The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth - 9781401302023

"In her new book, Alexandra Robbins explores the ways group identity theories play out among cliques - and the students they exclude. She reveals the new labels students stick onto each other today, the long-term effects of this marginalization, and the reasons students falling under these categories are often shunned. And then she will celebrate them. In this ever-conformist, cookie-cutter, magazine-celebrity-worshipping, creativity-stifling society, the innovation, courage, and differences of outcasts - nerds, freaks, weirdos, punks, Goths, etc. - are crucial to America's progress. No Child Left Behind and the homogenization of the US education system have made outcasts bolder and more important than ever. Robbins intertwines psychology with science inentertaining, illuminating prose, addressing questions such as "Why are popular people mean?" "Why is seventh grade the worst?" "Why do social labels stick?" and "Are students better off popular or unpopular?" As in Pledged and The Overachievers, Robbinsfollows students throughout the course of a year to present compelling narratives that thread investigative discussions about of-the-moment issues. In her other books, however, Robbins merely observed students. This time, Robbins crosses the line. She forces the students to examine who they are and how other students perceive them. And then she dares them to step outside of their comfort zone. She challenges some of these students to attempt social experiments at their schools - experiments that end up changing their lives"--