Social Categories and Identity in the High School
[i:1145dc876c]Jocks and Burnout's
Social Categories and Identity in the High School[/i:1145dc876c]
The research for this book was collected in-between 1980-84. It was done in the Detroit area at five high schools. Each predominantly white with a mix of financial categories. The book discusses (in a nutshell) how the social groups (Jocks and Burnout's) are formed and the reasons why they use totally different avenues to reach the same goal (namely, becoming adults).
As the writer depicts, life for children in elementary school, falls basically into two different categories, the haves and the have nots. Because of this situation the kids usually head in two different directions in trying to reach their goal of becoming adults.
There are the working class families that seem to have less time to spend with their children (while busily trying to support them) who many times end up leaving their children to be watched by the older sibling. These kids learn quickly to fend for themselves and realize at a young age that in there later lives there parents may not be able to totally provide for them. The kids spend more time exploring and growing on their own. As they head into Jr. High, they may possibly try smoking or drinking not only as an experiment in life but to show that they are like adults. Also they begin to look at the school system and regimentation as their enemy. Trying to forces them into a mold in which they do not need or care to fit.
They are trying to show other people that they can be adults themselves. Not that they need other adults to guide them. In the school setting, they don't see how any of the classes or activities will help them later in life to get a job (applications, job contacts, networking ect.). Finally it was noted that many kids get the views that they have of school from their parents. If their parents did well in school and felt that school helped them to progress in life than many times so do their children and if they feel that school was a waste of their time and in the long run they still ended up fending for themselves anyway, their...