Tag Archives: high school

Don’t Step on the “B”

Informant KS is a 19 year-old USC freshman from San Jose, California.

Text:

It is a custom for students of a certain private, Catholic high school to avoid stepping on the logo of the school — a circular emblem with a “B” in the center which is printed on the ground — or risk being beat up by seniors.

Context:

KS attended a private, Catholic high school which was founded over 150 years ago.

KS: “I actually found out about this tradition when I was very young, maybe ten years old. I attended summer camps at the school, and ‘Don’t step on the ‘B” is one of the first things you learn about if you ever come to campus. The basic idea behind it is there’s a logo in the center of campus that has a ‘B.’ It’s a circular logo. And the rumor was that if you stepped on the ‘B’ and there were seniors nearby, they had full license to beat you up, since you disrespected the logo of the school. I’m not exactly sure if people do beat other people up over stepping on the ‘B’ given that I’ve never actually seen it happen. I’ve never seen a student step on the ‘B’ before, I’ve only seen an unsuspecting parent do it before, and nobody really had a reaction in that circumstance. I would say this custom is part of one of the many traditions that we have at the school that gives it a bit of character. I guess it ties into a greater respect for the logo and the institution.”

Analysis:

As an institution dating back over 150 years, the private high school which KS attended has accumulated its own folklore in the form of customs such as avoiding the “B.” Since its founding, the folklore developed among students and the growing alumni network served to develop a common culture and camaraderie surrounding those with the experience of attending the high school, which resulted in KS learning about the custom from a young age. While serving as one shared custom that builds camaraderie, the act of avoiding the “B” also further develops a sense of respect and reverence for an old institution. Older definitions of folklore — such as those utilized by German folklorists Johann Gottfried von Herder and the Brothers Grimm — tend to argue that folklore is a practice shared by the common folk and independent of the elite class, yet this custom operates on both levels — as a shared practice among students, and as a means of maintaining the legitimacy of an old institution.

Band Riddle

Background: The Informant was a band member in high school. The riddle was told by the band teacher.

Text:
Q: What music instrument never tells the truth?
A: A lyre.
My band teacher told us this riddle during rehearsal. I didn’t find it funny at the time. It’s pretty much a dad joke.

Analysis:
The instrument has the same pronunciation as the word “liar”. This riddle requires knowledge in the music field, which also explained the occasion and audience of the riddle.

Metaphorical saying for “Doing Bad”

  1. “Screwed the Pooch”
  2. I did an interview with a classmate in my Anthropology class, with an emphasis surrounding folklore and he revealed to me a saying he heard from a friend in high school. “My buddy in high school, this guy I know Jake Harris he really fumbled some science work, something in this class we had together and he’s like man… I really screwed the pooch and I thought that was hilarious. He’s from Simsbury, Connecticut. And I don’t know where he got that or anything, but I heard that and thought it was pretty funny. [How old were you?] At the time, we had to be freshman or sophomores in high school, 15 or 16. ”
  3. My interpretation of this metaphorical saying is that it is simply comedic. I have heard this before, I think I’ve even heard in a movie in the 2000s. It is often times, in my view at least, something that would be said in a stereo typical high school movie. Additionally, from my interpretation and knowledge of this saying it means to mess up something or make an embarrassing mistake of some sort. Moreover, I believe this saying has been around for quite sometime now, but I have not been around many people who say it, so there could be an Northeastern thing.

White Formals During Graduation

Background: The informant is a 75 year old female. She grew up in Illinois, attending both high school and college in the state. She graduated from high school in 1962.

Context: When driving in the car, the talk of college graduation arose. Eventually, the conversation shifted to the informant talking about her own graduation a long time ago.

Text:

MC: When I graduated high school, in 1962, girls were supposed to wear white formals and the boys wore a dress suit.

Me: Did you carry anything?

MC: Yes, we carried a large bouquet of a dozen red roses. I really wish I still had pictures from back then. I hope I didn’t throw out the wrong album by accident, as that sometimes happens.

Me: So, just to clarify, they were formal dresses?

MC: Yes, I had to wear gloves. Now, these were floor-length formals. They were very beautiful, and my school did this every single year. I am not sure if they still follow the tradition, though. It has been a while since I have looked them up.

Analysis:

Informant: The informant looked back on the tradition fondly, exemplified by how she wished she could look back at it. It was an extremely proud moment for her and the unique dress code made it stand out in her memory.

Mine: White graduation dresses have been a tradition in America for a long time, since about the 1800s. Both high school aged and college aged students might wear white for their graduation. A different spin on it is the need to wear formals and to carry a bouquet of red roses. The vibe of graduation seems more similar to a prom than a graduation. Roses typically symbolize love, and perhaps by carrying them, it showcases the love the girls have for their school. White, meanwhile, is a color of purity. The need for girls to wear white and carry roses encapsulates the era of the 1950’s and 60’s, and now that the roses and the formals have been discarded, it shows a more modern woman who is going to wear a variety of different dresses and not stay confined to a single space.

High School Tennis Traditions

Informant Information — SD

  • Nationality: American
  • Age: 16
  • Occupation: Student
  • Residence: San Pedro, California
  • Date of Performance/Collection: April 3, 2022
  • Primary Language: English

The informant is currently a junior in high school. In an in-person interview, I asked her about any school traditions that she had participated in before.

Interviewer: 

Does your high school have any traditions that you’ve participated in before?

Informant: 

Yeah, I’ve been on the tennis team every year of high school so I’ve done stuff for their traditions. One is that we all wear one yellow sock and one black sock for our important games. A couple girls refuse to even wash the socks that she wears, but I think that’s gross so I don’t do that part. 

Interviewer: 

Is there any significance to the colors and which color goes on which foot?

Informant: 

It doesn’t matter which color goes on which foot. We do yellow and black because our school colors are gold and black. My school doesn’t include socks with our uniforms so we just do yellow because it’s easier to find than gold. 

Interviewer: 

Do you know how long the tennis team has been doing this?

Informant: 

No, but it must have been started a really long time ago because our uniforms aren’t even black and gold anymore. They changed the colors to white and yellow a couple years before I joined the team. 

Analysis:

Wearing coordinated mismatching socks is a fun way to demonstrate membership in this high school folk group– the tennis team. This ritual is supposed to bring good luck to the team, an example of superstitions being popular when there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding an event. I can think of lots of examples of sports teams using lucky colors and accessories before important games. It’s also interesting that the traditional sock colors have outlived the matching uniforms. In this case, it seems like the colors are just as important as the practice of wearing two mismatched socks.