the majorette crowd

When I was in high school, I was a majorette in the band. I feel like the majorette line was a crowd which I belonged to. In that crowd, I also belonged to a clique within the crowd. As I think back, my junior year on the twirling line was very tense. The senior girls were extremely hateful and dictating. There was one day after practice when the senior members held a meeting and chewed us up one side and down the other because they claimed we all had bad attitudes. As the truth came out, there was only two other members who they were referring to, but we all had to listen to the chewing. These particlar leaders were ostracized by the entire group. They thought that since they had the power, they could take advantage of the underclassmen. This experience helped me to be a better leader my senior year. I always tried to remain positive and boost morale. Looking back, I am saddened to think that I am the one who felt like I was on pins and needles the entire year, but I am glad that I was a good leader the following year.

School Days

Since I attended Texas public school during the mid to late 80's, the education pendulum was far to one side - the ability grouping side. In Kindergarten there were two groups - red and green. In first grade, there were three ability groups - green, blue, and red. (Common sense tells you that the green group was the cognitively higher group.) As I entered into second and third grade, I was able to switch classrooms for the four academic areas. These make-up of students in the classrooms were also ability groups. I also experienced similar classroom structures in the fourth and fifth grades. The physical setting of these classes involved "richly equipped subject areas with activity centers and flexible space which can be easily adjusted for whole class and small group instruction" (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997, as cited in Berk, 2007). Since my middle childhood experiences in education were successful I am a firm believer in ability grouping. Hopefully, one day the pendulum will swing back to the "ability-grouping side" instead of the mainstreaming side.

Berk, L.E. (2008). Exploring lifespan development. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.