Pulumbarit 1

Jeremy Pulumbarit
English 1T Fernandez Essay 2
Due: 3/9/15

Slowly Abolishing Stereotypes

Stereotypes have always been annoying in my life. Some people
say, All Asians are good at math or Oh! You dont have a Filipino
accent? For me, I dont particularly enjoy math and I have an
American accent because I was born and raised in San Francisco,
California. These stereotypes are just annoyances that happened from
time to time, but for other students, stereotypes could be the reason
they get picked on at school, the teachers treat them differently, or
just overall how society views a group of people.
Many people dont realize how much stereotypes affect students
academic success. Social class really plays into the stereotypes of the
educational setting. In Jean Anyons Social Class and the Hidden
Curriculum of Work she found, There are no minority children in the
(affluent professional) school. In the high-class schools, approximately
90 percent of the children in the schools are white. Only children from
the upper class were able to attend the best schools with the best
teaching. Stereotypes affect how high on the social class a person can
be, so stereotypes also add to the struggles of college students. It adds
the extra tension and stress students dont need in their educational
journey. Claude Steele, Robert L. Heilbroner, and Jean Anyon proposed

Pulumbarit 2
a solution; Seeing people as individuals and creating healthy student
communities will eliminate stereotypes in our society.
Social mistrust is when a person is suspicious of the people
around them. In the college setting, students of color are affected by
social mistrust because the racial divide between them and their
teachers. Claude Steele, an American social psychologist at the
University of California, Berkeley, stated in his article Thin Ice:
Stereotype threat and Black College Students that,
Underperformance appears to be rooted less in self-doubt than in
social mistrust. Steele questioned whether it was society affecting the
students or was it the lack of confidence the black college students
had. In Steeles experiment, students pictures were attached to their
essays so that brought tension into the black students minds, which
they possibly felt that they were being graded based on their race and
not the work itself. When they were tested again and didnt feel the
racial divide, they performed as well or even better than white
students. Steele found that niceness alone wasnt enough to
extinguish the stereotype threat. Stereotypes lead to their social
mistrust, so hiring teacher who are nice and dont have the racial
divide is essential in preventing social mistrust.
The key to overcoming the stereotype threat is primarily
psychological. When a student of minority knows that someone is
measuring their intellectual ability they are more affected by the

Pulumbarit 3
stereotype. Steele wrote in his article, Tell the students that you are
using high standards (this signals that the criticism reflects standards
rather than race). Letting students know that they arent being judged
really helps put their minds at ease. Its the psychological effect of the
stereotype threat that affects students academic success the most.
The fact that these black college students knew they werent being
measured brought relief and allowed them to perform better. Race is
just term created by society to categorize groups of people and thats
how the stereotype threat starts. It starts when people begin to label
groups of people rather than seeing them as individuals. A way to stop
the stereotype threat is to put the students at ease and allowed them
to feel in a non-judgmental environment. It shows that the difficulty of
work isnt the factor but the way black college students react to the
stereotype threat is what affect them the most.
Stereotyping students doesnt only affect the person on the
receiving end but also the person dishing out the insults. It hurts
peoples emotions and its a lazy generalization made by those people
who lack the motivation to put in the time and effort to learn about
other students. Robert L. Heilbroner, American economist and historian
of economic thought, stated, Thus the trouble is that stereotypes
make us mentally lazy. Stereotypes are the easy way out of actually
learning about someone and their culture. People who follow the
stereotypes fail to see that it actually affects a students academic

Pulumbarit 4
success. Heilbroner explained that the first step to reducing
stereotypes is actually becoming aware that it is a problem in this
society. It will help not only those being stereotyped but also the
people who are categorizing them. In order to bring more awareness,
we could help educate people on stereotypes and introduce people to
various cultures.
Seeing people as individuals and not as stereotypes will help
reduce the lack of motivation and laziness that comes up with creating
stereotypes. When people become aware of how stereotypes affect
students in the classroom, they will begin to be more mindful of how
they treat students. One of Heilbroners solutions said, We can learn
to be chary of generalizations about people. Awareness alone comes a
long way in the journey in defeating stereotype threat. Steele created a
program that created a racially integrated living and learning
community. In the program, the students lived together, learned
together, and even had weekly meetings just to talk about each others
weeks were going. Through this program, students became
comfortable with their peers and didnt feel any racial divide. If todays
school system implemented programs like this around the country,
there would be a reduction of the stereotype threat and an increase to
the rate of student success.
The stereotype threat leads to unhealthy teacher and student
relationships. In Anyons text, she showed that schools in the lower

Pulumbarit 5
social classes have more disrespectful teachers than those in the upper
classes. Statistics have shown that minority races are rarely a part of
the high-class schools. Sometimes, the way lower-class teachers teach
their students are demeaning. In her text, Anyon gave insight on how
some teachers treated their students, Instead the teachers said, Shut
up, Shut your mouth and open your books. If I was treated like this in
school, I would be afraid to go to school because of the hostile
atmosphere. Ive experienced a couple bad teachers before, they were
overly strict, didnt explain material. I mainly worked through a
workbook and it was nothing creative. Anyon focused on the issue of
minorities not getting the higher-class education as the white families
that do. In the society we live in, the system is made in a way that the
rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. The stereotypes have made it
seem like minorities are inferior. In order to change this the school
system has to change, especially hiring quality teachers for young
children.
The school system needs to focus on hiring quality teachers who
are nice, promote critical thinking, and dont have the racial divide.
All schools need to strive to be like the Affluent Professional Schools
Anyon researched in her text. At a young age, students need to learn
to become independent and critical thinkers. Anyon described the
high-class teachers, The teachers were very polite to the children, and
the investigator heard no sarcasm, no nasty remarks, and few direct

Pulumbarit 6
orders. Only the top tier schools get the best educators. At a very
young age, children are being taught to be self-efficient, independent,
and critical thinking. These schools are trying to build future CEOs. We
should strive to make all schools in all the social classes like the
Affluent Professional School. It starts with training and hiring teachers
better. Putting teachers through the Steele program so they will
become comfortable with students and different races. Teachers have
to lead the charge in the journey of reducing stereotypes.
Stereotypes add to the struggles of college students through the
social mistrust they experience, the difficulty of their relationships with
teachers, and the social laziness of others. Raising awareness of the
stereotype threat, having healthy student/teacher relationships, and
hiring quality teachers can reduce all these problems. Stereotypes
make students feel inferior, so humanity needs to address this threat
and think of the possible solutions by Steele and Anyon. When the
stereotype threat is reduced, students rate of success will grow.

Pulumbarit 7

Works Cited
Anyon, Jean. Social Class And The Hidden Curriculum Of Work. Journal of
Education (1980): Web.
Heilbroner, Robert L. Dont Let Stereotypes Warp Your Judgments (n.d.):
Web.
Steele, Claude M. "Thin Ice: Stereotype Threat and Black College Students."
The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 01 Aug. 1999. Web. 07 Mar.
2015. <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/08/thinice- stereotype-threat-and-black-college-students/304663/>.