Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together?

The groups that are formed as adolescents often determine group associations as adults and define an individual within their social group that will either set them with or against other groups. This is described in an article on social groupings by Colin Allen, which mentions that our social associations as adolescents are strong indicators to future patterns of social norms as adults. Therefore, the group of students in the movie, The Breakfast Club, can also be extrapolated to adult group dynamics. However, the varying social norms between groups can present conflicts when adults are required to function within a very diverse group of individuals. In The Breakfast Club, the Jock, Geek, Prom Queen, Delinquent, and the Freak groups are brought together initially through an autocratic or directive leadership role, used to bring the group together in order to proceed to the next phase of group development. This stage is particularly important within a group of

People have evolved over millennia from microscopic cells to complex organisms capable of complicated thoughts on a consistent basis. At first glance, they all are diverse looking people. It's hard sometimes to look on the outside of someone and remember that their DNA is the same basic makeup; just plus or minus some extra DNA sequencing. As Beverly Daniel Tatum so clearly writes in her essay "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" But we as humans have lived through the Neanderthal Era, scrounging for food and finding shelter, to defeating deadly diseases in the modern age. People can't just say that's it's their survival instincts, it's more than that. Success is in their DNA.

Beverly Daniel Tatum, a psychologist and writer of race and race relations, writes “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria,” to explain why black students separate themselves and how the separation develops. Tatum explains to different races, other than of African descent, how the slightest actions and words affect perceptions of that person’s race and other races. The messages received from the real world that shape perception inevitably result in self-segregation.

In a world with different opinions and views comes conflict. Some people bully those who don’t act and don’t look like them. In the world this leads to harsh judgment and nasty comments. In high school, this separation leads to cliques in schools and people feeling lonely. The cliques typically have members who are “popular.” Popular is defined as being well liked and desired among others. I expect the “popular” kids to be well liked because they are compassionate to others, however, that isn’t usually the case. Usually kids

Adolescence is about being yourself. Some people can’t determine wether or not it is better to fit in, or stand out. In “Lord of the Flies”, Piggy was being picked on and told Ralph that he was “the only boy in school that had asthma,” (Goulding). In “Lord of the Flies”, most of the kids on the island picked on Piggy. This is very similar to real life situations. In high school, or even grade school, there is normally one child, who is exceptionally different from the rest, who gets picked on. But, how do they determine if it is better to stand out or fit in? Either way, it’s kind of a lose, lose. If you stand out, you are more prone to be picked on or judged, but if you fit in, you are not being yourself and you are conforming to everyone else’s exceptions. We as individuals, shouldn’t be worried to be ourself, we should be able to be whoever we want.

The purpose of this investigation is to determine the effects of the segregation of the students of Prairiewood High School into Selective and Community classes in their junior years (7-10 inclusive) only to be combined in their senior years (11 and 12). This case study looks specifically at the transition from being in ‘segregated classes’ in junior years to being in ‘combined classes’ in senior years and its effects on all the students personal and social interactions and identity.

Humans have a natural need to fit in. For teenagers, fitting in is even more important than it was when they were little kids and more than it will ever be when they grow up to become working adults with careers and children. In the world of high school, the social food chain is a vicious occurrence. To a lot of people, not fitting in means that you are not liked, that you are uncool and that you don’t belong. Nobody wants to feel like they don’t belong, especially teenagers. Teenagers are growing humans who are exploring their own identities and becoming their own person, so they feel a stronger need to fit in with friends who give them approval and a “home” outside of their family. This gives them a sense of reassurance and protection. Moreover,

I am comfortable in my own skin. I wear the clothing I want to wear, I do the activities I want to participate in, and I am who I want to be. But, I was not always the girl who wore bright colored dresses with bright shoes instead of the typical teenager look that consisted of a Hollister shirt, black leggings, and UGG boots. Everyone has come face-to-face with the barrier between social norm and a scary thing called uniqueness. This inconvenience is discovered around the awkward stage in a student’s life, also known as middle school. This is when students have to choose between the social norm and looking different. In my case, I never actually had the opportunity to choose my own path. My divergent physical traits chose the path for me.

Everyone needs to belong or to feel connected with others who share attitudes, interests, and circumstances that resemble their own. Teenagers choose friends who accept and like them and see them in a favourable light. Moreover, to be a member of a peer group is one of the primary goals of most teenagers during adolescence. They need their group, in order to achieve social acceptance.

This book discusses Social Identity, coping, and life tasks have three authors. Geraldine Downey, who’s an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia University. Then Jacquelynne S. Eccles, who’s an Wilbert McKeachie Collegiate Professor of Psychology, Women's Studies, and Education and research scientist at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. And Celina M. Chatman is associate director of the Center for Human Potential and Public Policy at the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago. Navigating the Future focuses on the roles social identity plays on youths. They present how stressful and challenging it has become for youths.

Is adolescence really about fitting in or not standing out? Do you have any responsibility to those students who don't fit in? A major part of adolescence is whether you fit it or not. This major part decides the majority of your friends and your understandings/feelings. It’s not always a bad thing to not fit in. You don't really have a responsibility to those who do not fit in. Sometimes, they choose not to fit in. By all means, try to include them. Try not to make them feel like they don't belong, but this doesn’t always work.

Time and time again we see movies, plays, books, graphic novels, and many more mediums portraying the ‘average’ life of a high schooler. Sometimes these media adaptions hit the nail on the head but most of them turn out to be just another cliche in the genre. Most people often focus on high school and its inhabitants as a single organism when in reality it’s a complex hierarchy of ever-evolving individuals. To an outsider high school is no more complex than a simple arithmetic problem like one plus one. But from an insider 's point of view one plus one suddenly expands to include several polynomials, introducing new variables that add layers to the rapidly expanding equation. One of the lesser explored areas of high school is its social order. At the base of the pyramid we have the Freshmen, fondly called the ‘babies’ of the school, that are always eager to please. Then there are the Sophomores who still retain their first-year enthusiasm with an underlying layer of experience. Nearing the top are the Juniors that have already established the foundation of their personal identity and carry a wide array of knowledge. Then, sitting on the throne, are the Seniors who have an uncanny habit of bending the rules and have the nonchalance personality of a cat that only high school veterans can achieve. It’s simple for adults and even children to say that freshmen and seniors are virtually the same thing. However, if one looks underneath the

Any teen movie ever made has successfully pushed the social hierarchal agenda. Look at any John Hughes movie from the 1980’s and you’ll see a familiar trend. The common stereotypical high school cliques such as the popular crowd, the jocks, and the nerds flashed across the screen. Ever since the inception of films geared towards teenagers, the idea of queen bees and academically inept jocks was reinforced in a negative light. Creating anxieties for middle schoolers around the world. Though these heavy stereotypes do plague many high schools, there are some schools that seem to be exempt from the trend. Studies show the exemption could stem from the size of the school. However, the amount of freedom the students have also made a difference when it comes to social order.

To begin, status is one of if not the most prevalent issue among adolescents in the high school setting. It is difficult to break down status into each of its many components, but the root of it all lies in the relationships formed and held by youth. The two defining types of adolescent relationships are instrumental and expressive relationships. In his 2016 book, Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids, Milner explains that “Instrumental relationships are formed for some specific purpose or goal; expressive relations are those that have no specific purpose but focus on companionship” (Milner, 2016). It is obvious that

The friendships we made with teachers, the lessons we learned from friends, the hard times and high times with our peers and families have culminated into our social development. Whether it's the time you told a girl you liked her, or the time you and your friends were alluded to in the Police Beat, there are moments in high school that have shaped your personality and developed your own identity. It's those moments that are embedded in our character and define who we are.