American Identity Stereotypes
American Identities PBL Essay
Stereotypes have shaped the world by pushing those affected by them further and further. Stereotypes can force people to work harder in order to be noticed, and can cause others to be overlooked because the community believes they are just another label. Stereotypes have shaped aspects of everyone’s lives and have definitely shaped mine. The gender stereotype, my appearance in regard to my age, and the social stereotype at school have all been stereotypes that have forced me to work harder in my life. The gender stereotype has definitely forced me to work harder. Although it is not as prominent as it once was, guys and girls are still treated differently. Many people think that they achieve their academic …show more content…
success in different ways. According to Kathryn Scantlebury, “Academically able girls ' achievements are attributed to their hard work, whereas successful boys are considered naturally gifted. In contrast, underachieving male students are considered lazy, whereas underachieving girls are regarded as not capable.” In the past schools I have gone to, sometimes girls were expected to be smarter, or not as smart, depending on the place. In either case, I had to work harder to move forward. It wasn’t exactly fair, but it helped me achieve my goals quicker than I could have without the pressures. The gender stereotype was one of the things that pushed me further instead of falling behind. This, combined with my appearance in regard to my age, took me to new heights as I conquered those obstacles. Another stereotype is the appearance stereotype.
In my case, it is specifically my appearance in regard to my age. I am very small for my age and I am also one of the youngest students in my grade. This sometimes has caused people to underestimate or overlook me. In addition, it has caused people to overestimate me because they think that since I am younger, I should be really smart. The stereotype has affected how people think I will play violin as well. They assume that since I am younger, I can’t play as well, and it makes me practice harder. It makes me feel good when people are surprised by how well I can play when I’ve only been playing for around six years. The reason that I am a grade ahead than where I’m supposed to be is that when I was in Pre-K, I had a wonderful teacher who saw that I should be moved up because, according to my mother, “[I] was telling the rest of the kids how to do the activity we were supposed to be doing instead of doing it [myself]”. Unfortunately, the director of the school just saw that as misbehavior. She underestimated me because she was close-minded and refused to let me into a higher level simply because of my age. My parents moved me to a different school where they placed me in kindergarten because they didn’t let the age stereotype affect their opinion. My mother also said, “It was really inconsiderate of the administration to call her misbehaving, when it was obvious she was bored at that level and needed to be challenged." This is …show more content…
just one example of when a stereotype pushed me forward, or in this case my parents pushed me forward. The social and academic stereotype at the schools I have attended has affected me as well. Lastly, the academic stereotype has affected me in a big way. The general public thinks that private schools should push their pupils forward. According to Robert Kennedy, “Your child will likely be challenged to a higher academic standard. Private schools can be more academically rigorous than public schools, and private school students may have to meet more criteria to keep up their grade point averages.” The academic stereotype at the schools I’ve attended has always been that you should be smart. Generally, if you didn’t get good grades, people felt sorry for you. Before I attended Andover/BHHS, I went to Detroit Country Day School from fourth grade through eighth grade. The curriculum there was especially challenging and the stereotype was that everyone who went there was really smart, because it is a private school. That stereotype, combined with the difficult classes, made me work really hard to live up to that standard. It was actually very similar when I moved to Andover, although I expect it would have been even harder had I kept with Country Day, because Andover was a really good public school. The stereotype was that you got good grades, and most people hated to get below a B on anything, or in my case, and A. This stereotype has perhaps pushed me forward the most because I have constantly been challenged by my school environment throughout my life. All three stereotypes, gender, height and age, and the social stereotype at school, have forced me work my hardest to push forward. Stereotypes don’t always have a positive outcome, sometimes they can just hold you back, but you always have to fight through that. It has been hard to do that, but in this case, I think the effect is definitely a positive one.
Works Cited
Used For the PBL Paper:
Kennedy, Robert. "Why Private School?" PrivateSchoolReview.com. N.p., 2 Dec. 2007. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
Risov, Marie. "Interview of My Mom." Personal interview. 13 Oct. 2013.
Scantlebury, Kathryn.
"Gender Role Stereotyping." Education.com. N.p., 23 Dec. 2009. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
Used For the Product:
"Does Barbie Make Girls Want to Be Thin? The Effect of Experimental Exposure to Images of Dolls on the Body Image of 5- to 8-year-old Girls." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Mar. 2006. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
Edwards, Jim. "A Thin Line: Pretzel Company Uses Anorexics ' Mantra as Ad Slogan." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 9 Aug. 2010. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
Hoskins, Stephanie. "The Negative Effects of Barbie on Young Girls an the Long Term Results." Divine Caroline. N.p., 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
Marine-Street, Natalie. "Stanford Researchers’ Cigarette Ad Collection Reveals How Big Tobacco Targets Women and Adolescent Girls." Stanford Researchers ' Cigarette Ad Collection Reveals How Big Tobacco Targets Women and Adolescent Girls. N.p., 26 Apr. 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
Palmer, Brian. "On Romney 's Odd Complexion: When Did White People Start Tanning?" Slate Magazine. N.p., 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
Roedel, Andrea. "The Evolution of Masculinity: Marketing and the Appearance of Man." Thesis. N.d. The Evolution of Masculinity: Marketing and the Appearance of Man. Web. 6 Oct.
2013.
Stereotypes have shaped the world by pushing those affected by them further and further. Stereotypes can force people to work harder in order to be noticed, and can cause others to be overlooked because the community believes they are just another label. Stereotypes have shaped aspects of everyone’s lives and have definitely shaped mine. The gender stereotype, my appearance in regard to my age, and the social stereotype at school have all been stereotypes that have forced me to work harder in my life. The gender stereotype has definitely forced me to work harder. Although it is not as prominent as it once was, guys and girls are still treated differently. Many people think that they achieve their academic …show more content…
success in different ways. According to Kathryn Scantlebury, “Academically able girls ' achievements are attributed to their hard work, whereas successful boys are considered naturally gifted. In contrast, underachieving male students are considered lazy, whereas underachieving girls are regarded as not capable.” In the past schools I have gone to, sometimes girls were expected to be smarter, or not as smart, depending on the place. In either case, I had to work harder to move forward. It wasn’t exactly fair, but it helped me achieve my goals quicker than I could have without the pressures. The gender stereotype was one of the things that pushed me further instead of falling behind. This, combined with my appearance in regard to my age, took me to new heights as I conquered those obstacles. Another stereotype is the appearance stereotype.
In my case, it is specifically my appearance in regard to my age. I am very small for my age and I am also one of the youngest students in my grade. This sometimes has caused people to underestimate or overlook me. In addition, it has caused people to overestimate me because they think that since I am younger, I should be really smart. The stereotype has affected how people think I will play violin as well. They assume that since I am younger, I can’t play as well, and it makes me practice harder. It makes me feel good when people are surprised by how well I can play when I’ve only been playing for around six years. The reason that I am a grade ahead than where I’m supposed to be is that when I was in Pre-K, I had a wonderful teacher who saw that I should be moved up because, according to my mother, “[I] was telling the rest of the kids how to do the activity we were supposed to be doing instead of doing it [myself]”. Unfortunately, the director of the school just saw that as misbehavior. She underestimated me because she was close-minded and refused to let me into a higher level simply because of my age. My parents moved me to a different school where they placed me in kindergarten because they didn’t let the age stereotype affect their opinion. My mother also said, “It was really inconsiderate of the administration to call her misbehaving, when it was obvious she was bored at that level and needed to be challenged." This is …show more content…
just one example of when a stereotype pushed me forward, or in this case my parents pushed me forward. The social and academic stereotype at the schools I have attended has affected me as well. Lastly, the academic stereotype has affected me in a big way. The general public thinks that private schools should push their pupils forward. According to Robert Kennedy, “Your child will likely be challenged to a higher academic standard. Private schools can be more academically rigorous than public schools, and private school students may have to meet more criteria to keep up their grade point averages.” The academic stereotype at the schools I’ve attended has always been that you should be smart. Generally, if you didn’t get good grades, people felt sorry for you. Before I attended Andover/BHHS, I went to Detroit Country Day School from fourth grade through eighth grade. The curriculum there was especially challenging and the stereotype was that everyone who went there was really smart, because it is a private school. That stereotype, combined with the difficult classes, made me work really hard to live up to that standard. It was actually very similar when I moved to Andover, although I expect it would have been even harder had I kept with Country Day, because Andover was a really good public school. The stereotype was that you got good grades, and most people hated to get below a B on anything, or in my case, and A. This stereotype has perhaps pushed me forward the most because I have constantly been challenged by my school environment throughout my life. All three stereotypes, gender, height and age, and the social stereotype at school, have forced me work my hardest to push forward. Stereotypes don’t always have a positive outcome, sometimes they can just hold you back, but you always have to fight through that. It has been hard to do that, but in this case, I think the effect is definitely a positive one.
Works Cited
Used For the PBL Paper:
Kennedy, Robert. "Why Private School?" PrivateSchoolReview.com. N.p., 2 Dec. 2007. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
Risov, Marie. "Interview of My Mom." Personal interview. 13 Oct. 2013.
Scantlebury, Kathryn.
"Gender Role Stereotyping." Education.com. N.p., 23 Dec. 2009. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
Used For the Product:
"Does Barbie Make Girls Want to Be Thin? The Effect of Experimental Exposure to Images of Dolls on the Body Image of 5- to 8-year-old Girls." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Mar. 2006. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
Edwards, Jim. "A Thin Line: Pretzel Company Uses Anorexics ' Mantra as Ad Slogan." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 9 Aug. 2010. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
Hoskins, Stephanie. "The Negative Effects of Barbie on Young Girls an the Long Term Results." Divine Caroline. N.p., 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
Marine-Street, Natalie. "Stanford Researchers’ Cigarette Ad Collection Reveals How Big Tobacco Targets Women and Adolescent Girls." Stanford Researchers ' Cigarette Ad Collection Reveals How Big Tobacco Targets Women and Adolescent Girls. N.p., 26 Apr. 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
Palmer, Brian. "On Romney 's Odd Complexion: When Did White People Start Tanning?" Slate Magazine. N.p., 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
Roedel, Andrea. "The Evolution of Masculinity: Marketing and the Appearance of Man." Thesis. N.d. The Evolution of Masculinity: Marketing and the Appearance of Man. Web. 6 Oct.
2013.