So, I've always wondered...

[escobert]

Mine was nothing like it. Everyone generally got along. The popular kids were jocks but the cheerleaders were all the theater girls so not really at the top of the social pyramid. Most of my school liked to party so that brought us all together

[Pike]

As for shoving kids in lockers, I did that in elementary school so basically I was ahead of the game there

[Araciel]

No.

It was basketball, not football.

[Raistlin]

I have to second the mentioning of middle school being the worst. My high school was nothing like TV and relatively non-cliquey (though I did go to a smaller school), but middle school, especially 6th and 7th grade, were filled with awful, awful people.

Shlup also makes a good point about mid-west schools being more stereotypical like on TV, at least from what I've heard. I think it has something to do with sports generally being a bigger deal there in high school.

[Flaming Ice]

Worst I got someone glued my lock.......before that some guy started reaching in my locker and I shut the door on his hand but he proceeded to throw papers out of my locker after.



And I had a locker near those two people who'd yell and scream at each other and somehow still stayed together.

[Madame Adequate]

God, middle school was the worst. Sixth grade was the worst of the lot because everyone was terrible and cruel to each other, I dunno why... kids were 12-13ish so I think it's just that age. People mellowed out a bit in seventh grade but then you had to deal with the eighth graders picking on the "sevies".

The cliques were really pronounced in high school but it didn't result in bullying so much as it resulted in just... who you hung out with, I guess.

So yeah middle school was the worst.

Yeah this was my experience as well, and I went to school here in Blighty in the Midlands. Middle school was a vicious pit of psychopathic little sadists who absolutely reveled in causing pain and misery in their fellow students. High school was a hell of a lot less severe in that regard, there were still problems but it was more like wiseguys throwing insults around trying to look clever rather and didn't do too much harm. Likewise if you did something dumb or were awkward you'd get some trout for it, but I'd definitely class most of it as teasing more than bullying. I never contemplated suicide or murder in due to HS, but I sure as trout did both in middle school.

Although we didn't really have cliques, just groups of friends who hung out together. But for the most part those were happy enough to let people come and go as people drifted around having different interests and whatnot. I ended up being damn good friends with a guy who had always been ready to take the piss out of me when we discovered we both liked the same videogames.