Tag Archives: middle school

Ghost Story – Hispanic/Native-American

Nationality: Italian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Ventura, CA
Performance Date: April 02, 2008
Primary Language: English

The San Buena Ventura Mission in Ventura County, CA was built on an Indian Burial ground.  Next to the mission a school was built called Holy Cross for grades kindergarten through eight. One of the buildings was really old, it was first building of the school. The school used to be a small one-building school. The building had a bell tower and the bell tower was said haunted by the spirits from the burial site. Friends of Charly claim to have heard funny noises and seen shadows when no one was there. The bell tower was torn down 4 years ago. On the night the tower was torn down people nearby claimed that there were strange noises and lights around the construction site. A new, really large school building was built in its place. Now it is said that if you are at the new building at night time lights will flash on and off and that you will hear sounds. These are supposed to be signs from the angry spirits in the burial ground. They were angry that they were built on top of in the first place and remain angry that buildings still stand over the burial ground.

Charly went to Holy Cross School in the 6th grade. She said that she heard the story when she became a student at the school. She said that the new students were always told this story when they first got to the school to scare them. This ghost story could be seen as a type of initiation for the new students. Charly said the kids would tell the new kids this story and then also embellish different parts of the story. She said that the kids would pick normal, modern objects and claim that they were haunted too just to scare the new kids and make them feel uncomfortable. This would go on only for a few weeks in the beginning of the year according to Charly, after that liminal period the students would get tired of scaring and just accept the new kids.

The setting of angry Indian spirits is a common beginning to many ghost stories. The Indian polytheistic belief system is directly juxtaposed with the Christian monotheism in this story because a Christian mission is built on top of the burial ground. This may symbolize the stomping out of Naive American beliefs by monotheism and the oppression the Indians went through during the colonization and Christianization of southern California. The angry spirits are a means of retaliation by the Indian people and also bring recognition of their presence.

The active bearers of the story are middle school aged children, ages 12-13. At this age kids are beginning to want to impress others, boys impressing girls and vice versa, and therefore scaring a new kid may be a way to impress these groups. Also, if a new kid says he or she’s not scared he will probably impress the new kids more than if he bought into the story and revealed his fear.

Kids telling ghost stories or daring each other is a commonplace in middle schools, especially when it involves welcoming a new person into social groups. At this age social groups and standards are becoming more important and cliques are established. The ghost story of the Indian burial ground at Holy Cross appears to serve more as a hazing ritual for the new students at the school versus a story actually investigated by the students.

Riddle – United States of America

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Huntington Park, CA
Performance Date: February 09, 2008
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

What do you call a lesbian dinosaur?

—A LICKALOTTAPUSS!

Carlos said that he learned this joke from a cousin of his while he was in middle school. He attended middle school in southern California. He does not remember exactly what age he was when he first heard it, but he guesses to have been between the age of 11 and 14. The riddle is told randomly with no real introduction. The riddle can be told anywhere but is usually only told to those of about the same age.

I asked Carlos why he repeated the riddle to other and he simply answered “because it’s funny”. The riddle seems to be more than just funny. It appears to be part of the transitional period between child and adult. The child is leaving behind the fantasy world of dinosaurs and other creatures which they play with and the sexualized American adult life. It is a period when ideas of sexual orientation play a big part because as children grow up they began to gain a sexual identity.

Folk Joke – Chicago, Illinois

Nationality: American
Occupation: Student
Residence: Chicago, Il
Performance Date: March 26, 2008
Primary Language: English

“That’s what she said”

Derek claimed that he first heard this joke from another friend of his while in middle school in Chicago, Illinois.  He said that the joke is used after someone makes a comment that can be turned into a sexual innuendo by saying “that’s what she said”.  Derek gave me two examples:

Example 1

Subject 1: “You finished your homework already?”

Subject 2: “Yeah I finished ten minutes ago”

Subject 1: “Wow you’re quick”

Subject 2: “That’s what she said”.

Example 2

Subject 1: “Are you going to keep practicing for basketball all night?”

Subject 2: “Of course.  I’m going to work until it hurts.”

Subject 1: “That’s what she said.”

Derek is not sure where the term originated from but has heard his cousins from New Orleans and Tennessee use the joke as well.  “Usually the context of this joke is in an informal environment amongst young adults.  When the joke is used in a more formal setting, with adults present, none of the adults understand the joke at all.”

My own take on this joke is that it had to have originated amongst younger boys, and clearly not girls because the joke consists of “she” and not “he”.  It also has an adolescent masculine tone of humor to it, further supporting this theory.  I also find it a unique and different form of folk joke than classic jokes because of the fact that in order for it to be fully utilized as comical, there needs to be something said that cooperates with the phrase beforehand.  This is a fairly untraditional form of a joke but also creates flexibility when using the joke and keeps it original with different pre-comments that lead to the phrase “that’s what she said”.

Annotation:

This folk joke can be seen in the hit NBC show The Office.

“The Benihana Christmas.” The Office. NBC. New York. 14 Dec. 2006.

Jokes – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 30, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Japanese, Mandarin

Yo mama is so fat, her cereal bowl has a lifeguard.

Yo mama is so fat, when a car hit her, she asked “Who threw that rock?”

Yo mama is so fat, when I swerved around her I ran out of gas.

Everett first heard these jokes in middle school (6-8th grade, between 2000-2003). This about the time that “your mom” jokes and comments started getting popular. The idea of the “your mom” movement was to try to respond to as many questions as possible with the response “your mom.” Usually meant as a joke, some people took these comments as personal jabs towards their mothers. Examples of questions meriting a “your mom” response would include: “What were you doing last night?” “Who’s your date on Friday?” The “Yo” in the phrases above are shortened forms of “your.”

In my experience with “your mom” jokes, they are typically used by males. My guess is that the first “your mom” jokes arose with a sexual, demeaning intent. Males probably made the comments about their friends’ mothers, hoping to insult their friends at the expense of the mothers. By answering “your mom,” people are also able to deflect questions that they would rather not answer—if person A asks person B a question that B thinks is none of A’s business, then B could reply to the question with “Your mom.” These “yo mama is so fat…” jokes seem to be extensions of the “your mom” retorts.

Some variation exists within the “yo mama” jokes. In the past, I’ve come across jokes with the adjectives “dumb” or “stupid,” rather than “fat.” In all of these cases, the adjectives have a negative connotation—highly effective if an insult is intended. In the above examples, the phrases following “yo mama is so fat” all bring to mind images of something that is abnormally large and situations that would not exist in real life. As for those who view these jokes as humorous, the more outrageous “fat” situations are probably the funniest. These “yo mama” and “your mom” jokes are so successful because of the way they mock authority. Mothers are stereotypically known as being nurturing and caring, able to love you when no one else does. The juxtaposition of the mother’s character as sensitive and compassionate with an overwhelmingly, alarmingly obese woman is quite striking, fueling the joke’s success—especially if you are able to direct the “yo mama” jokes at a friend (or enemy), away from yourself.

Folk Game

Nationality: Vietnamese
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: February 29, 2008
Primary Language: English

Folk Game- Orangejello and Lemonjello

Ok, this game is really funny. When I was in 7th grade, there was this game named after these two twins in my grade because one liked orange jello and the other like lemon jello. Naturally, it was called Orangejello and Lemonjello.  I don’t know why we played it, but we did it when we were bored in math class.  Everyone would pick a certain character from a movie or show and write it on a piece of paper.  When we did this, we all had to stand up.  People would see all the names on the paper, and if someone correctly identified your character, you would sit down and you were out of the game.  I am not sure why this game was so popular, but it was actually kinda fun I guess.

Joayn described this game to me shortly after one of her boring math classes this year.  Apparently, it brought back memories from middle school.  She said her classmates taught it to her for the first time in 7th grade, and they only played it when they were bored.  She seemed to enjoy the game, but looking back, she thinks it was pointless.  Joayn pointed out that it was just a way to pass time.

This game represents childhood in so many ways.  Most games in middle school like Thumbs Up Seven Up or Murder in the Dark have no real meaning or purpose to them, but the kids enjoy them tremendously.  I think it has something to do with when they are played.  During a boring class, I think any type of break or change from normal class routines will excite the kids no matter what activity is presented to them.  Joayn’s game is a perfect example of this phenomenon.

I think another huge factor to this game and those like it is the interaction the students get with each other.  In a normal classroom environment, the teacher keeps the class structured and there is not much room for fun.  This game brings everyone together and forms a huge stepping stone for socializing.  Lastly, those that know this game feel like a part of a group.  This feeling will create greater interest in the class in the future.  For this reason, teachers are more likely to allow kids to play Orangjello and Lemonjello.