irish Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I was observing my class today during a test and therefore, had some time on my hands to think/daydream. One of the kids in the class got my attention and he's a really smart kid who has a very reserved personality. He fits the classic mold/definition of "nerd". He's all brains and lacks many of the other attributes you'd hope a kid at his age would have socially or athletically. Then the quote came to me (I believe it was Bill Gates') and the general idea of it is that you should treat nerds nicely as someday you'll be working for one. I started to wonder why these so-called nerds aren't given a fair shake at fitting in and wondered why? I also tried to imagine what it must be like to be a kid in that position. On a serious note, any thoughts from the huddle masses from either prospective (being an unaccepted "nerd" or being one of the kids that wouldn't accept the "nerdy" kids and abused them for almost any reason) and why you did what you did and how you felt? Do other kids who treat nerdy kids badly do so because they think it's cool and just want to fit in/be accepted or out of jealousy, etc.? Anyone have any memories of pounding a nerd for a dumb reason or seeing a nerd fight back after taking too much abuse? Maybe I'm just rambling and quite honestly I don't feel I posed these questions/issues all that well. Add your thoughts if you'd like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I like the post but honestly it's like the most ironic thread I've read here. Are you sure you aren't mistaking daydreaming with reflecting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish Posted January 12, 2008 Author Share Posted January 12, 2008 (edited) I like the post but honestly it's like the most ironic thread I've read here. Are you sure you aren't mistaking daydreaming with reflecting? Definitely not. Although it is kind of odd that I was never on either side of the fence. I got along with all types. Being that I played many sports throughout my school years, I got along well with the athletes. However, being that I wanted to make the National Honors' Society, I joined many clubs/committees that would make me a more "well-rounded" and an acceptable candidate for the NHS. So I never really had any problems in regard to this issue but saw alot of what went on in the school in regard to bullies playing their part and nerds playing theirs and was wondering what some of you thought. Edited January 12, 2008 by irish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 What do you teach again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish Posted January 12, 2008 Author Share Posted January 12, 2008 What do you teach again? I'm a Special Education Teacher but I do spend some part of my day in the main stream setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I'm a Special Education Teacher but I do spend some part of my day in the main stream setting. What flavor of special ed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menudo Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Definitely not. Although it is kind of odd that I was never on either side of the fence. I got along with all types. Being that I played many sports throughout my school years, I got along well with the athletes. However, being that I wanted to make the National Honors' Society, I joined many clubs/committees that would make me a more "well-rounded" and an acceptable candidate for the NHS. So I never really had any problems in regard to this issue but saw alot of what went on in the school in regard to bullies playing their part and nerds playing theirs and was wondering what some of you thought. So, basically, everybody loved you................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 What flavor of special ed? Rocky Ritalin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckB Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I actually do have a story pertaining to this....I was playing hacky sack with a group of dudes, and an extremely "nerdy" dude joined in, this was probably the first or second "nerdiest" dude in our class. During the game I threw the hacky and hit him in the face for no reason at all, and in response he slapped me(now mind you this guy was extremely small and it took a lot of guts for him to do this). I grabbed him by the throat and threw him to the ground while everyone was yelling for me to kick his ass.......I didn't have the heart to do so as i was probably 80 lbs heavier than him and it would have been too easy, so I let him up and he went on his way......he later apologized realizing the severity of his actions and I said "don't worry about it". I did some things I'm not proud of now, but at that age we're all stupid. I think as we become adults we realize how ignorant things were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 However, being that I wanted to make the National Honors' Society, I joined many clubs/committees that would make me a more "well-rounded" and an acceptable candidate for the NHS. I was a long-haired burner in high school. However, my grades were always excellent. I never received a detention, I was never suspended from school. I rarely missed school. I was an academic stud. Because of my reputation, I was not invited into NHS until my senior year. I declined the invitation. That was likely the last time I was cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiggieFries Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 (edited) I actually do have a story pertaining to this....I was playing hacky sack with a group of dudes, and an extremely "nerdy" dude joined in, this was probably the first or second "nerdiest" dude in our class. During the game I threw the hacky and hit him in the face for no reason at all, and in response he slapped me(now mind you this guy was extremely small and it took a lot of guts for him to do this). I grabbed him by the throat and threw him to the ground while everyone was yelling for me to kick his ass.......I didn't have the heart to do so as i was probably 80 lbs heavier than him and it would have been too easy, so I let him up and he went on his way......he later apologized realizing the severity of his actions and I said "don't worry about it". I did some things I'm not proud of now, but at that age we're all stupid. I think as we become adults we realize how ignorant things were. So what did your parents do to you for beating up your brother? Edited January 12, 2008 by BiggieFries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I remember kicking the crap out of a bunch of hackey sack hippies back in the day. I hated those f'ers. Good times there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aqualung Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 So what did your parents do to you for beating up your brother? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I was cool in high school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I was a nerd in HS school but I made bad grades. The subject areas were not relevant for me so I did my own thing.I was in gifted and talented in hs but didn't really care about it. I figured that if a hs diploma/education really meant something by itself all of the losers in my hometown would be smarter and more successful than they were. I caught some flack in school for being overly studious but I was pretty big and extremely violent so it wasn't too bad I guess. I do however wonder how much times have changed. I built a paper mache a-bomb in the 10th grade in crafts class complete with the green dishwashing liquid core. It was actually pretty sweet. I wonder how that would be recevied today in our hyper sensitive world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I also tried to imagine what it must be like to be a kid in that position. Yeah, I bet that was real tough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish Posted January 12, 2008 Author Share Posted January 12, 2008 (edited) I was a nerd in HS school but I made bad grades. The subject areas were not relevant for me so I did my own thing.I was in gifted and talented in hs but didn't really care about it. I figured that if a hs diploma/education really meant something by itself all of the losers in my hometown would be smarter and more successful than they were. I caught some flack in school for being overly studious but I was pretty big and extremely violent so it wasn't too bad I guess. I do however wonder how much times have changed. I built a paper mache a-bomb in the 10th grade in crafts class complete with the green dishwashing liquid core. It was actually pretty sweet. I wonder how that would be recevied today in our hyper sensitive world. I'm laughing my ass off just picturing you contructing this a-bomb and other people including teachers not making a big deal about it. You do something like this today and you're in the Guidance Counselor's office getting interrogated, a phone call's being made to your parents and they just might request that you get a psychological evaluation before being allowed to return back to school. We had a kid bring in a toy gun the other day to school and he scared the hell out of other kids just by taking it out of his bag. I'm sure you could probably guess, he was suspended. Edited January 12, 2008 by irish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish Posted January 12, 2008 Author Share Posted January 12, 2008 Yeah, I bet that was real tough. That's one bet you don't want to make. Money...gone!! Ah hell, believe what you want. I don't have to convince you to feel better and know the truth. Stupid me for entrertaining you with a response when I know your fishing around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budlitebrad Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 "F!@#ING NERDS!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menudo Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 NERDS !!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxfactor Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 NERDS !!!!!! Loved that flick! I was confused though as to why Booger was considered a nerd when he was more like the pothead type. I thought these were 2 distinct types. I can still hear those geeks laughing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I'm a Special Education Teacher but I do spend some part of my day in the main stream setting. What type of special education do you teach? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 What type of special education do you teach? Duh, the special kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish Posted January 12, 2008 Author Share Posted January 12, 2008 (edited) What flavor of special ed? What type of special education do you teach? I figure both of these have the same meaning and I just missed the boat on the first. However, back to answering the question. Being the only male teacher in the building and one of the only one's in district, I very often get the most difficult/challenging children. This year I have an Autisitic child and the last 2 years I looped with an extremely emotionally disturbed child that was oppositional defiant. This particular child was probably the most difficult I've had in my career as every day was like a chess match. He would try and figure out ways to create arguments and chaos within the school day and I continued to find solutions and was able to counter most of his attempts. We developed a very good rapport (as he was an athlete and we connected when it came to sports) and he was able to make some strides. However, the year after I had him, he went off the deep end, bringing weapons to school and such. He became extremely verbally and physically abusive towards students and teachers alike. He pulled a knife on the bus driver while the bus was moving. He was removed from public schooling, sent to UMDNJ and placed in special schooling after having a psychological evaluation. When there have been no truly severe cases, I will normally get the children who are just the lowest functioning. Kids with communication impairments (involving receptive and expressive language), kids that may have communication issues based on having experienced (TBI- a traumatic brain injury), kids who are OHI- other health impairments (this usually involves kids who are ADD- attention deficit disorder or ADHD- attention deficit hyperactive disorder. The list goes on... Most of these kids will spend most of the day in a resource room which is considered for them the LRE-least restrictive environment. I realize Egret that you probably understand all of what I said above but figured I'd give some explanation for those not familair with the field. Edited January 12, 2008 by irish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I guess I was a bit of a nerd in HS (I was valedictorian), but I did plenty of stuff besides schoolwork. I certainly wasn't popular, but I also wasn't teased or outcast or anything. I always thought most of that tension was overdone in tv and movies, and that actual schools had much less obvious and rigid cliques. Maybe it's more of a guy thing? I teach college now, and most of the students that I think would get teased or outcast are not just nerds. It requires something worse than simply being smart and/or hardworking in my classes for the negative treatment. For example, students who monopolize class discussion without really contributing anything or students who voluteer that they are aghast at things like premarital sex or recreational drug use. Still, that's college, so presumably it's different from high school and younger. The Sheikette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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