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Maybe "the real world" isn't the right term, but high school certainly is an isolated, controlled, and artificial environment compared to the rest of the outside world. The kids are locked down and have little to no freedom and little to no control over their environment. Also, some things that are socially acceptable in high school are NOT socially acceptable in an adult workplace. In that sense, high school is not "the real world", because high school students don't have the same freedom or the same tools to deal with obnoxious people as they otherwise would in the adult world. In "the real world", you have legal recourse if someone in your workplace is harassing you. You can get a restraining order. You can talk to your H.R. department. You can sue your workplace and/or the person if you've taken the above steps and nothing has been done. You can quit your job and get a new one. In high school you have none of those luxuries. Unless the harassment is extreme, there is very little likelihood of getting a restraining order against another student. Furthermore, getting a restraining order is not something a high schooler can do on their own (they would need help from their parents). You can talk to the administration at the school, but they don't have the same power, nor the same incentive to avoid lawsuits (although this is changing) as a company's H.R. department. Also, many school administrators are still of the mindset that "kids will be kids" when it comes to bullying/harassment, and are unwilling to do anything about the issue. Finally, a high schooler cannot simply quit high school like an adult can quit his or her job. Again, it involves their parents's help. That is the difference between high school and "the real world". In the real world, harassment is a serious legal issue; in high school, it's just "kids will be kids". In the real world, you have at least a modicum of control over your environment; in high school, kids have no control. In the real world, actions have consequences; in high school, apparently, they do not. |