Prejudice is described as an unjustified or incorrect attribute towards an individual or group of individuals belonging to a specific social group. Bias is described as the inclination for or against a specific group of people. Prejudices and Biases can be seen in most instances of everyday life, including schools. Many social groups face prejudices every day of their lives. One group that faces constant bias and prejudice is women. Often times in popular culture women are portrayed as ditsy individuals who do not think past surface level. They are often seen as stay at home mothers, assistants, or other professionals that may be looked down upon, it hasn/t been until recently that women have been portrayed as more realistic, well-rounded characters. More often than not they are seen as sex objects or secondary characters. This portrayal of women in media can also lead to body issues for average women as they may not meet the beauty standards seen in the industry. Within the bias of women as a whole, there are layers breaking up the group into subgroups that either receive more or less prejudice depending on social factors.
Of course, women are not the only social group that face prejudice as part of their daily lives.
School Violence
Another problem that students and educators face today is the issue of school violence. From gun violence to physical bullying studies show that a majority of students deal with some sort of anxiety due to the subject, over 55% to be exact. Students aren't the only ones who have these fears, educators, and parents share this fear as well. With gun violence rising it is not easy to put the thought out of your mind. As someone who both still attends school and wants to become a teacher the fear of school violence crosses my mind more than occasionally. It is something I have unfortunately tried to prepare myself for. On top of the fatal attacks that are shown on the news, there are hundreds of thousands of nonfatal attacks among students. Students and educators alike need to be educated on school violence, how to prevent it, what to do during it, and what to do after it, and as someone who wants to teach young children, the thought of educating them on these facts is absolutely heartbreaking. For a long time school violence was portrayed as unimportant or inconsequential in film and television, but that should no longer be the case. It is a serious topic that needs to be addressed. Are they connected?
In short, possibly, violence both in and out of schools can be linked to severe bias or prejudice, so severe that the individual's ideas cloud their judgment and lead them to believe that the only way to "rectify the situation" is violence. With that being said bias and prejudice are not the only causes of school violence.
Both topics need to be discussed in and out of school, they affect the students and educators in many ways so it is important to be aware of them.
References:
Graf, N. (2018). A majority of U.S. teens fear a shooting could happen at their school, and most parents share their concerns. Pew Research Journal.
Leins, C. (2019, August). These States Require Schools to Teach LGBT History. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2019-08-14/states-that-require-schools-to-teach-lgbt-history
Understanding School Violence. (2016). Understanding School Violence.
Vara-Orta, F. (2019, July 19). Swastikas. The N-word. 'Go Back to Mexico.' What Hate Looks Like in Schools. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/projects/hate-in-schools.html
Hi Tristen,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post. You provided a good amount of information and made some very interesting points. I agree that over the years, women in the media have not been portrayed in accurate ways. This can be so frustrating as a woman, because people then begin to form stereotypes, prejudices, and biases. I definitely agree that women are often portrayed as having one body type, that is, being very slim and polished. This can be so disheartening to young women, especially teenage girls. Young girls who find that they do not look like the woman portrayed in advertisements, on the television, on social media etc., may begin to view their body negatively. I think it is so important for advertisements and media to show diverse bodies and show that all bodies are beautiful. I think that in recent years, there has been a shift and women have been portrayed more accurately, however we still need some improvements. In regards to your section on school violence, I think that it is so sad that over 55% of students deal with some sort of anxiety due to the subject of violence in schools. Children should not have to be worried about things like gun violence and bullying. They should just be focused on being a kid and learning. I agree that the issue of gun violence needs to be addressed in schools so that we can further prevent it.
This is a great blog!
👍🏼😃
ReplyDeleteHi Tristen,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you have your blog post laid out and your reflection at the end on whether prejudice and school violence are connected. When you brought in how women are often facing prejudice within media I would definitely agree with that assertion. Your chart on school violence is something that is crazy to think of as well. It should not be a worry to people that there will be a shooting at their school, it has become much too common. Like you, it often crosses my mind as well and I wish it was something that could just be left in the past but I don't know if anything will ever get done about it. When you reflect on if they are related I would agree with your belief that they are related, but are not the only reasons there is school violence. I really enjoyed reading through this blog post!!