I found both articles very interesting and eye opening! Apparently the middle school years are more important than I thought. You always hear about, or see on TV and movies, how the popular kid from high school has fallen from grace as an adult. I have never heard, or have thought about it being the case with the popular kid from junior high! But it turns out, according to the study, that the popular kids in junior high – who crave acceptance/popularity – are more likely to become “losers” in early adult life. But it makes sense, as the article states it’s “normal” for mid and late adolescents to partake in sexual activity or partake in some delinquent activity, but not so for 12-14 year-old kids. I think this article is an eye opener, and can be very useful for teachers, staff, and parents at middle schools. Although it is not a guarantee that a student displaying pseudomature behavior in junior high will struggle as an adult, I wonder, if out of the pool of pseudomature behaving students, if the percentage of girls who turn it around and have a successful adulthood is higher than the boys?
Looking back to my junior high years, several of the desperately popular kids either became teen parents during or immediately after high school, some were involved in abusive relationships, and others became wrapped up in drugs and alcohol (one of whom lost a great basketball scholarship after his freshmen year).
2 comments for “Blog 6: The Cool Kids”