Jarvis Clutch Chapter 3 – Question
After reading chapter 3 . . .
Choose one of the following:
- Answer one of the questions at the end of the chapter. Make sure that you write down the full question at the start of your response.
- Respond/reply to one of your classmates who has already posted a response. Take the question to the next level or in another direction. Be thoughtful and respectful in your response. Remember: If you take this option, make sure that you click the reply link in the comment to which you are responding.
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I think that Lrei is really diverse and a nice community. Our school never gets into those things and that’s what is so nice about it. I don’t know if that is what happens at a lot of schools but I know that defiantly does not happen at ours.
I agree with Sylvie but at the same time I disagree. I remember how bad and mean my old school was, and I totally think that this school is so much nicer and happier. But I can think beyond diverse in a way, our school has diversity, but not the kind that Jarvis’s school has. We have diversity in many ways, but Jarvis’s school has more in a group like way. We don’t have many groups, but the groups at Jarvis’s school are very diverse. You have the goat herd, the ones who don’t fit in, the smokers, and many more.
This is my second school and neither my old school or this school has had anything in common to the social scene in Jarvis’ school. There were no groups in my old school because most grades were about 15-25 kids. We also didn’t have a cafeteria. So far I haven’t experienced any similarities between LREI’s social scene and the Eastern middle school social scene. It seems like Jarvis is with a tough crowd, and that might be a hard adjustment, but LREI has been very welcoming and made the transition between schools much easier.
Interesting observation. What role do you think that the size of the school plays in this? As a school gets bigger is it harder for people to really know each other well? If that is the case, maybe what stands out more is the group that you belong to.
I agree with you Alexa. My old school had a popular crowd and they would not let anyone who wasn’t pretty or cool enough in their group. There were also bullies. In a way, my old school was like Jarvis’s school but Jarvis’s school does have more diverse groups. Our school definitely doesn’t have groups and that is a good thing because that means that everyone fits in everywhere and no one gets bullied.
I defiently agree with Alexa K.. I agree with Alexa because coming from my old school kids where not the nicest. I remember the groups not being diverse. There was the kids who dance, the kids who play sports, the smarter kids, and then there was the bullies. You can’t forget the “Mean girls”. Jarvis school is more diverse with the groups of kids. At LREI the groups are diverse and the kids are nice and welcoming with joining into there group. It seemed at Jarvis”s school kids were not as welcoming with jointing a group.
Our school is way smaller then the average schools I think that’s part of that. It’s harder to know everyone in a bigger school.
I agree with Mika. Our school is smaller than other schools so we have a better community. I like knowing a lot of people so I don’t feel like I am alone
This is a very good point.. In big schools there are so many kids so it’s really hard to be friends with everyone. LREI is different because we are a small community and are all friends.
I agree with Sylvie. But I don’t think that there are many schools that are’t diverse and nice.
I totally agree. Our school is very small and has a good feel. We don’t have any major problems and it’s not like the movies. Mika said that it’s harder to know everyone in a bigger school and I agree.
I agree our school is small so everyone gets to know each other and that is cool
So lots of folks have talked about the advantages of a small school environment. Are there ways though that a small school environment can also make social relations challenging?
I agree, not just because its a kind of small school. But, our community is very nice. And everybody is super nice and kind to each other.
I don’t think we have anything that BAD at our school.
Every school has gossip and people tell other people about other people, but there isn’t much bullying.
A way a small school can make social relations challenging is maybe if there are not many kids most of the kids go to one group and the others are left out. But our school is nice.
I think that our school is diverse and nicer than most schools. But I also think that there can be lager diverse public schools. It is harder know everyone in a big school and thats why I think that in bigger schools that people stick more to there own groups.
I agree with Kiki and Mika. Our school is very small and intimate. In the movies they have groups like “The Jocks”, or “The Nerds” or “The Popular Kids”. I feel that despite a few kids, LREI has the best school community ever. Everyone is very supportive of everyone else. I’m soooo lucky to be here.
I agree. We do not really be mean to others. We are more accepting an nice. We have people from all over and different religoinos and some schools you have to be catholic or jewish and we have all sorts
It is certainly good to be a member of an “accepting:” community, but do we work as hard as we might to really understand people who are different from us? How might we do a better job of that?
I think we are not mean to each other because we are a community and we are friends with everyone.
I agree with what most of what sylvie was saying, but I think that there is the groups, there are some rejected, and there are popular groups, and I don’t want to name any names, but last year there was a kid who was rejected and he had no friends, so I don’t agree.
How would you try to help a student that is being rejected because of the way he/she looks? I would go over and tell them that it doesn’t matter if people don’t like the way that they look and that it’s all about who you are on the inside. I wouldn’t be very happy if people rejected me for the way I look, I wouldn’t want to treat anyone the way I wouldn’t want to be treated.
I agree with Georgia. I mean its not fair if your rejected just because you look bad. You might boat be like people on the outside, but maybe you get top grades or your super nice. It wouldn’t be fair if the whole school year know one talked to you because your “ugly”. I wouldn’t feel very happy, would you?
I absolutely wouldn’t like that! I think that if people judge people on the way a person looks, who needs them!? Especially if someone pretends to be friends with someone just because they’re getting something out of it. I think that if you don’t know someone that well, don’t judge them on the way they look, judge them on the way they act. If you don’t like them after you’ve gotten to know them, then I suppose you don’t HAVE to talk to them, but you shouldn’t gossip about them behind their back. I think that is completely rude. I know that sometimes people can’t not do it, but I think that it would be to all of our advantages to not gossip at all. That’s just what I think.
I agree although I feel like sometimes you can’t avoid gossip and rumors.
I would tell them not to change if they like themselves, and I would spend time with them and tell my other friends to try to be nicer to them because it is what is on the inside.
I would say that its whats on the inside not the outside.
I agree with Georgia. But I have a question to Georgia’s answer. If you get rejected because of how you look would you change your look? I would change my look for a little bit to see what people would say. Then I would probably change back
All good points, but do we jump in and provide this support as often as we should. Even in our small, nice and diverse community are we always the ally that we talk about being? How might we move from talking about the value of being an ally to being one when the situation demands it? What are some of the things that can make it hard to be an ally?
I wouldn’t change my look just because of what someone said. If they don’t like me for me, thats their business. I would stay just they way i am because thats who i am.
You can just make them more confident about their looks and make them feel good about themselves by saying nice things about them and not letting other people getting to them.
What does the word eccentric mean to you? Do you think there are eccentric kids.
The word eccentric means to me something or someone that is different/funky in a good way. I think that LREI is a very eccentric school because it is SO different from my old school and the other schools that I visited, but it’s different in a good way.
I agree LREI is WAY different than other schools
The word eccentric means deviating from the recognized or customary character, practice, etc.; irregular; erratic; peculiar; odd:. I think that some of the kids in this school only half fit the definition because people in this school are odd, but they are not crazy odd strange. Some people chose to do very strange things but no one is so different and so irregular that they have no friends and don’t fit in. OUr community values people that are different and special.
What are some of the ways that we value this difference? Are there things that we could do differently to make it even easier to value what is unique and “eccentric” in each person?
The Word eccentric means irregular or mabey odd, but I think that everyone is eccentric in their own way.
How does getting good grades influence how cool you are at school?
It depends. Many cool people are not very smart because they spend their time doing things to make themselves cooler. If you are very smart, the “cool kids” might not like you because you are not like them, or because teachers like you better. To other people you could be very well respected because of your smartness. Usually it is cool or smart, but sometimes you can have both. If you have both, you are probably not the coolest kid, but you might get some points for being the smartest “cool kid”. Other cool kids might go to you for help, and if you are helpful, they might like you more and let you into the cool group. Once you are pretty “cool”, you have to be careful and not get carried away and lose all of the knowledge that got you into the “cool group”. then people might think you are just ordinary so you will fade away from the cool group. if you are really smart and the teachers pet, you will probably be rejected because the cool kids will think you will take over their group. This is how bullying sometimes starts. I think if you do well in school but you do not show it too much, you could become a cool kid and the teachers will like you.
Are there ways that students and adults can help to redefine things so that cool and smart are seen as being in opposition to each other? Here’s a video made by some of our high school students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yj6u3hTI3E. How many would agree that this is an example of smart/cool that is and/both and not either/or?
I agree with Lindsay and Nina I ABSOLUTELY wouldn’t like that either! 🙂
The definition of cool to me means to be yourself not to be fake not to pretend to be someone you’re not. If you pretend to be someone you’re not people will see right through that (they will know your’e pretending to be someone else and dislike you for that).
I like that definition, but should it also include something that Aidhan hinted at, which is the idea that it is okay to experiment and change (not in too risky ways, but enough to learn something)? Maybe it hinges on who you are doing the changing for (i.e., yourself or others or maybe some just right combination).
I agree with Mika. If you pretend to be someone you’re not, people might see that and won’t want to be your friend because you’re fake. That is what I like about LREI, we trust each other and don’t need to be someone else to be cool. It may be a good idea to just experiment a little and just try a few new things, but you shouldn’t totally change yourself up. I used to not stand up for myself when I was teased, but now I stand up for myself whenever I am teased. I didn’t change myself, I just made myself stronger, in a good way.
For the question where they ask what kinds of cloths do you need to wear to be popular at your school I would answer that there is not a group of popular kids in our community but if there was i would think that it wouldn’t matter what clothes you would wear because that is just your appearance and at least for me i think that i would judge someone by being popular by how nice there real personality is not by their appearance.
But is there a certain amount of focus on fashion and style? Can this create some not so useful pressure on kids and friendships?
I think about the tattoos and piercings thing that it’s “OK” for children of the PROPER AGE to get T./P. because if that’s a way of showing who you are then it’s fine. Although from a parents point of view I think it would be completely irresponsible to let a middle school student get a tattoo or a piercing anywhere but the ears (for the piercing.)
So how do you decide when it is the “right” time to do something that is connected to your identify and how you want to be “seen” or understood by others?
I agree with Alexa M I think that it’s okay to express your self using clothes, tattoo’s and piercings when you are an adult, but I don’t think it’s okay when you are a kid to get a tattoo or piercing without telling or asking your parents. I also agree that LREI is different than most schools because the teachers teach us not to bully, I’m sure in some other schools this doesn’t happen. I also think in LREI we don’t judge each other on how we look or how we dress.
How does the school do this (i.e., “teach us not to bully)? Are there things that we are not doing that we should be doing that would make this teaching/learning even more effective?
I was wondering why Jarvis spy’s on himself “And his oily skin!” I like how this is very descriptive but not a fan the DR.
I was wondering if anyone who smoked, did drugs, or didn’t study for a test finally dug up the courage to say “I don’t like the way I’ve been doing things, but that’s going to change. RIGHT NOW!”
Or if a parent or teacher sat down with that kid and they worked it out together.
If there was a kid being rejected for how they looked I would try to help them by either giving them tips on what to wear or telling them not to worry about what other kids say about what this kid wears. Although this kid my just not be nice or good looking I would still help them so that they would get confidence back.
How would you give them “tips” on what to wear not being mean?
why are some kids so crazy?
I agree with you Ryan, but I think you should explain more about what you mean.
In Chapter 3, Jarvis talks about groups or “herds.” I found this interesting because I never realized how different groups can be. In Jarvis’s school, groups are mainly based off of one person and most of the others follow whatever the main person does. It is almost as if people need to try out to be “friends” with the person. At LREI, I guess there are groups but it is just a group of friends who are all there own person and are very excepting to others.
I agree with Sophie when you talk about the diversity in schools and groups. There’s one person who everyone who’s a “want-to-be”that follows.
If a kid was being bullied or treated badly I would help them and tell them things on how to not be treated badly like Victor said.
I agree with Sophie, because there aren’t really groups or “herds” at LREI. Everyone is friends with everyone. I haven’t come across anyone who is not excepting of who everyone is.
I agree although I do think that some people decide to hang out in groups. But then again they are hard to recognize.