are American HS really like this?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>i'm a new member here and i come from asia with pure asian blood in my veins. i've never been outside the country (dang) and the only way i'm able to know what's happening is from the media, papers, friends etc.</p>

<p>well, i've watched the movies 'Mean Girls', 'A cinderella story' and all and i was jsut wondering if all those popular *****y girls and nerdy outcasts really exists. are the HS there really like that or is the media exaggerating? (and all the stories i read that's related to this thread)</p>

<p>don't get me wrong, i have nothing against the US schools (in fact, i kinda wish i'd study in one).</p>

2

<p>Hahaha, when I saw the topic I instantly thought of Mean Girls. To answer your question- no, public high schools aren't really like that. But there is a lot of drama, and definitely a group of popular girls/guys. It seems sooo scary from the outside but it's really not that bad.</p>

3

<p>Haha. I've always wondered that as well.</p>

4

<p>Actually, to a certain extent, that is a very accurate representation of high school.</p>

<p>The cliques, the drama, the outcasts. It exists everywhere.</p>

5

<p>You know, when I play Grand Theft Auto, I've often wondered if foreigners who've never been in the U.S. often wonder if Rockstar's depiction of the U.S. is accurate.</p>

6

<p>"Mean Girls" was based on a very unique set of girls from the National Cathedral school in Washington, D.C. Don't take it to be an accurate depition of American youth, although aspects of it can be found at every high school in the world.</p>

7

<p>I think my school is worse.</p>

8

<p>it's hyperbole, but based in real themes. nobody's really that evil, ut the basic ideas exist, i guess. except at my crazy hippie school.</p>

9

<p>i think all H.S. have cliques....but i think "mean girls" is exaggerating</p>

10

<p>I honestly don't think that mean girls was exaggerated at all. In fact, after I saw the movie, I thought of myself and my friends, because that's what it reminded me of. And we aren't even the *****iest ones in the school. I think mean girls was probably nicer than they should have been.</p>

11

<p>Mean Girls does not quite portray an accurate representation of the typical American high school. Although there are instances where one can associate to the movie, there are also some exaggerations that they have made in the film that you will rarely see. Such scenarios do not occur at most institutions, and I personally do not know any in my area. My school has no correlation with the movie whatsoever.</p>

12

<p>my school almost fits the movie perfectly.</p>

<p>you got the plastics, which hangs around the jocks at alll times. you got the cool asians (usually cantonese). you got the nerdy asians (IB mandarin asians who also do math club). And all the cliques are VERY distinctly split in the lunch room. i'm serious.</p>

<p>well i'm in Canada, which is pretty much the same as america</p>

13

<p>in my old school the clique thing was very obvious, with geeks and preps hating each other. but my current school has a much nicer atmosphere, with everyone getting along with each other and I really love it, and am happier than when I went to school in Asia. </p>

<p>Another thing I loved about American schools is that if someone is being rude or racist, the others would look down on the ill-mannered person as opposed to the victim. And the fact that the most popular guy in our grade agreed to dance with a girl with Downs Syndrome is really nice of him. Unlike in China, where my handicapped cousin was frequently bullied, her belongings often vandalized, her jacket slashed, and she often had to hide in the bathroom - and she's only in 6th grade too.</p>

14

<p>I watched Mean Girls last night. I loved every minute of it. :P</p>

15

<p>"Mean Girls" is a very accurate representation of American middle (junior high) schools, because middle schoolers want to act like high schoolers. And Hillary Duff is the Disney Channel protege, and the Disney Channel markets to elementary and middle school. My high school isn't like that at all. </p>

<p>First of all, most schools are too big for there to be only 4-5 "popular" girls. You basically have four schools--career kids, average kids, honors kids and AP kids. Maybe within each mini-group you could have a popular group, but there is no one set of queen bees ruling the entire school. (And my school is pretty small--300 kids per class)</p>

<p>Second, it really matters who you run with. Most of the kids I hang with (AP kids) really couldn't care about skirts and whatnot. Most don't even date--there seems to be a consensus that dating will be great fun in college, but high school boys are really just a distraction. The most popular kids are those who are both funny and smart, not the skinniest or prettiest. </p>

<p>Third, you have groups of people that hang out because they have shared interests, but they aren't little gangs that antagonize each other. It's just a couple of kids who realized that they think the same things are cool. Most people are pretty accepted. I started high school midway through the year, from being homeschooled, and I had no problems with people being mean or discriminatory.</p>

<p>I love American society; how everyone wants to argue over what's right, merit and hard work are so tangibly rewarded, everyone has a chance to excell, even if they don't take that chance. Really, don't let some silly Hillary Duff film put you off. No one can stand her stuff, anyway. </p>

<p>Just remember--little kids like cut and dry morality, and they like to feel "in" on big kid stuff. So, you get a bunch of stories meant to entertain morally insophisticated middle schoolers, set in an unrealistic environment.</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
"This map is gonna be your guide to North Shore. Now, where you sit in the cafeteria is crucial because you've got everybody there... you got your freshmen, ROTC guys, preps, JV jocks, Asian nerds, cool Asians, varsity jocks, unfriendly black hotties, girls who eat their feelings, girls who don't eat anything, desperate wannabes, burnouts, sexually active band geeks, the greatest people you will ever meet, and the worst: beware of the Plastics."

[/quote]

Great movie.</p>

17

<p>cleighdrie- it's not hilary duff you fool! it's linday lohan! how dare you!?!?!</p>

18

<p>high school = extremely clique driven</p>

<p>as BAD as depicted in Meal Girls?</p>

<p>no.</p>

19

<p>No matter the test scores, the rankings, etc, this country is great. It doesn't matter if half the population can't do calculus, or produce a great dissertation on the french revolution; the people of this country are willing to put aside their differences when the time comes, and that's what matters. Aslong as they go with that notion, the US will be one of worlds strongest countries.</p>

20

<p>In most American high schools, where the population has goals and is mobile, cliques have a hard time forming, since there is a sense of self-pride in goals outside the pursuit of popularity in high school. However, in some high schools-mainly ones where few or none go to college, the school is focused entirely on "hunk-male" sports (football, baseball, wrestling, basketball, and ice hockey) and pretty women (the epitome of a high school girl = cheerleader for one of the teams), or where status is determined by blood ties and money-have this mentality. These said high schools usually are near-carbon copies (on a lesser scale, perhaps, in monetary waste on material goods) of the characters and environment in "Mean Girls".</p>