Omorka's Lair

Ganked from starcat_jewel:

Popularity and intelligence

An interesting side note to this for me - not only was the nadir 8th grade, for me, once I "escaped" to MSMS, something very interesting happened. We still had popularity rankings, but (a) only a very few scapegoats still got actively shunned, and I think we all felt at least a little guilty about it (and simultaneously relieved that it wasn't us), and (b) athleticism no longer counted for one, while sheer intelligence did, albeit very weakly. I went from being at the rock-bottom at Confederate High to being near the top of the bottom third at MSMS, which was high enough to be mostly left alone. Moreover, those at the top could see the whole ranking clearly, and knew that their position meant that they could associate with anyone they wanted. Thus, several of my female friends were near the top of the hierarchy. Similarly, those of us on the low end associated with whoever would talk to us, secure that we wouldn't fall any lower unless we actively did something stupid.

That we were all near the end of our teen years at the time also probably helped.

And the whole bit about the "prison wardens" - some days, I feel like that's what more than half the faculty are about. Those of us who aren't are always a little edgy about getting involved, because we don't want to be seen as pushing the kids. In some ways, that's easier at the beginning of junior high, in which the teachers are still very much in loco parentis, and at the end of senior high, in which some of the kids are mature enough to look for a Crazy Old Aunt/Uncle figure as a mentor. And, in my own awkwardness and not-fitting-in, I think the nerds of our school see a sense of similarity. And I've clearly survived.

The word I most misunderstood was "tact." As used by adults, it seemed to mean keeping your mouth shut. I assumed it was derived from the same root as "tacit" and "taciturn," and that it literally meant being quiet. I vowed that I would never be tactful; they were never going to shut me up. In fact, it's derived from the same root as "tactile," and what it means is to have a deft touch. Tactful is the opposite of clumsy.

And this is the answer to a question quantumduck asked me six or seven years ago. I wish I had answered it half as well then.