Freaks, Geeks, and Cool KidsFreaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids argues that the teenage behaviors that annoy adults do not arise from "hormones," bad parenting, poor teaching, or "the media," but from adolescents' lack of power over the central features of their lives: they must attend school; they have no control over the curriculum; they can't choose who their classmates are. What teenagers do have is the power to create status systems and symbols that not only exasperate adults, but also impede learning and maturing. Ironically, parents, educators, and businesses are inadvertently major contributors to these outcomes. |
Contents
Explaining Teens Behavior
| 37 |
Why Schools Vary
| 97 |
Teen Status Systems and Consumerism
| 153 |
Appendices
| 203 |
Notes | 239 |
| 285 | |
| 299 | |
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Common terms and phrases
academic activities adolescents adults African Americans American associated athletic band basketball behavior boys Catholic schools characteristics cheerleaders cliques clothes common conflict consumer consumer capitalism consumerism context cool create cultural defined definitely dents difficult dress economic especially ethnic example female field fieldworkers fights find findings first focus football friends girls grades hedonism hence high school high status identified identity important inalienability Indian caste system individuals inexpansibility influence interaction involved kids less lifestyle lunch lunchroom male mass media means nerd norms observed officials one’s parents patterns peer status people’s percent pluralism political popular crowd preppy preps race racial rednecks relationships relatively reports ritual role seems segregation senior sexual significant significantly social societies solidarity specific status differences status groups status relations status structures status symbols status systems subculture sumer teachers teenagers tend theory of status tion usually WWHS young