Speaking Like a Skipper: 'Skippin' an' Gettin' High'

Abstract

'Skipping' classes in high school was examined here as a cultural form of language behaviour among a group of high-school students. This ethnographic study focused on the analysis of 'skipping' as a 'text' or 'text-analogue' that was open to interpretation by fellow 'Skippers' by members of the school community, and by communication researchers. A major study finding was the the genre of skipping was a game, played by two subgroups within the Skippers' speech community: the Smart Skippers and the Don't Care Skippers. Thus defined, it was shown to have structure, style, and mode analogous to various components of games: i.e. players, objectives, rules, suggestions for better play methods of keeping score, and consequences for winners and losers. Drug use and abuse cooccurred as suggested by the cover term, skippin' an' gettin' high. Skippers' speech style had a restricted code one that revealed a 'play with words and actions' in their life at school and beyond. Skipping served three primary functions for Skippers: creating tension in play/work, belonging/not belonging, and power and control dimensions of their life at school and home. Other key players in the skipping game were teachers and parents. Implications of the study are drawn for the primary prevention of two major adolescent health and developmental problems: drug involvement and school dropout.