Knickers on the Line
Mr. Popular
7:21 am - Wednesday, Oct. 05, 2005 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? |