breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,591 
Location: PNW
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Post by breetheflea on Sept 19, 2023 16:35:24 GMT
I am reorganizing my small die cuts using a 3 ring binder and sticking (lightly) all my stuff to white paper so I can see it at a glance and not dig through piles…
So many red school houses, bells, apples, piles of textbooks, lockers and padlocks (maybe for PE but our district ripped out the lockers decades ago), single shoes (again PE? Do you scrap your kids PE class?) … the old timey school desk like Little House on the Prairie….
I’m not scrapbooking in 1837, manufacturers! Anyone else think the school theme needs an update?
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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Sept 19, 2023 17:18:53 GMT
Yes! School theme could use.
Computers
Back packs
Phones
Starbucks cups
Car pick up and drop off line
Current style of books
Uniforms
Current style of building
Current playground equipment
Lunch containers not old style lunch boxes
Homework sayings
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Post by Linda on Sept 19, 2023 17:39:15 GMT
yes - I like ScrapbookMyLife 's list and would add... modern looking schoolbuses metal detectors graphing calculators chromebooks and some phrases that fit modern kids - less A+ and Best Student Ever and more homework, computer work, virtual day/school, Working Hard etc.... |
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Post by 950nancy on Sept 19, 2023 19:55:01 GMT
Try working in a school. So many apples and mugs as gifts. I think people just get a little lazy about designing or maybe tried and true sells, who knows. I also think that there are people who are new to the craft and want the traditional stuff, but us old-timers already have it all.
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Post by joblackford on Sept 19, 2023 21:13:02 GMT
yes - I like ScrapbookMyLife 's list and would add... modern looking schoolbuses metal detectors graphing calculators chromebooks and some phrases that fit modern kids - less A+ and Best Student Ever and more homework, computer work, virtual day/school, Working Hard etc.... Especially because not every kid is getting A+ all the time... and their efforts are still totally worth celebrating! I think simple symbols are what buyers for craft stores are choosing, and this same issue shows up in a lot of other places in the scrapbook world - I'm thinking Dads represented by ties and fishing, music by records or tapes, gendered colors and stereotypes for babies and littles, etc. It's partly what people our age and older are thinking of when we're looking for symbols, and partly safe. But when I think of the things I celebrated about being at school it was recess and lunch, school trips or camps, friendships, extra-curricular activities, maybe even learning things  effort and achievement... Some less celebrated but iconic things might be uniforms and homework, exams, chalkboards/whiteboards, stationery (maybe even pencils are getting to be a bit old fashioned beyond the early grades, but still feel symbolic). I feel for teachers every time I see the new cardmaking products full of apples for teachers. Is it safe? Guaranteed not to offend anyone? I guess it's hard to come up with a simple iconic image that sums up everything teachers do in this day and age. Maybe lilacgal can comment from an elementary teacher's POV. |
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Post by 950nancy on Sept 20, 2023 3:13:54 GMT
yes - I like ScrapbookMyLife 's list and would add... modern looking schoolbuses metal detectors graphing calculators chromebooks and some phrases that fit modern kids - less A+ and Best Student Ever and more homework, computer work, virtual day/school, Working Hard etc.... Especially because not every kid is getting A+ all the time... and their efforts are still totally worth celebrating! I think simple symbols are what buyers for craft stores are choosing, and this same issue shows up in a lot of other places in the scrapbook world - I'm thinking Dads represented by ties and fishing, music by records or tapes, gendered colors and stereotypes for babies and littles, etc. It's partly what people our age and older are thinking of when we're looking for symbols, and partly safe. But when I think of the things I celebrated about being at school it was recess and lunch, school trips or camps, friendships, extra-curricular activities, maybe even learning things  effort and achievement... Some less celebrated but iconic things might be uniforms and homework, exams, chalkboards/whiteboards, stationery (maybe even pencils are getting to be a bit old fashioned beyond the early grades, but still feel symbolic). I feel for teachers every time I see the new cardmaking products full of apples for teachers. Is it safe? Guaranteed not to offend anyone? I guess it's hard to come up with a simple iconic image that sums up everything teachers do in this day and age. Maybe lilacgal can comment from an elementary teacher's POV. I think that the nicest thing anyone can get me is a drink, sandwich, (or anything that I can use at the current moment). One time a parent brought me a 12 pack of Diet Mountain Dew. It cost the same as a Starbuck's drink and I don't drink coffee. It was so nice that the kiddo knew what I liked AND it was cold. I also had a parent that made me homemade egg rolls (but I know that some people wouldn't eat anything homemade). Other than that, a nicely written thank you note from a student where they were specific about a memory or something we had shared together was worth more than food item or gift card. I think that designers could easily make a 3x4, 4x4 or 4x6 set of titles that had more traditional icons on one side and more current technology, sayings, experiences on the other. Give people choices. |
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Post by scrapcat on Sept 20, 2023 17:27:36 GMT
When scrapping teenage nephew, I cannot get enough images/stamps/graphics/paper of cell phones, portable speakers, wifi symbols, laptops, imessage speech bubbles, tablets, streaming,(basically anything that Apple or Amazon sell  ) etc, and this also spills over into school things. Even if I scrap a photo of him and his friends attending a dance, I will use gamer controls and things like that on the LO bcz that's what they like, what connects them. I really like the Reminisce Technology Overload to accent since the graphics are smaller. designsbyreminisce.com/products/technology-overload-technology-overload-collection-kitThat said, sometimes I don't mind the cliché items, but they would not be a focal point, maybe used for clustering/layering. |
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PaperAngel
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,012
Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
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Post by PaperAngel on Sept 20, 2023 22:02:54 GMT
... Anyone else think the school theme needs an update? Yes, IMHO all scrapbook themes on rotation need an update in color palettes, icons, sentiments, etc. plus edits (e.g. remove stereotypes/gender typing, etc.), expansion (e.g. beyond just cutesy elementary school to middle school, high school, college, trade school, etc.), & less florals throughout (e.g. floral-embellished books, bicycles, stand mixers, ghosts, & many more!) |
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Post by lilacgal on Sept 21, 2023 20:35:17 GMT
yes - I like ScrapbookMyLife 's list and would add... modern looking schoolbuses metal detectors graphing calculators chromebooks and some phrases that fit modern kids - less A+ and Best Student Ever and more homework, computer work, virtual day/school, Working Hard etc.... But when I think of the things I celebrated about being at school it was recess and lunch, school trips or camps, friendships, extra-curricular activities, maybe even learning things effort and achievement... Some less celebrated but iconic things might be uniforms and homework, exams, chalkboards/whiteboards, stationery (maybe even pencils are getting to be a bit old fashioned beyond the early grades, but still feel symbolic). I feel for teachers every time I see the new cardmaking products full of apples for teachers. Is it safe? Guaranteed not to offend anyone? I guess it's hard to come up with a simple iconic image that sums up everything teachers do in this day and age. Maybe lilacgal can comment from an elementary teacher's POV. I think apples are just generally iconic to teachers/education in general. I’ve only been given an actual edible apple by a student two or three times in the two decades I’ve taught third grade. I have plenty of apple paperweights, picture frames, pointers, folders, clipboards, mugs, sticky notes and whatnot. I think it’s just a “safe” icon. That said, why is it in all the collections? I associate the apple for the teacher, not the student. I’m not scrapping my child with apples. Most of what I see seems geared towards lower elementary. I wouldn’t even use it to scrapbook my third graders let alone my sophomore daughter. I do wish they’d update their iconography and phrases. “Working hard” “Making improvements” “Not feeling it” “When’s lunch?” “When’s recess?” “I have to do what?” “Project time!” “Getting stuff done” Phrases like that would work for my child, my third graders, me as a teacher, and even my husband in an office and my sister as a stay at home mom! Show me calculators, laptops, and tablets. I think pens, pencils, notebooks, binders, and stacks of books are still appropriate. Even though my daughter has few textbooks and was issued a MacBook upon entering high school, those are still things she uses. I’m watching her study with her chemistry book and laptop both on her lap with her headphones in as she listens to music as I type this. (Also getting strange looks because she sees me glancing over at her as I think.) I don’t need a chalkboard. I graduated college with my degree in 2001. I have never used a chalkboard in all my years in education. At least change those to whiteboards with dry erase markers! I feel the industry in general is slow to change when people are buying what they’re selling. Why change? But people are buying that in many cases because it’s all there is. |
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Post by joblackford on Sept 21, 2023 23:07:21 GMT
I do wish they’d update their iconography and phrases. “Working hard” “Making improvements” “Not feeling it” “When’s lunch?” “When’s recess?” “I have to do what?” “Project time!” “Getting stuff done” Phrases like that would work for my child, my third graders, me as a teacher, and even my husband in an office and my sister as a stay at home mom! I love those ideas! They're very versatile for lots of contexts. |
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Post by kmage on Sept 22, 2023 12:49:09 GMT
This is where a lot of Pinkfresh comes into play for me. I have used Pinkfresh to document so much of my highschooler's stuff. A case of the blahs, and other collections I can't remember right now (maybe life right now?) were perfect for that.
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Post by honeypea on Sept 22, 2023 13:22:53 GMT
This is where a lot of Pinkfresh comes into play for me. I have used Pinkfresh to document so much of my highschooler's stuff. A case of the blahs, and other collections I can't remember right now (maybe life right now?) were perfect for that. Super Cool was a good PF teen line. 👍🏻 |
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Post by grammadee on Sept 22, 2023 17:16:20 GMT
That schoolhouse has to go! Doesn't even look like the schoolhouse I went to one-room school in.
The schoolbus icons still work for the ones our dgk's ride in. But a good car pool line would work well, too.
The apple is a classic and can always be slipped onto a page or tucked under a cluster. I also like and use stickers/diecuts with pencils, pens, rulers, backpacks. But ear buds, tablets, and other modern images need to show up.
Many school lines have chalk letters on black or green boards, and while that is recognizable to my generation, no one in school now would have anything but white or smart boards in front of them. Or a computer monitor.
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effort and achievement... Some less celebrated but iconic things might be uniforms and homework, exams, chalkboards/whiteboards, stationery (maybe even pencils are getting to be a bit old fashioned beyond the early grades, but still feel symbolic). 
effort and achievement... Some less celebrated but iconic things might be uniforms and homework, exams, chalkboards/whiteboards, stationery (maybe even pencils are getting to be a bit old fashioned beyond the early grades, but still feel symbolic). 
) etc, and this also spills over into school things. Even if I scrap a photo of him and his friends attending a dance, I will use gamer controls and things like that on the LO bcz that's what they like, what connects them. 
