Trenden Everett

10/16/15
6
Observation Essay

Observation Essay
When someone follows the rules, they are doing what is normal, correct? That is how
society has perceived the image of normality. As long as an individual follows the rules or the
guidelines, they are normal, and the individual who does not follow rules, is abnormal. Such a
system stretches beyond mere rules; it can be applied to anything; however, it is most prevalent
in school. A plethora of media focus on the common tropes of female bookworm vs prom queen,
nerd vs cool kid, misunderstood student vs teacher and other such tropes. Yet it is this same
media that seeks to say that being the odd one out is alright, or in essence, that being abnormal is
also normal. So what is truly normal? Several observations at Hazelwood East High School
answer that question.
Observation 1 is of a male student arriving to his first class late, a transgression that
results in In-School Suspension (ISS), a recently added guideline. Although the male student is
initially aggravated, as made evident by his facial expression, the student soon grows wide-eyed
as the teacher refuses to let him in. He knows the consequences, and fears ISS. Later, upon
returning, the male student is extremely upset, even going as far to call the teacher a b***."
Even so, the male students reaction is normal, or at least accepted, because his friends converse
with him gently and seem almost sympathetic, one going so far as to put a comforting hand on
the students back.

Observation 2 also involves a late student, this time for the last class of the day. A repeat
offender of being tardy, when asked by the teacher if she had a pass, the female student loudly
asked: Does it look like I have a pass?! A quick banter between the two pass, and the female
student finally sits quietly, but remains livid, later telling the teacher to shut the f**k up,
though this comment is to herself. It is at this point that her friends regard her in a manner
tantamount to the friends in Observation 1, i.e., gently and sympathetically.
What is being observed is a result of the psychological phenomenon known as mob
mentality. Also known as herd mentality, mob mentality is described as individuals being
influenced by others to adopt certain behaviors, resulting in a group of individuals with similar
behaviors. Observations 1 and 2 show the immunity aspect of mob mentality, the immunity
derived from strength in numbers. Many students besides those found in the observations arrive
late to class, which is the cause of the recent addition of the ISS punishment for first-period
tardies. Due to the amount of students arriving late to class, the situation is regarded as normal,
despite the fact that a tardy is an issue. Even the more advanced and disciplined peers who arrive
on time and believe arriving late is wrong accept the lateness of their classmates. Yet, if there are
enough students to make arriving late normal, but also enough students, who arrive on time, for
there to be an overall consensus of wrongness in arriving late, which of the two constitute
normal? The answer is both.
To further elucidate the dual-normality, take Observation 3 and Observation 4 into
account. Both of these observations are exceedingly more drastic in nature. Observation 3 is of
two female students of junior year or below dragging a third female student of the same
credentials down the B300s hallway, just before the left stairway leading to Senior Street. While
dragging their friend, the two female students are smiling and laughing. The third female student,

though being dragged, does not look upset, instead having a near blank face that indicates a
recently dropped smile. As far as the observation goes, the two draggers stopped quickly;
however due to the placement of the female students and by the sheer effort involved in getting
an individual into dragging position, it is likely that the two dragged the third for at least the
length of the wall.
The most drastic of the observations, Observation 4 involves a ring of male students, and
two female students, one whereof is sitting in the middle of the circle. None of the students
involved were seniors. While the observation lacks information on the activity, it does have
information on one of the male students comments: Gon,[go ahead] get up, girl. All of the
male students are either smiling or laughing as this happens, and the female student sitting is
being helped up by the other female student. Both female students have faces whose expressions
are difficult to discern.
While Observations 3 and 4 are entrancing sights, the most imperative aspect of the
observation is what is not seen: Observers. Besides the individual observing, there were no other
true individuals consistently watching as the events occurred. It should be noted that there were
intermittent students who took glances, but even they quickly returned to their own devices.
Even completely asinine instances such as those seen in Observations 3 and 4 can go without
judgement, and thus, be considered normal. Coincidently, the students engaging in less
obstreperous activities are also doing what is considered normal. Such a situation means that
there are enough students participating in absurd activities that any students doing the same is
normal, and enough students not doing the same, making that normal, too.
Abnormality does not exist in Hazelwood East High School. In every observation, the
students involved in going against the typical guidelines were not considered strange or

ostracized for their behavior. The tardy students of Observations 1 and 2 were treated like
victims rather than transgressors. In Observations 3 and 4, rather than gawk at the actions of the
students, witnesses only took quick glances. What this shows is that an activity is normal as long
as enough students engage in it, no matter the severity of the misconduct or appropriate conduct.
If, by chance, something were to be seen as abnormal, it would require very few individuals
conducting the activity, perhaps only one. Potential outliers aside, the original question of what is
truly normal in high school has an answer: Anything, as long as enough people participate.