Group Differences Forum Article Response

Mandy Hyde

Group Differences Forum

Multiculturism

2/10/14

Racial Stereotypes

            I believe this article really brings to light how far we have come and also how far we have to go before racism is completely stripped of the education field. Some of the quotes this article used from real educators made me sick like this one John McWhorter said, “The sad and simple fact is that while there are some excellent black students ... on average, black students do not try as hard as other students.” This quote was part of the realization of how far we have come since the desegregation of schools. I could not imagine not going to school with peers from different cultures because I learned so much from them, and I believe it helps our students become more well rounded.

            I also believe that we still have a long way to go because of the need to write articles such as this one. This article talked about how educators have preconceived notions about how their students will perform. White students will perform good, Asian students will perform great because they are all geniuses, and my black students, well they are always lazy so they underperform. This is something that still goes on in our schools today, and can and should be abolished because we know this is wrong. This article also talks about the media’s influence on keeping racism alive. TV shows and other media use racial stereotypes to make fun of and categorize minority groups such as saying all black people are violent, lazy or dumb, which is not so often the case. Without media influence we could be making even bigger strides toward racial equality, and I believe we are getting there it will just take more time.