There are many stereotypes that adults have about youth and after reading three different articles there were multiple stereotypes that I found and were important for me to talk about. From the first reading, Framing Youth, the stereotype about young people is that they are secretive and and live dangerous lives. Most of the people who thought youth lead these dangerous lives were adults or parents of adolescents. Around this time, articles were coming out with headlines such as, "should you spy on your teen?", etc. Mentioned in the article, parents became more suspicious of youth after the Columbine shooting had happened. Parents wondered what adolescents were hiding and what kind of dangerous lives they lived. I believe this stereotype exists because of the things parents hear through media, other parents, etc. This could especially be impacted by race and sexuality. Some parents might believe that because if their child identifies as gay, lesbian, etc. they have been taught to believe that this is deviant behavior or they're just going through a stage of life. But, adolescents are going through many changes and have many different feelings and to have their parents doubt what they are feeling could make them become secretive.
After reading, Redefining the Notion of Youth, the stereotype that describes youth is that they are bad and adults fear them. Youth are seen as problems but nobody wants to talk about what the problem is. Maybe they engage in deviant behavior, or the color of their skin makes them "bad" kids but that shouldn't define who they are. Just because someone is a different race or engages in bad behavior doesn't mean that all youth are bad. I think a lot of people believe what they hear and don't want to take the time to get to know adolescents and learn what they might be going through or what they are feeling.
In the last article I read, Adults think Black Girls are Older Than They Are, the stereotype is that adults view black girls as being older than they are. The article said that this happens because they assume that they are likelier to take on more responsibilities of being an adult and adults impose different views and expectations on black girls. According to a study, black girls are twice as likely to be disciplined for dress code and two and half times more likely than white girls to be disciplined for disobedience. I believe this is a stereotype because of what people were taught to believe or grew up learning from the people around them. The article also mentioned that this could be because of racial disparities in school. So, black girls are underrepresented in the school system and people aren't taking the time to get to know them or acknowledge them for the age they are.
After reading, Redefining the Notion of Youth, the stereotype that describes youth is that they are bad and adults fear them. Youth are seen as problems but nobody wants to talk about what the problem is. Maybe they engage in deviant behavior, or the color of their skin makes them "bad" kids but that shouldn't define who they are. Just because someone is a different race or engages in bad behavior doesn't mean that all youth are bad. I think a lot of people believe what they hear and don't want to take the time to get to know adolescents and learn what they might be going through or what they are feeling.
In the last article I read, Adults think Black Girls are Older Than They Are, the stereotype is that adults view black girls as being older than they are. The article said that this happens because they assume that they are likelier to take on more responsibilities of being an adult and adults impose different views and expectations on black girls. According to a study, black girls are twice as likely to be disciplined for dress code and two and half times more likely than white girls to be disciplined for disobedience. I believe this is a stereotype because of what people were taught to believe or grew up learning from the people around them. The article also mentioned that this could be because of racial disparities in school. So, black girls are underrepresented in the school system and people aren't taking the time to get to know them or acknowledge them for the age they are.
You did such a great job identifying important pieces of each article. It was a great read:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughtful post Ashlee and for your careful reading of each article. I wanted to follow up on a point from the third article and to ask the question WHO is disproportionately disciplining Black girls? They write in the article "The study’s authors surveyed 325 adults from different racial, ethnic, and educational backgrounds; 74 percent were white and 62 percent were female." This is pretty consistent with the teacher population. How might the discipline of Black girls be different if there were more Black and POC teachers?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am curious about the second part of the blog question "Share a memory (recent or distant) when you experienced prejudice as a young person."