9/15/08

Today we wrote spelling words in our planners, then we read and put words in our glossaries.

We also had a discussion about stereotyping. We talked about stereotyping based on gender and race. Try this: look at the list below. Mentally decide what gender and race each of these people are.

16 year old gang member from West Valley City

14 year old whose father is a doctor

11 year old whose older brother got arrested for drunk driving

16 year old drug dealer

15 year old who goes to church every Sunday

13 year old who can’t wait to drop out of school

17 year old who plays on teams in three different sports

14 year old who wants to be an artist

15 year old who wants to be a dentist

12 year old smoker

13 year old straight A student

17 year old model


Did a specific race and gender automatically pop into your head? This is called stereotyping--or making a judgement on someone based on a limited view of the person. We all do it. Unfortunately, it's not a good thing. When we stereotype, we often make assumptions about people which are not true. Sometimes this can cause huge problems. Think about a time someone stereotyped you. How did it make you feel?

We are going to be reading The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton during the next three weeks of class. We will be discussing social issues such as stereotyping, gangs, violence, acceptance, and the ability to understand who you are as an individual. We will also be learning more about plot elements and literary devices. Hope you enjoy!