“Some Eagles may have issues dealing with popularity if they ever leave for a regular school.”

The Middle School Eagle before me had only been at Acton Academy a few months, and I wasn’t quite sure I understood her point.

“What do you mean by ‘popularity?'”

“I mean, there’s no pecking order.  At my old school, I was called…..”

The mean words that followed took me back to my middle school years.  The “popular kids” used labels like this to demean those lower in the social standing, just like stronger chickens will peck a weaker chicken to death if it dares to get out of line.

“Why doesn’t that happen at Acton Academy,” I asked.

“Because you’d be asked for a hundred Eagle Bucks and then sent home by the tribe.”

I sense the reasons go even deeper, but what an interesting question to ponder.