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To the colleague, a good reputation seems to be the pass to integrating a group of friends, going out and earning a “liveable education”. But when it is bad, it follows the student along his course. Margot Déage, sociologist of education, talks about the workings of this phenomenon in her book At the School of Bad Reputations.
“In college, having a reputation is already having a bad reputation”, explains Margot Déage, sociologist of education. In this very conformist environment that is the colleague, getting noticed is frowned upon and criticized. And this typical phenomenon of schoolyards is meant to be different between girls and boys. “For girls, it mostly revolves around insults related to sexuality. Whereas for boys who behave well but who are frowned upon, they rather bear the stigma of intellectual, balance, effeminate”
Reputation, a rumor that crystallizes
If a student receives a bad reputation, she usually pursues him throughout his schooling in the establishment. Only way to get rid of it: change group of friends. “When there is a successful change of group, then there, the reputation that we had in the group is no longer so valuable and we can start building ourselves again”. If some manage to get rid of a reputation, others suffer it outside the school circle, on social networks. “Today, there are more and more classes that have discussion groups on social networks and here they can continue to pass on the stories that are happening within the school”.
The minimization of this phenomenon by relatives
For students, reputation is a label and defines a person. When one of them loses that social status, “it’s dramatic for a schoolboy since ultimately, reputation is what guarantees him to be able to have friends”.
For teachers, reputation is a difficult phenomenon to manage because it requires positioning oneself in the intimate circle. “They do not necessarily feel ready or equipped to do so.”. Talking in class about the reputation, the mockery of a student, will only have the opposite effect for the sociologist. “This only confirms this phenomenon of reputation. This leads to more teasing from other students. So it requires adults in establishments a certain finesse to restore stability, peace within relationships”.
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