Prejudice In The Classroom

Prejudice is an opinion or attitude about a group of people that is based upon lack of understanding or incorrect information. It is making assumptions about children and young people because they belong to a particular group. Prejudiced attitudes can all too often be found among children, even at a very young age. Research has shown that children are capable of holding prejudices and negative attitudes towards others from the age of three. There are so many pressures on children to fit in and to conform with expected appearances and behaviour that they may be discriminated against and bullied if they do not. Both discrimination and prejudice can take a range of forms and can take place for a multitude of reason and usually occurs through lack of knowledge and understanding of diversity, every childcare professional must be conscious of the fact that a child or young person will experience some form of prejudice or discrimination against them throughout their time in school. It is down to us adults to educate and teach children to understand and respect other peoples differences in order for them to grow into mature, respectful young adults, to do this, children should be encouraged to explore and discover other cultures, beliefs and the environment around them. We should be vigilant to ensure that children respect and embrace diversity. Children can experience prejudice and discrimination the same way as adults due to race, religion, age, sex, culture or ethnicity.

In this modern world, prejudice is still a universal problem we still have yet to overcome. Although it is true that our society is much less prejudiced than it was 40-50 years ago, we are still struggling to create racial harmony in a world that is so diverse in terms of racial group, sexual orientations, ethnicity, nationality, religions, and so on. I think the core of prejudice comes from stereotyping, which is the generalization of motives, characteristics, or behavior to an entire group of people. In the world where media propaganda is ubiquitous, often times most stereotypes are not formed on valid experiences, instead they are based on images publicized by the mass media, or even created within our heads after seeing and hearing examples from many different sources, like movies, or even hearsay. Stereotyping is more powerful than we think, because it allows those false pictures to control our thinking that leads us to assign uniform characteristics to any person in a group, without consideration of the actual difference between members of that particular group.

Children and young people can experience prejudice and discrimination from their earliest social encounters with others. Prejudice is an unreasonable or unfair dislike or preconceived negative view of individuals belonging to a particular group. Discrimination is the bigoted behaviour of singling out a particular person or group for different treatment than the others. Both of these unacceptable responses usually arise as a result of ignorance of the benefits of diversity and a primal impulse of ‘group mentality’.

Racism isn’t hating someone because of their race. Prejudice is not a misconception of who a person is. Racism is being prejudiced because a person believes their race is superior; and, prejudice is a preconceived opinion not based on any prior experience. In other words, racism is when a person has a preconceived opinion about another person because they feel their race is superior. Racism and prejudice are probably two of the most talked about and controversial words 60 years ago and still today. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and Martin L. King marched on Selma they didn’t think we would still be in such a place today; we are in a place where people are not allowed to be themselves without facing judgment. This is the same prejudice and racism members of society face in schools, by students and educators which limits their ability to progress in a world full of competition and rise above what demographics say they are destined to become. As the great Charles Albert Tindley once said, “We Shall Overcome!”

Prejudice influences the historical record because those opinions and beliefs are handed down through the generations and believed by others due to the influence those that express those views have on others. In the context of the Understanding Prejudice quiz about slaves and their treatment, the textbook states that “contemporary institutional and individual racism, which is central to today’s conflicts, has its origins in the institution of slavery” (Schaefer, 2015, p 168) which was embraced by many of our past presidents and which allowed long-standing prejudice and discrimination to occur against black people. The prejudicial theories of authoritarian personality, exploitation, and normative come into play as well as the theoretical perspectives of functionalist and labeling.

During the summer before my junior year I truly felt that I transitioned from a child to the person that I am today. An event happened which became such a huge turning point in my life that I barely even recognized myself after it transpired. It occurred during volleyball camp, when one of my closest friends and I were sitting in the locker room waiting for the day to start. Our conversation started off with simple small talk. Then, completely out of the blue she told me something that felt like a punch in the stomach. She stared straight into my eyes and said “Erin, I know you’re gay.” I couldn’t do anything but stare. So many thoughts were tumbling through my head that my vision became blurry and I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know what to

Fat people are funny. If you wear Crocs means that you are a complete dork. If you are pretty, you are smart, and if you are ugly you are stupid. Little old ladies that have a lot of cats are nice. These are examples of prejudice. It is in schools, on the radio, and on TV. Prejudice is what we think of people or things just because other people look like or act like that. Prejudice is a preconceived idea that is in no way based on a reason or actual experience or evidence. Prejudice is a major problem for many people in the United States and many other places in the world, but the more you know about prejudice, the easier it is to identify and stop it.

Black students are suspended or expelled three times more than their white counterparts, according to the U.S. Education Department’s 2011-2012 Civil Rights Data Collection. This demonstrates that African-American students are treated unfairly. Racism in America was at its height during slavery and segregation, but the Brown vs Board case in 1954 wasn't the end of racism. Nor was the founding of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in 1960. Racism in schools is an ongoing problem that needs to be addressed because it affects on average 14 percent or more of all African American students. Such discrimination directly relates to mental trauma and it damages their chances of attending a good college or university if they are neglected during school.

Describe at least one idea that is relevant to people in todays society in the text. Explain why the idea, as shown in the text, is relevant to people in todays society.

We all have held a prejudice in some way or form, even I am guilty of holding some prejudice. My prejudice comes from my view of the Southern United States, over the years I have developed a view of Americans from the south being overly religious racists that care more about protecting their gun rights then giving their children a good education. I believe that the main reason for my prejudice forming is because of the theory of prejudice, scapegoating. The reason I believe that scapegoating is the source for my prejudice is because when I feel that an unjust bill is passed in congress that targets minority groups or poor people, I tend to blame the south for the reason that these groups continue to suffer. Instead of seeing that perhaps before

Low income students have been and continue to be oppressed individuals in the school systems in the United States, which is often tied to the behavior to the children in the classroom. The oppression of these students is traced to their communities and their social behavior. As stated by Bruce Marlowe, a Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of South Carolina Beaufort: “This bureaucratic culture fosters the pervasive assumption that when students misbehave or achieve poorly, they must be ‘fixed’ because the problem inheres in the students or their families, not in the social ecology of the school, grade or classroom” (Marlowe 64). The social behavior is seen as negative and teacher do not take the time to understand the problems

In our society, we are able to witness how our prejudices can affect the way people live. At times, there are people who come forward and confront the injustice in our lives and try helping the victims. However, there are numerous occasions were we fail to confront the prejudice, and take no notice of the consequences that may result; this is evident in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird where the numerous prejudices and injustices heaped upon various characters brings the society itself to moral conflict. We witness first hand how failing to confront various types of prejudices may result large repercussions.

In today’s world, there are many social issues, like poverty, vandalism and unemployment. However, prejudice has become the most dramatic one. Prejudging people for their appearance is a common practice that humans perform. People are not only ridiculed for their color, but also by their religion, sex or age. Therefore, I consider that racism, ageism and sexism are the three major problems in our society and we need to cease them immediately. Much of our world’s history were based upon racism. In the 1600’s, white men used Africans as slaves and treated them as they were not human. "Colored" people were not even allowed to use the same drinking fountains as white people. Fortunately, in the last three decades, race

There is always going to be a certain level of misunderstanding or miscommunication between employees in the workplace. But when the ugly specter of prejudice appears in the workplace, based on gender, ethnicity, cultural differences, religion or skin color, it can cause serious problems and hurtful feelings. This paper offers scholarly information on prejudice in the workplace and relates as to how prejudice can be reduced.

In any society, how we see ourselves and how others treat us depends on many factors. Race, ethnicity, and cultural background are identifiers of individuals. Most people have confronted prejudice based on these identifiers, either personally experiencing discrimination or knowing someone who has. Beyond ensuring organizational compliance with a country’s anti-discrimination laws, it is incumbent upon managers to support diversity in the workplace and to be culturally competent.