Clique Dynamics And School Followers Essay
The Dangers of Being a Follower
When I was just eleven years old, my life was changed by something that seemed very innocent, a clique. In Patricia and Peter Alder’s Peer Power they explain what a clique is, the different types, how they operate, and influence people. In Peer Power, there is a chapter called “Clique Dynamics and School Children”, and it explains the many different areas how a clique can be psychologically damaging to a person. My own story is extremely similar to the examples used in explaining “subjugation” in Adler and Adler’s “Clique Dynamics and School Children.”
When I entered middle school in Boise, Idaho I was so nervous. I met a lot of people, but one of them stood out to me, Tanisha. She quickly became my best …show more content…
I was so excited to see her, so I ran up to her and gave her a hug. She then looked at me with disgust and told me that she had new and better friends so she did not want me to talk to her again. She also said that she could not explain anything else because if they saw her with me, they would kick her out of the group. I had no idea what I did wrong, but I was very upset. I tried to talk to her later in the day, but her new friends kept making fun of me. They would call me names and go out of their way to harass me in the hallways and at lunch. They would call me a loser and accuse me of stalking Tanisha. The dynamic of picking on others outside of the group is similar to what Adler and Adler define as “subjugation.” In Alders Peer Power, they explain the different tactics of out-group subjugation. “They like to pick on people of lower status, it tends to excite them” (Adler and Adler 179). Adler and Adler explain, “One of the main things is to keep picking on unpopular kids because it’s fun to do” (Quoted in Adler and Adler 180). The worst part was that Tanisha went along with all of it. I was so upset that my once best friend thought that I was
When I was just eleven years old, my life was changed by something that seemed very innocent, a clique. In Patricia and Peter Alder’s Peer Power they explain what a clique is, the different types, how they operate, and influence people. In Peer Power, there is a chapter called “Clique Dynamics and School Children”, and it explains the many different areas how a clique can be psychologically damaging to a person. My own story is extremely similar to the examples used in explaining “subjugation” in Adler and Adler’s “Clique Dynamics and School Children.”
When I entered middle school in Boise, Idaho I was so nervous. I met a lot of people, but one of them stood out to me, Tanisha. She quickly became my best …show more content…
I was so excited to see her, so I ran up to her and gave her a hug. She then looked at me with disgust and told me that she had new and better friends so she did not want me to talk to her again. She also said that she could not explain anything else because if they saw her with me, they would kick her out of the group. I had no idea what I did wrong, but I was very upset. I tried to talk to her later in the day, but her new friends kept making fun of me. They would call me names and go out of their way to harass me in the hallways and at lunch. They would call me a loser and accuse me of stalking Tanisha. The dynamic of picking on others outside of the group is similar to what Adler and Adler define as “subjugation.” In Alders Peer Power, they explain the different tactics of out-group subjugation. “They like to pick on people of lower status, it tends to excite them” (Adler and Adler 179). Adler and Adler explain, “One of the main things is to keep picking on unpopular kids because it’s fun to do” (Quoted in Adler and Adler 180). The worst part was that Tanisha went along with all of it. I was so upset that my once best friend thought that I was