FiveThingsYouDidn’tKnowAbout“UndercoverHigh”

Whenyouthinkthatthereareabsolutelynomoreanglesthroughwhichrealitytelevisioncanbeexplored,themindsofHollywoodproveyouwrong.ThisisdefinitelythecasewithAE’snewdocu-series,“UndercoverHigh.”Haveyoueverwonderedwhatitislikeforcontemporaryhighschool’sstudents?Ofcourse,yourememberwhatitwaslikeforyou,butifyouaremorethan10to15yearsremovedfromhighschool,alothaschanged.UndercoverHighusesyoungadultsrangingfrom21-26yearsofagetoposeashighschoolstudentsforanentiresemester.TheshowhasasimilarDNAas‘CanYouSurviveHighSchool,’buttheyareverydifferent.Togiveyoumoreinsightonthisseries,herearefivefactsyouprobablyareunawareof.1.TheLookstoPiercetheTeenVeilAskidspreparetoenterhighschool,theyarealsoenteringtheirteenageyears,atimeinwhichtheybecomemoresecretiveanddistantfromtheirparents.Asthesekidsseektodevelopacertainsenseofindependenceitcanbehardtoseeinsideoftheirworld,whichparentsreallyneedtodo.Theshowtakesacovertapproachtoexaminingthebehaviors,conversations,andaspirationsoftheaveragehighschoolstudent.2.TakingonCompletelyNewIdentitiesIguessyoucanthattheyoungadultswhoaregoingundercoverareplayingroleslikethoseonthemovie21JumpStreet.Thedifferencehereisthattheyarenotattemptingtobreakupteenagecrimerings.Theseindividualsaretakingtheworldinsidethelivesofhighschool’sstudentstoseehowtheythink,whatchallengestheyfacedaily,howtheyhandlecertainstressorslikebeingbulliedorrejectedbytheirpeers.Thereisagreatdealofconcernthatthecurrentgenerationisnotpreparedtotakeonthechallengesoftheworldasadultsandthisseriesgivesapeekinsideoftheworldtodiscoverifwearerightornot.3.TrulyandUndercoverEndeavorsAccordingtotheshow’sproducersandnetworkexecutives,theonlyoneswhoareawareoftheseimposters’trueidentityistheschool’sadministrativestaffandaselectgroupofthecommunitymembers.Whilethisappearstobecutanddry,alotofworkandplanninghadtogointoit.Thepreparationbytheposershastobeintensebecausetheyareliterallytakingonanewlifeforfivemonths.Theywillactuallybetakinghighschoolclasses.Thisissomuchmorethanatelevisionshow.4.UnderlyingMotivesYoumaybewonderingwhatwouldinspireanadulttogobacktohighschool.Well,withsomepeople,highschoolwasthegreatesttimeoftheirlivesandothersitwasatimetheyarehopingtoforget.So,someoftheseposersmaybelookingtorelivetheglorydayswhileothersmaybelookingtoexercisesomeolddemons.Thehopeisthattheirinvasionofthesanctityofteenlifeactuallyworkstohelptheseteensbetteradjustforthelifetheyareultimatelyheadingforasadults.5.ThereareseveralChallengesIfyouwanttofeeldumb,justhangoutwithyourteenagerforacoupleofdaysandtrytokeepupwiththepaceatwhichtheyengageeachotheronsocialmedia.Theirunderstandingofmoderntechnologyisbaffling.Thingswehadtogetdegreestounderstand,theysimplyknow.Now,addinthefactthattheseposerswillhavetorelearnskillsthattheyhavenotusedsincehighschools,likealgebra.Weallknowifyoudon’tuseit,youloseit.Thiswilldefinitelybeinteresting.