Stereotypes Are Part Of Our Everyday Lives

MISCONCEPTION IS BORN OUT OF MISCOMMUNICATION. WHEN STUDENTS GRADUATE THINKING THAT TOMATOES ARE VEGETABLES AND BEING UNSURE ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “DESSERT” AND “DESERT”, YOU’D COME TO BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE HAD AN UNSUCCESSFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCE. IN SOME WAY, I’D DESCRIBE MY UNSUCCESSFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCE AT SCHOOL AS SUCCESSFUL.

A thirteen year old boy who attends the Chimacum Middle School in Washington sexually assaulted a seven year old girl on the school bus they share. Since both students are minors their identities are being withheld from news reports. The Huffington Post shared the story on July 3 that the youthful teen raped the seven year old girl multiple times and is being charged with three counts of first-degree rape.

Even I have tried bungee jumping before, roofers’ curiosity toward magnificent downward views are understandable. Also, this discussion seems to be similar to my team project. We all want to try crazy things and make mistakes while we are young. Mistakes are mistakes, but most of them eventually turn out positive experiences in our lives.

Most of the time when you see me walking around the school I usually have a grin on my face. This one was different for me, because most of the information was correct; although, not all of it was true. Some examples that was true were: quick to smile, a lot of people say lighthearted or some people know it as wearing your heart on your sleeve, I celebrate my achievements , and “ no matter what the setbacks, one must never lose one’s sense of humor”. Some examples that don’t really agree with me are: always on the lookout for the positive in the situation and you’re rarely dragged down. Now, don’t get me wrong I love to smile and I try my hardest to keep a smile on my face. So, if you ever see me down talk to me! I promise I won’t be

I wandered to the a seat towards the back of the class, away from all the strangers in the room hoping and praying they wouldn’t notice me. Tables filled the room, three rows across and 3 rows deep, with two chairs to each table. A dirty fish tank was to my right, giving off a slightly unpleasant odor. He could have at least cleaned it for the first day of school perhaps. Students began piling in, shuffling to their seats and every chair, passing me by. I could hear everyone reconnecting, chatter echoed through the room, muttered stories of what they did this past summer. I figured, if I just sit completely still and quiet, maybe they won’t even know I’m here.

We use stereotypes in numerous ways. People that use stereotypes are usually completely unaware. The mind automatically makes connections without even thinking about it. The authors say that the mind automatically puts people into categories, so people can picture the person without even knowing what they look like. If someone says “American” people automatically think of a white middle-aged man when it can people any other race or age. We also automatically stereotype people based on their clothing or how they look like a person in a white lab coat is probably a doctor. Stereotypes influence our everyday thinking.

I appreciate diversity and equality because I am an immigrant myself and live through the benefits of being an immigrant. I grew up with those who are of Black, Brown, Hispanic, White and other Asians heritage and it has allowed me to judge everyone the same. I am glad that because I was an immigrant, my moral judgments can differentiate whether someone was joking or being racist, and my background helped me to be sensitive towards others.

“Stop. Just stop. I need to concentrate, so can you just please pay attention to the teacher like you’re supposed to?!”, she whispered. But what she whispered didn’t just travel to the boy, everyone heard it, even the teacher. She clenched her fists, trying not to be noticed. The teacher spoke with her with a harsh tone, and she got in trouble, all because of someone who couldn’t stop whispering. The class ended, and she decided to confront him.

In our American society, it has a lot of stereotypes that people call to define people’s skin. If you don’t believe this fact, then you had never felt the idea being called a stereotype to fit in groups that are miss-treated. In these so called “groups” can stand out a lot in the internet and American society. Within this idea, these people never get the feel of being beautiful and don’t get the freedom that America has always promised. With two amazing passages, “Mexicans Begin Jogging” and “Fish Cheeks”, has shown their struggles as a role of being different than a nude or pale beautiful

I think that we should get to know someone before we discriminate on them because they could actually be a nice person. Stereotypes are judgmental people that can be negative to society because if they are discriminating a person, it could affect that person and everyone around them. Everyone can be a stereotype, even if they are not trying to be. We all use stereotypes, all the time, without knowing it. We have met the enemy of equality, and the enemy is us.

It all began on the first day of third grade. As the class was waiting in the middle of the empty hallway, she was standing by herself, being the first one in the crowded and unorganized line. Unlike her, I was at the back of the line. A few minutes later, a tall man with shoulder-length, black hair, appears from the end of the hallway, making his way towards us. As he approaches the door, he introduces himself as Mr. Contreras, our third grade teacher. Soon after he opens the door we walk into the classroom and take random seats. The majority of the people sat next to their friends. They all seemed to know one another, then there was us– the new kids, feeling out of place in foreign territory. To my relief, there was an empty seat next to her, that apparently no one was interested in. Without hesitation, that empty seat was taken by me. Soon after we all had taken a seat, Mr. Contreras tells us to find a partner to do a fun activity with.

James A. Forbes once said “When people rely on surface appearances and false racial stereotypes, rather than in-depth knowledge of others at the level of the heart, mind, and spirit, their ability to asses and understand people accurately is comprised” (James). This quote speaks a lot about what stereotypes are and how they affect people in our society today. People are judged by their outer appearance and not by how smart they are or how big there heart is. Stereotypes impact different people in many distinctive and various ways in our world today.

Schemas are significant in society as they categorize a large number of people into small groups based on similar attributes. Research has defined stereotypes as being ‘shared schemas of social groups’ (G. Neil Martin, Neil R. Carlson, William Buskist, 2013, pp. 596). Although schemas can be positive, they can often lead to circumstances in which those who exhibit a certain stereotype may face instances of prejudice and discrimination. Vescio et al. (2005, as cited in Martin et al., 2013) showed that an example of a popular stereotype would be that women are weaker than men. Women who are presented with this stereotype are likely to fall victim to prejudices and discrimination frequently from the male gender.

“Smile, darlings!” my mother ordered. She reached for the camera around her neck as we groaned and wrapped our arms around each other. She snapped the photo with a click of her finger. “Perfect!”

Names were called out and little hands shot up like rockets as the teacher walked by each student. “Hodges,” the familiar name, “Hobbick,” my hand went up cautiously “Johnson,” another girl’s small hand rose up quickly and quietly. I turned to see the once familiar face and found a glare as I looked upon her. A once pleasant, friendly girl now stare at me. She looked irritated and annoyed that a foreign boy had invaded the space between her and her best friend. I stood isolated and alone in the vast room surrounded by strangers while the two chattered around me.