To me it was a prison (check out the picture at the top of the blog...doesn't it look like a prison?)
Well, I, who attended small public schools, always dreamed of a school like yours, hehe. Was I naive? But of course.
The concept of popularity became clear to me somewhat late. I remember once, I was sharing with some classmates during breakfast time, and one of them was very happy to have "joined the popular group". A couple of hours ago, his photo had been added to the honor roll board. That was what it meant to be popular in my high school. Then I had a period of introspection, I guess, and realized that at my previous school, being popular was that too. Teachers treated you better, with deference. I was in the popular group from the time I stepped into the first grade classroom, but I had never realized it. Then in college, I was nobody and for three or four semesters I felt lost. Definitely, school structure affects us in ways we can't see well but years later.
Your essay gave me some food for thought. Have a lovely day, dear @agmoore 🙂
Hello my friend, @marlyncabrera,
This is an interesting discussion indeed. It's obvious the experience of high school, related to the issue of popularity/unpopularity, differs greatly among individuals. The movies I referenced above (and countless others) indicate that this was an issue for many student. To highlight how toxic this could be in school, I will share an anecdote.
We had an honor society in my school, instead of an honor roll. It was my understanding that you had to achieve a certain average in order to be in the honor society. During the first meeting I attended we were voting on new applicants. I always thought admission was automatic. Apparently it was not. I always thought the teachers controlled admission. Apparently they did not, not completely, anyway.
A girl's name was submitted. She was such a quiet, unassuming person, the kind that was generally invisible in a class of my size. She was significantly overweight. She had curly hair that was not fixed in a flattering style, but was sort of flattened to her head. Her complexion was sallow and marked by acne. I knew her from my band class, and she never got into any trouble. Just a nice kid.
When her name was raised, one of the so-called popular girls said, "She smells." I was astonished. It was suggested this unassuming, quiet girl be blackballed because she 'smelled'.
I spoke up. I suggested maybe she had a hormone problem, a medical issue. I was in orchestra with her and never noticed anything. How bad could it be?
That 'popular' girl and her friends persisted. A private vote was held and the young lady was blackballed.
She couldn't stand on the stage with us during our ceremonies. She couldn't have that little mark next to her name on the graduation program.
It killed me. What did that girl think when she was rejected? I couldn't imagine. So cruel, so unfair. That's how popularity worked in my school.
You see how, in a way, the school administration and its structured hierarchy, enabled the dynamic of popularity/unpopularity to have power?
I appreciate your feedback. It is enlightening to share these experiences.
I hope there is relative peace where you are now. My country is rather embroiled in politics at the moment.
It'd be interesting to know what brought us to this point where within an educational institution, where there are supposed to be qualified professionals, a student can be belittled and rejected because of the opinion of a single young girl. I wouldn't have imagined that something like this could happen, but I guess that although they are different creatures, each school has its own demons. In the end, these school policies, educational policies of the State in general, try to respect the individuality and initiative of students, but in doing so, it seems that a few young tyrants could ruin the lives of many others who lack, I don't know how to put it, fierceness? My college Psychology professor would've said that young people with power motivation can crush others with different motivations. So
I do, sure.
Thank you so much. I'm hopeful!
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