Subcultures and Countercultures in High School Society

Within the walls of Woodrow Wilson Classical High School, there was one main culture, high schooler. Within the broad culture of being a high schooler things that connect the culture together are from the music they like to the clothes they wear, even the teachers they have. However, a closer look at the student body, there are subcultures. The cultures of the subcultures all were dependent on race. As a result of this subcultures being based on race and the unfortunate situations the kids were in, sometimes these subcultures became countercultures. Once gang violence and shooting occurred, the became extremely different than the majority of society. These different cultures in a spot will create tensions, but strangely enough can pull them

Gruwell was successful in teaching her class and having them grow. A majority of them went to college and were the first to do so in their families. Many of them were able to escape the gang wars, make friends of other races, and have a place of safety. Her students went from exhibiting ethnocentrism to using the concept of cultural relativism. At the beginning of freshman year, the students and even Mrs. Gruwell judged each other on the morals of their subculture. But once the class started to learn and read about the Holocaust, they were able to view that culture by using the concept of cultural relativism.

While Woodrow Wilson Classical High School and Olentangy Liberty High School have a lot of differences, although there are some similarities as well. A majority of the differences that are between the two schools heavily depends on the location of the school. OLHS is located in a middle/upper class suburbans, while WWCHS has forced integration and is near the city. However, both schools deal with illegal activities and have students that wouldn’t be considered proper/‘normal’. Also a similarity is the main culture. All students are high schoolers, all deal with homework, getting ready for school or a night