7:21 am - Wednesday, Oct. 05, 2005
Mr. Popular
Boy has switched schools. At his new school most of the kids come from homes like his. He�s in a similar socio-economic group as most of his classmates. Boy is not stinky, he has no overt disgusting habits, and is not objectionable to the eyes. This means his whole social vista has popped wide open.

He has informed me that he is popular. In a classroom of 14 kids this may not mean much, but it is profound in a personal sense. At his old school he was part of a group of 5 kids (from a pool of 40) who swam in their own eddy of similarities. They were frequently in a defense mode, defending their choice of clothes or vocabulary or who knows what else. Now he�s part of the majority. The hoard whose mothers won�t let them play �T� and �M� games. The bunch who pay no attention to the brand of sneakers on their feet, and whose mothers won�t give them a whooping if they get them dirty. He doesn�t change his dialect when he gets to school anymore. And something new- this is the first time someone has �Liked� him. He was actually rather distraught when he told me how he had become the latest fad amongst the girls, and how it was rumored that 5 girls liked him. Part of this, of course, is his age, but the rest is that he fits into the image of someone likable.

What a relief. Not that I was too worried that he would be doomed to a depressing loner status, or some kind of geek-club if he stayed in his old school system. I was more worried that he would end up squishing himself into some shape other than his own. It�s only natural.

Makes me wonder though. How are kids supposed to mix if we sort them like this? How are they supposed to grow healthy and whole if we don�t?

As an aside, and just so's you know, I have posted three entries today. I worked a long time on the first one, so go back and read it, kay?