One unsavory run-in with someone can cause lifelong animosity towards anyone with the same characteristics. Prejudice is defined as an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought or reason . Almost everyone does have a reason for their prejudices though. Whenever I hear someone is a school administrator, immediately, I just hold resentment towards them and want nothing more than to avoid them. The majority of my incidents with school administrators have been terrible. Never due to my own actions, but actions of others always seem to affect me. In my mind, all school administrators are alike. They are like Richard Vernon from The Breakfast Club, only slightly less horrible. Throughout my years spent in …show more content…
different public schools, school administrators like the principal and vice principal have always seemed to undermine their students. They act as if they are better than everyone else and their power has seemed to have gone to their head. School administrators certainly play favorites with their students. If you’re not an AP Honors student who plays sports, you’re not worth their time or you become a target. Just hearing someone is a part of the school administration, instantly triggers disgust towards them. I do know why I hold a prejudice against the school administrators.
There have been several incidents that span out across my school career. In elementary school, I was severely bullied and the principal let the girls go with no punishment. She always had this attitude of being better than everyone and had to always be correct. When my father went in to talk to her on an unrelated issue regarding the “no child left behind” grading style she had implemented, she became insulting and defensive. She said it basically held back any kids who wanted to learn. After moving to a new school district, I soon began Junior High. In school, one boy made it his mission to try and break me. I was severely bullied every day but I did my best to ignore it. One day he said something that put me over the edge and the matter was brought to the school administrators. He was let off with a slight slap on the wrist after months of verbal abuse and sexual harassment. I was soon pulled out of that district and placed into another I was not in junior high for very much longer before I moved up and into high school. My friend one day afterschool had nearly been raped on campus and had evidence from several sources where the boy admitted to trying to. I had gone with her because this boy had tried to force me to do some things with him as well during a previous encounter before the school year started, so I tried to help her as much as I could. The principals looked at her and me as if we were doing
something wrong and treated us like we were lying, even with tangible evidence in our hands. After that I never brought any matters I had to school administrators again. I would just deal with them myself because I knew no one else would help me. I was targeted for dress code violations and other miscellaneous things and when I needed to change a teacher due to not being able to understand the current one I had, I was switched out for a day before being placed back by a school administrator who did not care. So often, I’ve been looked over or mistreated, then they wonder why I avoid them. Now I do not have as many encounters with school administrators due to coming to CCRI. I just try to avoid my high school as much as possible and any other public schools. Keeping my head down and just following the rules is all I can do until I’m out of school entirely. I worry though because my brother just started school and I do not want him to have the same problems I did. I know that I will have to eventually change my prejudice against school administrators for his sake, if nothing else. In order to put a stop to my prejudice, I have to create a plan. I need to learn to forgive those from my past for what they did wrong and try to understand from the other point of view, no matter how difficult. Time away from those who trigger it will also help me because the constant reminder will be gone. I do not know if much else will help me to rid myself of my preconceived notions. Once a prejudice is developed, it is difficult to get rid of. It is a long battle of trying to change your way of thinking, but it can be accomplished. My prejudice against school administrators has been developing since I was in elementary school but now I am on a path to turning this around. No one is the same and holding hate towards someone for someone else’s wrongdoing is only going to be painful to you in the long run. Not all school administrators are like Dick Vernon .
Even though extraordinary changes have been made in the past to achieve racial equality, America is still racist, especially in schools. In the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” written by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is criticized for defending a black man accused of raping a white woman. During the 1930s, the time this novel took place, America was a very segregated country. At the time when Harper Lee wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird," America was fighting a civil rights movement. The events of racism in “To Kill a Mockingbird” reflect the time period.
Prejudices shape our perceptions of various people and influence our attitudes and actions toward particular groups and prejudicial attitudes that are negative often lead to hostile relations between domi...
Classifying oneself to be the object of prejudice or discrimination has demonstrable, negative impact upon the individual (Dion, 2002). Prejudice is a mixture of preconceived beliefs and negative attitudes towards a certain group of people. Whereas discrimination involves physical action and unequal treatment towards a particular group. Research indicates prejudice and discrimination are more or less interchangeably, with altered referents and slightly different meanings (Zastrow, 2007).
Prejudice is mostly based on inaccurate information about people Prejudice originates from three common parts(these parts make up a prejudiced belief): 1.Generalisations -a very broad, simple statement about a group of people -here is perhaps an appropriate point to provide an example:"All catholics" or when the word "they" figures strongly -key words for generalisations are "all" and "they" ---"generalisations are also very G. are unfair descriptions of people and they are mostly based on very incomplete information. Having met one member from a different group with extraordinary behaviour, we often assume that all members of this group show this same extraordinary behaviour. 2.Stereotyping -exaggerated,often negative image of a particular group of people -a stereotyping often contains a grain of truth, but this grain of truth is combined with an exaggerated and undue image of this group. Ethnocentricity -there are two types of prejudices: 1.prejudice against all outsiders-->your group is the only right and proper,all other groups are excluded,other groups are portrayed as being strange and inferior. 2.
In my opinion, prejudice has a very big impact on society all across the country everyday. I do believe that most people have a tendency to let their preconception of others get in the way of and effect their decisions. People tend to make many decisions based on their own bias beliefs about other people. Prejudice can be called by many things such as bias, racism, sexism, discrimination, and many other different things.
When segregation in schools was abolished in the 1950’s, the African American community surely did not anticipate any outcome that wasn’t positive. This is not to say that American schools should remain segregated, however, the sudden shift in the societal structure caused an imbalance in, what was intended to be, an equal opportunity classroom.
Becoming the person I am today wasn't easy especially because I was never like this, I was usually that kid who sat by themselves would not socialize and avoid everyone. Because from elementary school all the way till 8th grade I was bullied by people who just wanted to bother me for the heck of it. I can’t explain that inner feeling from inside when you hear people say horrible stuff to you. To me this famous quote “stick and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”, was a lie and it did hurt. One spring evening after a difficult day of school in elementary school, I was chased home by a group of kids that have been pushing me around, name calling, taking my stuff and humiliated me from the past months. I never grew the strength to stand up to those people because I was afraid of them hitting me afraid if they will spread rumors. Thank god when I graduated 5th grade I thought finally i will leave and never see those idiots ever in my life sadly when I entered middle school some of those kids entered the same school I was in and it kept on the harassment the name call...
Prejudice can be caused because of various reasons. Religion, ethnic race and social status are examples of causes of prejudice. Sometimes prejudice is caused by how we are raised. Many times parents pass on prejudice beliefs to their children. A lot people raised in the southern part of the country are prejudice against blacks. In the early to mid 1960’s, prejudice was alive and well in the south. Blacks had their own bathrooms and were forced to ride in the back of city busses. It’s hard to believe that was doing on only 40 years ago. A lot of Middle Eastern countries are very prejudice against women.
A significant problem of practice in education is teacher bias. Teacher bias has implications around race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and socioeconomic status. Teachers must be willing to examine their beliefs, acknowledge and overcome their biases. Teachers need to evaluate their practices in relation to their ideals as well as recognize and assess the position of power they hold in their classrooms in order to be true Social Justice Educators (Cooper, 2003).
Bullying within an elementary school begins right from the very first day of school. By the end of Kindergarten, over 20% of students report being bullied within that year. By the end of elementary school, 9 out of 10 students report being bullied at one time or another. The students, who bully during elementary school, are more likely to have it carry on with them for their middle school and school years. The aggressive and violent behaviors towards students in elementary school not only carry on after graduation from high school, but they end up having criminal records.
Unfortunately due to our past history, discrimination had been among us from since decades. Discrimination and prejudice would probably be among us until the end of the world. Prejudice and discrimination is an action that treats people unfairly because of their membership in a particular social group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs to rather on that individual. It is an unfair treatment to a person, racial group, and minority. It is an action based on prejudice.
Everyone is prejudice in some way or another. From a young age individuals observe, or are taught discrimination against others. Whether it is because of religion, sexuality, race, gender, personality, or just someone’s way of life, everyone is biased. In many ways, who we are today, is influenced by our race, ethnicity, and culture, and overall our individual identities. Every experience, positive or negative, has an impact on how we react to something in the future. Decisions others make, can impact the way we interact with others, our personal beliefs, and all together our life experiences. Along our path of life, we meet people with different goals and circumstances they’ve encountered which make them who they are and why they do certain things a certain way. But our experiences
Prejudice is an inexcusable attitude (usually harmful) towards an individual based solely on the individual’s membership of a social group. Victims of prejudice may have difficulty focusing on tasks and making clear decisions and this effect can linger after the incident. Psychotherapy may be helpful in treating the negative mental effects of someone who has been the victim of prejudice. Psychotherapy may also be beneficial for someone who has prejudged or discriminated against another.
Four main things that play into prejudice are the different levels of prejudice, self-justification, personality, and one’s frustration. There are different severities to each prejudice; some take it more seriously than others. Maybe it is a form of feeling good for some, feeling better than those around you. Having a prejudice is not the best way to go about handling a tough situation, but many have them. Personal experiences, jealousy, and hatred are just a few of the attributes that lye behind prejudices. Some may have been learned, and some may be just out of pure ignorance. No one was born to have negative feelings towards a group of “different” individuals. Yes, we are human and no one is perfect, but if prejudice were an innate behavior, all people of the same kind would feel the same way towards the other “excommunicated” individuals. Different people have been raised with different belief systems and cultural practices. If one was raised their whole life being told that people of this specific group were bad, they would obviously have the same feelings towards them. Whether it is back in the 1800s or now, people still have prejudices against those of other sexes, race and ethnicity, and religions. All in all, many prejudices stem from others’ pride, stubbornness, fear, hatred, or maybe even their own
When I think about discrimination, the one issue that sticks out in my mind is the favoritism shown towards athletes in school. Discrimination is the process in which two stimuli differing in some aspect are treated differently, and favoritism is the showing of being partial to. This type of discrimination could range from how their disciplined if they get into trouble compared to others, to how they receive special help in the classroom with there grades. The thing is athletes are no different than anyone else, they put there pants on the same way as everyone else, one leg at a time.