How do we break down social barriers in schools that leave many kids at hermits and outcasts from the cliques?

Question

I often times see kids who constantly eat lunch alone, stand by themselves, and rarely ever socialize with people at school.

Also, many kids are afraid to go to teachers for help with their social problems. Many feel that the teachers will overanalyze the problem and force kids to be more "inclusive." This only proceeds to hurt the outcasts more on the social plane because "nobody likes a tattle-tale."

Answer 1

I thing we can just encourage people do be more accepting of different people. I think all people have good qualities about themselves, and there should be no reasons to be totally exclusive of some people, although we may prefer to hang out with certain types of people

Answer 2

How about teach them science and the arts?

For example, provide a loner with well chosen biographies of scientists. Properly look after their education in mathematics and so forth. Take interest in each one on a small but regular and consistent basis. For example Monday is Mandy, Tuesday is Teddy, and so on. Five or ten minutes on a regular basis can sustain a persons need for kindness and easily be structured around an extra credit of a book report or some other academic topic.

Find good books and do this for the kids. No more "social barriers" blah blah blah. It's almost like you do not understand what the world of thought is for.

Shame on you.

( And, as for the other kids out right taunting, the school's job is to keep those vindictive cruel impulses restrained. It should be done with attention to detail and rigorously.)

Answer 3

Oprah did a show about this. They went to a school and picked one kid from every clique. These were kids who fought each other in the halls at school and jocks and preps. Then they put them all in a line and said something like, raise your hand if---
if you've ever been abused
if you've ever gone to bed hungry
if you're a guy and you've been told you should not cry
if you've ever been molested
The kids found out they had many experiences in common, even though they thought they were all so different. By the end of the show, these kids were hugging and supporting each other. Maybe more schools should try doing that so there won't be as many hermits or exclusive cliques.

Answer 4

Eating lunch alone is not necessarily a sign of being outcast but on the contrary it means the kid wants to have some peace at the lunch time. In the society we live in there is nothing to promote any quality socialization. In school socialization mean joining a group of some would be gangsters, dope dealers, and some lucky ones who will tern construction workers or bartenders. I never socialized when I was in school.

Answer 5

I was one of those kids. It all starts with one bad person who starts a rumor. Then the rumor keeps growing until the kid is feeling really low about themselves when in fact they shouldn't be the one who is ashamed. It should be the one who starts all the trouble. I know I went from straight A's my Sophmore year of School down to a C average all because this one girl decided to hate me because I wouldn't help her sue someone. Yes that is right sue as in take them to court. So she decided to turn the whole school against me. Nice huh? I hear now that she is having a hard time in life and I must say my life is pretty darn awesome! So good does prevail in the end. We just have to let the "outcast and hermits" know that as long as they do good and respect themselves everything will work out fine in the end.

Answer 6

The fact is that kids emulate what the parents do, and that if there is anything different about another person, that person is sometimes rejected by other people.
We all need to realize that even in all of our differences, we are all the same on the inside.
The kids you speak of are probably shy and just need a little nudge out the door with some encouragement.

Mary

Answer 7

I wish there were a way to fix this problem. I work at a highschool and see it everyday. But kids are so unaccepting of anyone who is even slightly different. They just need to step outside of the box and challenge themselves to make a new friend, someone they normally wouldn't talk to.

Answer 8

School uniform, kids who walk to school, and total ban on all accessories would help, but even with the removal of the parent induced problems you will still get kids who do not fit in, its all part of the big jigsaw puzzle.

Part of their education is learning how to socialize, to use the 90% of our language, our body language, to social interact.

Answer 9

Truthfully, SOME of those kids bring it on themselves. For those who don't there isn't much you can do. Encourage them that they are good people. That some people are too stupid to accept them. They just have to keep going. "Life's a garden - dig it" -Joe Dirt (lol). Remind them that what comes around goes around. People who reject them will get rejected somewhere else.

Answer 10

Leave the hermits ALONE! They are thinking about a cure for cancer. If you interfere, the only chance I will have of growing old is changing my health habits-which is just NOT gonna happen.