Stereotypes Stifle Students!
We all do it. We might not be conscious of it all the time, but we do it. Whether it is race, gender, nationality, religion, etc..., we stereotype. Stereotyping in general is a bad thing, but when it is done in our classrooms, we are committing a grave disservice to our students.
The Spanish kid, or his parents, are not going to have a handle on the English language, when in actuality he is a bright student who speaks English fluently. The African American male from an "inner-city" is going to be a behavior problem, when in fact he is the most polite kid you could ever meet. The girl whose family lives in the trailer park is "trailer trash", and will eventually have a teen pregnancy. She turns out to be a straight A student!