New Format and Misconceptions

Well I've changed the format of this blog because strictly discussing alternative education is too restricting for me. My life consists of much more than just alternative education.

One of my main jobs at our school is to manage students and their coursework. Most students manage themselves quite well. However, many students hold perceptions of the world that causes them to run into roadblocks in their daily lives. In the greater population many people hold perceptions of the world that may not cause them to run into roadblocks but certainly restricts their access to greater understanding. Two examples follow:

Student example: One of my students stated that she had no problem with men homosexuals but could not tolerate "dikes". The reason males will not hit on you while the girls will. "They'll try and turn you out." I tried to stress to the student that generalizing behaviors of any group is is stereotyping and can be dangerous because you will invariably misjudge people who are nothing like the stereotype that you created. This will lead to a lifetime where you REgress instead of PROgress. You will sever relationships with people instead of trying to meet each individual and judge each by their character.

Adult example: Recently the news has been filled with loud, angry citizens shouting that this is not the country they grew up in which has also been uttered by Sean Hannity and who knows who else. My simple comment to these people is "the United States, like societies everywhere, change. The past was not some utopian dream world where everything was perfect. Do I have to mention these obvious facts; segregation, Vietnam War, Korean War, World War II, Great Depression, etc... Life is a struggle in all time periods. Open up some history books, hell, watch the History Channel and you may catch a glimpse of the hard times that have come before.

Both are examples of people with misconceptions and both seem unwilling to look more deeply into their perceptions of people in the first case and the past in the latter. I will continue to try and change misconceptions in my students as for the adults I fear the work is much more difficult.