# 84 Dawn and the School Spirit War

[macca]

Is this book even remotely realistic in anyone's opinion? Maybe I'm just ignorant because I couldn't imagine this happening in an Australian school, but would American schools really be so obsessed with a "school spirit week" that opposition to the idea would result in a media frenzy, meetings that are practically public riots (some parents were becoming physically violent!) and vandalism?

Inconsistency spotted: In BSC Winter Vacation, apparently there are 382 students at SMS. But in this book, Dawn and MA end up with over 300 signatures on their petition. Doesn't sound like many kids supported School Spirit Week ;D

Would any parent really accuse another of being an "unfit mother" because they supported their kid's decision not to participate in school spirit week?

I can't imagine participation really being mandatory anyway. Why would any of the kids willing to partake in the activities give a crap whether someone else did or not? Who cares?

[jen]

No idea if it's realistic or not! I always thought it might have just been a crazy American thing... We NEVER got that involved in sports at my high school. We played sport, we had teams, we played against other schools one afternoon a week. And that was that.

Maybe the parents accusing others of being unfit parents are living vicariously... reliving their high school days through their kids, and that's why they're getting so worked up over it.

I liked the other protest-y/demonstrate-y/cause books (like First Thanksgiving and Kristy Power) better than this one. Still, I liked Dawn's yellow socks.

[Deleted]

For the numbers, in WV maybe it was just the people in 8th grade? Not the whole school...meh.

As for the realism? I can see this sort of thing happening in the south, but not in CT. They get mighty into school spirit and team wars down there, not so much up north.

[sotypical42483]

oh geez this book was ridiculous. Kids kinda got into the whole school spirit thing in my high school, but only cause we had a really good football team. I could see maybe in like, Texas people being all nuts like this, but there's no way it's that common. Then again, it's a small town and small school so maybe people cared more.

[baseballchica03]

I just read this for the first time the other day. We had a huge school spirit week when I was in high school that got kind of crazy, but nothing like that. I thought that the entire month was a bit unrealistic, but the enthusaiasm? I could *almost* see it.

[macca]

But even with all the schools that were really enthusiastic and crazily obsessive with school spirit, would they care so much if a few kids weren't?

I could almost - almost - see the scenario about Dawn and Shawna being harassed for forgetting to wear yellow on color day, but that's about as far as I can imagine it going. No way would all these Stoneybrook parents, who are all successful lawyers and investment bankers, care so much. Surely they'd have better things to think about.

[sotypical42483]

^^ Seriously.

Besides, I always thought the kids who were all school spirity were dorks. lol.

[lilafowler]

^Haha, that was the way it was in my high school. The only people who got really into school spirit activities were the student council members. While a lot of them were my friends, I'd have to say that they would not be likely to win any physical altercations they provoked with someone who chose not to participate in such activities.

Regarding the book -- I usually sympathize with her, but I thought Mary Anne was such a loser for getting all bent out of shape over Pajama Day. Go to Old Navy and buy a $5 pair of fuzzy pants and wear them with a t-shirt. No one will care that you didn't actually sleep in them. Wearing the clothes you slept in to school sounds pretty gross to me, anyway -- when we had Pajama Day in HS, people just wore really, really casual clothes, like yoga pants and a tank top or something.

[baseballchica03]

lilafowler said:

Regarding the book -- I usually sympathize with her, but I thought Mary Anne was such a loser for getting all bent out of shape over Pajama Day.

I know. I can't understand why she was freaking out so much about wearing her pyjamas to school, to the point of crying. Yeesh. I wanted to smack her for freaking out so much. And then when Dawn was all pissed about Yellow Day, Mary Ann paid no regard to how upset her sister was, just started flipping out about her own drama even more. Nice.

[macca]

Ugh, ITA that MA was a total idiot in this one. She certainly seems to think the world revolves around her - everyone would be wearing pyjamas, why did she think they'd all be pointing and laughing at her?

But then I have heard that extremely shy people can have self-centred tendencies, so maybe her reaction was appropriate and also her lack of consideration for Dawn's "yellow day" issue. Never been a MA fan.

[alula]

macca said:

Ugh, ITA that MA was a total idiot in this one. She certainly seems to think the world revolves around her - everyone would be wearing pyjamas, why did she think they'd all be pointing and laughing at her?

But then I have heard that extremely shy people can have self-centred tendencies, so maybe her reaction was appropriate and also her lack of consideration for Dawn's "yellow day" issue. Never been a MA fan.

I tend to be more sympathetic to MA than a lot of readers myself, but there are plenty of times when she does get into total drama queen mode, and this is definitely one. And I would say, as someone who's very shy in real life myself, the self-centered thing is kind of true--at least in terms of losing perspective on how much other people pay attention to you. Like, there are times when I'm grocery shopping and I have to literally remind myself that seriously, the cashiers are not judging me on the contents of my cart.

[sugarmonkey]

I think MA was socially anxious. It just describes her to a T. I am socially phobic myself and I can totally understand MA at her worst moments. Although, I can still see how she would get annoying, and I roll my eyes at her sometimes myself. I think her father was a big help in her extreme shyness developing. He was so strict and she really had to watch herself so she wouldn't do anything that would meet with his disapproval. That is what is at the root of shyness a fear of disapproval. And to top it all off she had a best friend at the opposite end of the spectrum, which could've been a mixed blessing. Kristy may have helped MA come out of her shell at times and then at others crammed her back into it.

Wow. Waaaaay off topic! Anyway I've never read this book but by the sounds of it, I'll have to get to it.

In case you want more info this is a message board that has a lot of information. It's just easier to link to it then to explain the details of SA. Social Anxiety Support

[aln1982]

alula said:

macca said:

Ugh, ITA that MA was a total idiot in this one. She certainly seems to think the world revolves around her - everyone would be wearing pyjamas, why did she think they'd all be pointing and laughing at her?

But then I have heard that extremely shy people can have self-centred tendencies, so maybe her reaction was appropriate and also her lack of consideration for Dawn's "yellow day" issue. Never been a MA fan.

I tend to be more sympathetic to MA than a lot of readers myself, but there are plenty of times when she does get into total drama queen mode, and this is definitely one. And I would say, as someone who's very shy in real life myself, the self-centered thing is kind of true--at least in terms of losing perspective on how much other people pay attention to you. Like, there are times when I'm grocery shopping and I have to literally remind myself that seriously, the cashiers are not judging me on the contents of my cart.

I also tend to be sympathetic to MA, especially with being self conscious. I'm not socially phobic but get judged a lot based on looks (unfortunately many cashiers have commented on the contents of my cart - they think they're being "helpful" even though they are clueless), which has made me really sensitive. I used to be a really confident person who liked to stand out and be the center of attention but now find myself being like MA and hoping to just "blend in" with a group.
Waaayyy off topic (and hope I didn't make anyone's social phobia worse). Anyway, I haven't read this book for a while and will have to reread. I don't remember liking it very well but it might be good for snarking

[macca]

I also tend to be sympathetic to MA, especially with being self conscious. I'm not socially phobic but get judged a lot based on looks (unfortunately many cashiers have commented on the contents of my cart - they think they're being "helpful" even though they are clueless), which has made me really sensitive.

That is so disgustingly rude. I'm sorry you've had to deal with that.

Like several others, I definitely have my social issues, which is probably why MA bugs me so much... I can see myself in her a lot of the time. Well, not the pyjama thing, I would've just worn really casual clothing and tried to blend in, although the BSC are renowned for making huge dramas out of things that can be easily resolved (MA Breaks the Rules, for instance)

[aln1982]

macca said:

That is so disgustingly rude. I'm sorry you've had to deal with that.

Like several others, I definitely have my social issues, which is probably why MA bugs me so much... I can see myself in her a lot of the time. Well, not the pyjama thing, I would've just worn really casual clothing and tried to blend in, although the BSC are renowned for making huge dramas out of things that can be easily resolved (MA Breaks the Rules, for instance)

As always, thanks for the kind words. I agree about making huge dramas about nothing. MA tends to be a major drama queen and overly sensitive. I need to reread this one to see what the pajama thing was all about.