30 minutes on a track

During the past 2 weeks, I've been reintroduced to the world of secondary schools by working as a sign language interpreter and assistant (each role at various points in the day). During the course of 7 hours each day, I have the opportunity to watch teachers, students, interpreters, security personnel, office managers, school psychologists, counselors, and principals. It's not intentional, really, but I can't help but observe the various persona that people want to project in various contexts, to various people.You want to see identity negotiation in constant flux? Just step into a high school.

Today I spent about 30 minutes on an artificial turf watching high schoolers run and walk around an asphalt track in P.E. class. Students were supposed to do laps, alternating between walking the curves and running the straight-aways. A few things I noticed:

• If groups of students clump together, they'll be going slower than they could otherwise be going. Apparently underachieving is a well-developed high school value.
• Students who run alone often enter the class and the locker room alone. There's either a price to pay on the popularity chart for achieving (let alone overachieving) or those who are alone tend to achieve.
• Boys stare at girls' butts when running. Girls stare at boys' butts when running. Let's not pretend a single gender holds a trump card on raging high school hormones.
• Most P.E. talk seems to revolve around 3 topics: 

1. How much they hate P.E. 
2. When class will be over.
3. Members of the opposite sex.

• Students who run well past the line in front of the teacher usually glance over and grin, expecting some sort of congratulations. Never mind the fact that the teacher saw them slack on the other side. Most people think more about what they want people to see them do than what others actually see them do.
• If teachers make the effort to speak to students who consistently walk or run by with their head down, they should listen closely. A quietly murmured thank you, hidden smile, or small pause of recognition in their step is almost always the reward.