E405
May 2nd, 2017
Research Project
Introduction:
Cliques seem to play a central role in schools, work, media, and seemingly all forms of
human interaction. Recently, I have noticed the strong emphasis on cliques in regards to
adolescent literature. In Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Charlie finds friends
in Sam and Patricks clique. The same notion is applied to the novel Feed by Matthew Tobin
Anderson, as Titus clique limits themselves to only a few friends, not encouraging the addition
of outsider Violet. Most notably, however, is in the very start of the novel Speak by Lauri Halse
We fall into our clans: Jocks, Country Clubbers, Idiot Savants, Cheerleaders, Human
Waste, Eurotrash, Future Fascists of America, Big Hair Chix, The Marthas, Suffering
Artists, Thespians, Goths, and ShreddersOur clan, the Plain Janes, has splintered and
the pieces are being absorbed by rival fractions. Nicole lounges with The Jocks,
comparing scars from summer league sports. Ivy floats between the suffering artists on
one side of the isle and The Thespians on the other. She has enough personality to travel
From the movie Mean Girls to Taylor Swifts recently formed girl squad, cliques often
times are associated with negativity and exclusiveness; however, while reading adolescent
novels, I found myself wondering if cliques were not fully evil. In many of these books, cliques
educator, I should know more about cliques, as should all teachers and future educators. In order
to discover the truth behind real-life cliques, I decided the most logical route was to ask actual
middle and high school students. I composed a series of questions, ranging from students
opinions on the healthiness of cliques, to what students feel teachers should know about cliques.
Over the past few months, I have interviewed twenty middle and high school students, all of
Interview #1:
Interview #2
Interview #3
Interview #5
Interview #6
Interview #7
Interview #8
Interview #9
Interview #10
Interview #11
Interview #13
Interview #14
Interview #15
Interview #16
Lisette ZamoraCommerce City, Colorado
Interview #17
Maddie BlackwellPueblo, Colorado
Me: What school do you attend?
Maddie: Centennial High School in Pueblo.
Me: What grade are you in?
Maddie: Eleventh.
Me: Approximately how many students are in your grade?
Maddie: 300, give or take.
Me: Do you feel that cliques are evident within your school?
Maddie: I think my school is a bit more diverse as far as cliques go. Everyone talks to everyone
but there is always that base that people go back to. So in short, yes.
Me: Do you personally identify with a clique?
Maddie: I dont have a lot of close friends. I have my best friend and then I talk on occasion to a
number of different people from different "cliques.
Me: Do you think cliques are healthy in school?
Maddie: Not particularly. I think it's important for people to converse and empathize with people
different from themselves. In my opinion cliques often form in people the idea that someone has
to be better.
Me: At what age do you feel cliques begin to form?
Maddie: I suppose from a pretty young age, maybe elementary school. Our society teaches us we
must fit into a specific category and I think people really play into that early on.
Me: What do you think teachers should know about cliques? Should they actively try to prevent
cliques from forming?
Maddie: I think preventing children from doing things is counterproductive. I think teachers are
meant to guide. Educating children about cliques and helping to diversify their lives and thoughts
are all they can and should do.
Interview #18
Julissa GarciaYuma, Colorado
Interview #19
Rebecca KennedyPeetz, Colorado
schools. While the names of these cliques varied from school to school, almost every student
described jocks or athletes as a prominent clique in their school. Essentially half of these
students felt they were a part of one or more clique, while the other half felt they were not. A
majority of the students felt that cliques were a healthy part of human development, but also
acknowledged that cliques can also lead to bullying. Many students felt that cliques begin to
form when children first develop their own interests. This age ranged from as low as third grade
to as high as middle school. For many students, cliques did not seem like an exclusive bunch, but
were rather groups of people that merely shared the same interests.
As a future teacher, I gained extreme amounts of insight through this project. For
instance, almost all students claimed that teachers should stay clear of infiltrating and trying to
combat the formation of cliques, as they feel cliques will happen regardless of acts of prevention.
However, the students agreed that teachers should come between cliques when bullying and
exclusion become involved. As previously stated, cliques seem to be a central part of middle and
high school, and my interviews with these students proved just that. I now feel that when I
officially start teaching, I will be acutely aware of the positive and negatives that come with
cliques, as well as how to deal with cliques in a way that gains trust with students, encourages