasing a giant letter F (intending to replace it with a D, of course, because that makes it funny), and a cute girl comes up and starts helping you. "So," you say, "you're anti-swearing too?" It could be the start of a great relationship. Hmm.

Rachel Frost said...

Haha... very funny... however true. I can't imagine any better excuse to talk to a cute boy I don't know! Haha. Yay.

Kortney said...

I like the idea. But, you already knew that.

Courtney said...

sounds fun to me.

and thatcher, since when do you need a big whiteboard to write things like "kyle's a girl." and "poo upsidedown"???

you already write them all over all of my papers!!!!

Anonymous said...

I think it's asking for trouble. I think the vandals would win, but hey, why not give it a shot? It'd be interesting to see. It'd be awesome actually.