HispanicHeritageNotesICS16CAB

Essay

Have you ever been underestimated or undervalued because of a factor you cannot control such as race, gender or even financial situation? If you haven't, you are lying to your self. Whether you know it or not, you have been stereotyped or been the victim of an unfair bias. One of the problems with stereotypes, is that most people don't know much about them or why they originated. I hope to educate you on the topics of stereotypes, how they affect people and how my, Hispanic, family has overcome them.

Stereotypes are automatic, exaggerated assumptions or pictures that we apply to all members of one group. Stereotypes apply to groups such as, races, ages, genders and so many more. Any group can be stereotyped as a whole so anyone in the group may be categorized as something he or she isn't. One theory of how stereotypes began is that since humans need to feel that they are part of a group, going back to villages and clans. Our identity's began to attach themselves to the group we are in, when groups like those broke down we began to attach ourselves to other factors like race, class or even interests. Humans want to feel good about their group so instinctively we degrade people from other groups. We tend to see people we know closely as individuals but people from other groups we see as a mass applying the same characteristics to all included. Everyone stereotypes, no matter how hard they try not to. Stereotyping and developing biases is so instinctive that by age 5 many children already have stereotypes of women, African Americans, etc. It's human nature to categories people because it is our way to make the world simpler ("Where Bias Begins: The Truth About Stereotypes."). Think about it, we categorize foods, for example, I love candy but hate potatoes, I categorize food by what I like and what I don't like to make deciding what to eat easier, so why would I not do the same thing to people that look different or support different things. It is our brain making life simpler for us, automatically. That's why people struggle with seeing all people equally, it's automatic for us to view groups of people as a mass instead of individuals. This is a problem because we have to ignore the impulse to judge an individual based on their group, and instead get to know them as an individual ("Overcoming Racial Stereotypes //University Counseling Center// University of Notre Dame."). If everyone did this less people would feel the sting of harmful stereotypes or biases.

It is a problem that there are not as many Hispanics acting on TV or that there are not as many Hispanics in sports but stereotypes and biases are a //much larger// problem in the educational system (//CNN//. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016). This is such a large problem because younger children are more affected in the educational system and since young people are so impressionable they may start to believe or submit to the biases or stereotypes more than adults would. During the school year kids spend more time at school than at home, so the other kids at school effect the child even more than the parents do, pertaining to school and social activity. This can have a negative effect because if someone thinks that Hispanics are not smart and a Hispanic hears this, they may blame bad grades on their race and not try and improve. If the educational system would make an effort to reduce harmful stereotypes and biases, kids would grow up in a better environment with many more opportunities and may have a more open mind about trying new things ("Ethnic Stereotypes in Schools:We Are All Part of the Problem.").

Overcoming stereotypes is hard, but my family is living proof that anyone can do it, with hard work and perseverance. My dad has 9 brothers and sisters, 5 brothers and 4 sisters, his parents did not have much money. Their dad was a teacher and mom stayed home to take care of the many children. The lack of money and Hispanic decent didn't seem like a good combination for 10 kids to go to great collages and become successful. My aunts and uncles (and dad) worked so hard in school, with their parents help along the way, that they all got enough money in scholarships and high school/collage jobs to sent all 10 to collages. That is very impressive, even without mentioning that 5 went to The University of Notre Dame, 2 to Harvard, 1 to Dartmouth, 1 to Columbia and 1 to FSU. They overcame their lack of money and the biases of others around them to become very successful, Hispanic, people. I have never felt as much of the Hispanic biases, since i am fair skinned but I have experienced many other stereotypes and biases, and plan on overcoming them.

In a perfect unbiased world, it would be no more impressive for an African American or a Hispanic to go to a great collage than a white male. The expectations for White males and Hispanic Females would be equal and no girl or boy that happened to be Hispanic would ever doubt his or her academic talent due to false biases. I hope that this essay has brought awareness to one of the biggest problems in the world and has inspired you to disregard any stereotypes or biases. Thank you.


 * Works Cited**

//CNN//. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.< [|http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/15/opinion/navarrette-hispanic-america/>]
 * This is a reliable source because CNN articles are normally written by good journalists that can gather accurate information well, due to the size of the organization.

"Ethnic Stereotypes in Schools:We Are All Part of the Problem." N.p., n.d. Web.< [|http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/10/ethnic-stereotypes-in-schools_n_2272873.html>]
 * This is a reliable source because the information on this site aligns with information on other good sites.

"Overcoming Racial Stereotypes //University Counseling Center// University of Notre Dame." //University Counseling Center//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.< [|http://ucc.nd.edu/self-help/multicultural-awareness/overcoming-stereotypes/>]
 * This is a reliable source because it was made by a University and those normally have accurate information.

"Where Bias Begins: The Truth About Stereotypes." //Psychology Today//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.< [|https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199805/where-bias-begins-the-truth-about-stereotypes>]
 * This is a reliable source because the information in the article aligns to other information on other great sites. It is also a good source because it was written by a psychologist.