Since the ‘podge is taking an indefinite break, I figured I’d muse on something, a bit of a continuation of something I posted yesterday about my soon-to-be middle schooler.

As I thought about him navigating the lunch room, figuring out where to sit, I wondered if there’s really a problem with that anymore. I.E. are kids as clique-y as they used to be? So you used to have your jocks, your rich kids, the band geeks, and the nerds. Sure, there were the average joes too but school most definitely had individual groups to which people belonged and moving between them was almost unheard of. I mean, hello, Breakfast Club, anyone? Now, when I was in high school, I was able to drift between the skaters, the Environmental club kids, the soccer players (I wasn’t one but I had a torrid little affair with one). I would consider myself on the outskirts of many groups but if I had to pinpoint one, it was the outcasts. But not the loser outcasts – the kids who skipped school – or the super nerds. No, they stuck to themselves. But just the ones who were a little different.

On that note, DO nerds exist anymore? The things that once defined the nerds are no longer looked upon as nerdy. For example, comic books. With the advent of movies making them mainstream, everyone knows that realm. Also, video games. If you played Nintendo in the 80s… NERD! Now? Everyone plays, including the coolest of the cool. So is it based on dress? I went to the kids’ elementary school multiple times and no one dressed like their mom shopped at K-Mart (the true mark of the lesser kids when I was young) or in super nerdy ways. So I wonder if in middle school, when most kids are left to their own devices when it comes to clothes, this is where they veer off. But my senses tell me this isn’t a problem anymore.

SO, are kids more combined and, well, kind to one another now? It will be very interesting to find out what Elliot reports back. And if this is the case, and everyone is one big lump of confused pre-teens and teens, then I’ll consider this a victory for our current time. As an adult, I often find myself saying the age-old statement, “Kids these days…” and shaking my head. Sure, they ate Tide Pods and took to snorting condoms (the news is weird you guys) but if they aren’t breaking off into sub-groups that exclude others, it will be better for my children. Though I was always of the notion that any kind of strife and/or minor bullying made you stronger, it’d be nice if they could just go to school without all that bullshit, you know?

(Elliot in his typical position)