VII What the Native Reactions Are

James (1899/1962) enumerates the native reactions and explains each briefly.  These reactions include: fear, love, curiosity, imitation, emulation, the ambitious impulses (ambition, pugnacity, pride), ownership, and constructiveness. 

Imitation and emulation are two native reactions that I think can play a large role in education, in both a positive and negative way.  Throughout all of my schooling, I was always a good student.  I enjoyed going to school, reading, and doing my work, and I always liked interacting with the teacher to learn more.  I was supported and encouraged by my teachers and parents alike, and this helped to keep me going.  Most of my classmates also seemed to be good students, or at least never gave any trouble to those who were.  However, while in middle school, it seemed that the idea that school was “stupid” and “a waste of time” came up much more in other students’ thoughts, and anyone who did well in school was against the norm.  It was the "cool" thing to fail exams and blow off homework, and people high-fived over who had the lowest score.  Even though I was still supported by my teachers and parents, my classmates were making fun of me and any other good students, calling us “teacher’s pet” or other such names. This bothered me, and I  remember announcing to my parents in the 5^th grade that I was no longer going to be an A student, but I was instead going to put my efforts forward to just simply be a B student in order to fit in with the rest of my classmates.  I think this example is an illustration of the imitation and emulation that James (1899/1962) speaks of, especially when he states that “we wish not to be lonely or eccentric, and we wish not to be cut off from our share in things which to our neighbors seem desirable privileges” (p. 26).  In this instance, emulation was actually a bad thing, because failing and not putting forth effort were the "desirable privileges."  I no longer wanted to seem so different from my peers, and decided that I would emulate those who were doing more poorly than I.  Teachers need to be aware that emulation does not always work in a positive route, where students with poorer grades or behavior want to emulate those with better, but can also work to drag good students down.  Luckily in my case, my parents were able to talk me out of limiting myself just to fit in, but how can teachers and parents make sure that other students do not let this affect their achievement in school?