koganbot | Rules Of The Game #13: School's Out?

Latest column:

The Rules Of The Game #13: School's Out?

I question my own methodology (and as of 9:31 they haven't put in the paragraph breaks, which kinda works anyway, the whole long column in one breathless continuum)[EDIT: Finally added five days later]. Anyway, I would appreciate your suggestions if you have any as to how to expand my vocabulary and ideas how to take in a lot of social situations where high school categories might be less applicable. Also, I think many adults do tend to keep acting out high-school social categories in the way that they map music, even while acting differently in the rest of their lives.

Also, if you imagine what a friendship survey would be like for your old school (or for social situations that you're in now) those'd be good ways to map those territories and you're encouraged to write them down here.

EDIT: Here are links to all but three of my other Rules Of The Game columns (LVW's search results for "Rules of the Game"). Links for the other three (which for some reason didn't get "Rules Of The Game" in their titles), are here: #4, #5, and #8.

UPDATE: I've got all the links here now:

http://koganbot.livejournal.com/179531.html

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I think an overlooked reason for the impact of school life on social development is the UTTER BOREDOM that most kids face - mandatory boredom, and the only relief is talking to people and making/breaking friendships. During lunchtimes (and lessons!) unless the school is particularly lenient, you're not allowed to pop down the pub, listen to music, or to the gym, or go shopping. You have to sit there, bored out of your skull thinking of ways to pass the time. Bullys emerge, as do comedians, as do loners (who perhaps can't think of anything to say or are already occupied with their own thoughts). Once these types leave school and start DOING something, the social pressure lessens and dudes generally become much more relaxed about social stuff.

This is very well displayed in Big Brother (at least in the UK series) - no books, music or other stimuli - just talking, friendships, enemyships, gossip, bad jokes and fighting. A lot of adults would regard this as utter hell, because they are used to their distractions. Teenagers would see it as a less drastic change in environment, just like school but without the lessons and more talking!

My cultural knowledge is crippled by never having seen Survivor or Big Brother (but really, it is a necessity that I not own a TV).

Seems to me that many many jobs are more boring than going to class and doing homework. But school is indeed a very strange environment, with behavior controlled and people warehoused and some of it is to genuinely educate them but some of it is because they're there for an allotted time and you don't really know what to do with them.

Think that the burnout types do sneak off down to the pub, or to some improvised equivalent, unless the school is in lockdown (which some are).

Rules Of The Game #13: School's Out?

Will expand upon this later!

Re: Will expand upon this later!