Post by conman on Sept 14, 2008 16:10:27 GMT -5
In the book Nineteen Minutes, Matt Royston talks about “them vs us”. Matt is referring to the popular people such as he, Josie and their friends, versus the losers, such as Peter and Derek. There were always be a clash between the “popular” kids and the “losers”, no matter how hard somebody tries to stop it. As Royston says,” If there was a them, there wouldn’t be an us. He is pretty much saying that if there isn’t losers )losers, really meaning people that are different) like Peter to make fun of and bully, Matt will not be popular. Some people need to make other people feel inferior, so they can can feel superior, which is really just an issue of low self esteem for the ones that bully.
I think it would be very hard for High Schools to break down the barriers so that each and every student feels a part of the school. High School kids are always separated into several groups, as mentioned when Peter was explaining how kids at lunch are segregated because of there popularity at which table they sit at in lunch. Some groups are the jocks, the smart kids/nerds, the preppy kids, the video gamers, and the victims. Peter was part of the victims because he constantly got bullied.
Schools can’t stop the breaking barriers because different kids have there own different unique interests, and as a result only hang out with the kids that share their common interests. For example, all the jocks in nineteen minutes were nice to each other and got along, and Derek and Peter got along because they were into computers. Even if people don’t have the same common interests they still can get along and be friends, it is just more likely for people not to break down the barriers.
One way schools could try to make every individual feel that they are part of the school would be for people to feel more comfortable around other people. Instead of having after school activities such as baseball which all the jocks go to, and computer programming where all the nerds go to, they can try to tie both of those together. If they have a computer class that you learn how to compute sports statistics, that will mix both groups together and everyone will feel part of the school. The Schools should try to find ways like these to bring different groups in contact with each other and maybe then they can learn about each other and realize they are more different than alike.
Finally there are the kids like Peter Houghton. There are always those kids that are just the victims and will never fit in, which causes many suicides and other conflict around the world, just like in Nineteen Minutes. There is always going to be bullying and therefore people will not feel accepted in the school. Peter never did anything wrong to warrant the bullying and torture he received, but there always seems to be that one kid who doesn’t fit in. Peter Houghton and kids like him are great examples of why high schools should try to break down these barriers, even though it is difficult, to try to avoid these kinds of school shootings in the future.
I think it would be very hard for High Schools to break down the barriers so that each and every student feels a part of the school. High School kids are always separated into several groups, as mentioned when Peter was explaining how kids at lunch are segregated because of there popularity at which table they sit at in lunch. Some groups are the jocks, the smart kids/nerds, the preppy kids, the video gamers, and the victims. Peter was part of the victims because he constantly got bullied.
Schools can’t stop the breaking barriers because different kids have there own different unique interests, and as a result only hang out with the kids that share their common interests. For example, all the jocks in nineteen minutes were nice to each other and got along, and Derek and Peter got along because they were into computers. Even if people don’t have the same common interests they still can get along and be friends, it is just more likely for people not to break down the barriers.
One way schools could try to make every individual feel that they are part of the school would be for people to feel more comfortable around other people. Instead of having after school activities such as baseball which all the jocks go to, and computer programming where all the nerds go to, they can try to tie both of those together. If they have a computer class that you learn how to compute sports statistics, that will mix both groups together and everyone will feel part of the school. The Schools should try to find ways like these to bring different groups in contact with each other and maybe then they can learn about each other and realize they are more different than alike.
Finally there are the kids like Peter Houghton. There are always those kids that are just the victims and will never fit in, which causes many suicides and other conflict around the world, just like in Nineteen Minutes. There is always going to be bullying and therefore people will not feel accepted in the school. Peter never did anything wrong to warrant the bullying and torture he received, but there always seems to be that one kid who doesn’t fit in. Peter Houghton and kids like him are great examples of why high schools should try to break down these barriers, even though it is difficult, to try to avoid these kinds of school shootings in the future.
