Robbins, Alexandra

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The teachers

a year inside America's most vulnerable, important profession
2023
"A year-in-the-life account of three teachers, combined with reporting that reveals what's really going on behind school doors"--Front dust jacket.

Fraternity

an inside look at a year of college boys becoming men
Examines the true stories of two college freshmen--called Jake, a boy who hopes a fraternity will help him overcome social awkwardness, and Oliver, a tough and athletic boy who doubts his ability to lead his fraternity--and their experiences over two years with their fraternities. Discusses why fraternities sometimes encourage good kids to do bad things, why rituals and secrets still occur in fraternities, and how and why deadly accidents still occur.
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The Nurses

a year of secrets, drama, and miracles with the heroes of the hospital
Shows the inner workings of emergency rooms, explains behind-the-scene events, and why nurses deserve the respect of everyone.

The nurses

a year of secrets, drama, and miracles with the heroes of the hospital
2015
Drawing for interviews and undercover hospital observations, the author offers a detailed, sympathetic, and eye-opening portrait of how nurses work, deal with stresses, and fulfill their mission of serving patients.

The geeks shall inherit the earth

popularity, quirk theory, and why outsiders thrive after high school
2012
Journalist Robbins explores the ways group identity theories play out among cliques--and the students they exclude. She reveals the new labels students stick onto each other today, the long-term effects of this marginalization, and the reasons students in these categories are often shunned. Then she celebrates them. The homogenization of the US education system has made outcasts more important than ever. In this conformist, creativity-stifling society, the innovation, courage, and differences of outcasts--nerds, weirdos, punks, etc.--are crucial to progress. Robbins intertwines psychology with science, addressing questions such as "Why are popular people mean?" and "Why do social labels stick?" As in Pledged and The Overachievers, Robbins follows students through the course of a year. In her other books, however, Robbins merely observed students. This time, she forces them to examine who they are and how other students perceive them, then dares them to step outside of their comfort zone to attempt social experiments at their schools--experiments that end up changing their lives.--From publisher description.

The geeks shall inherit the Earth

popularity, quirk theory, and why outsiders thrive after high school
2011
Alexandra Robbins explores the ways group identity theories play out among cliques and among students they exclude, revealing the labels students stick onto each other, the long-term effects of this marginalization, and the reasons students falling under these categories are often shunned and celebrates them as a crucial piece of American culture, inspiring the outcasts--nerds, freaks, weirdos, punks, and Goths--to be more creative and inspired and helping them become larger players in American society as they enter the real world.

The overachievers

the secret lives of driven kids
2006
Explains how high schools have become a stressful environment where students are defined not by their character or hunger for knowledge, but by often arbitrary scores and statistics, and recounts the real-life experiences of a group of teens struggling to fit in and be the best.

Pledged

the secret life of sororities
2004
The author chronicles her year undercover in a college sorority, describing the abusive and dangerous behavior she witnessed and examining the reasons sorority sisters act the way they do.
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