I came from a small town where majority of the people had the same religion and ethnicity. Coming to college, I knew there was going to be a lot of diverse people. I was excited to meet people that had different backgrounds. I was accustom to a lot of people different from me in high school because I would go to Omaha, Nebraska almost every other weekend with friends when I was a junior and senior. In high school, I would just ignore the people different from me, I was not ever rude to them I just did not fully understand their lifestyles or beliefs. I was very guilty of lumping everyone that seemed different into the same category. I would treat their beliefs the same as others by pretending they were the same.
I have grown a lot as a person the summer before college and my freshman year of college. I developed an understanding about the importance of understanding people that are not the same as me. I really did not consider that there is no person on earth the same as some other person until reading the chapter in the book. The book also states that a person does not have to completely understand different beliefs, one just has to respect and acknowledge the beliefs of another individual without grouping them with other different groups or ignoring their beliefs.
I am very guilty of believing stereotypes. I know need to work on this but it is something that will take time. After coming to college, I have gotten rid of some of the stereotypes I use to believe but after the in class activity, I recognize that I have stereotypes that I did not consciously know I had before.
I am really excited to hear what is important to the students I will be helping next year, if they want to share. I know what I need to work on to be more understanding of different cultures and beliefs. I like the diversity Iowa State has because if everyone was similar campus would be very boring!
I think that many people are guilty of preconceived ideas of others. Unfortunately, most of these ideas spread via the media and being passed down within families. I think a lot of people, including myself, catch themselves attaching a stereotype to a person without saying it. Many people find this okay, as long as no one's feelings are hurt. But I think it should be everyone's goal to try to eliminate those stereotypes all together. Easier said than done, but still worth a try.
ReplyDeleteMy hometown lacked a lot of outward diversity either. Coming to college and seeing the amount of diversity I campus wad a little shocking to me. We have all have all had times where we have chosen to ignore individual differences thinking that we are respecting them by treating then like everybody else, but this doesn't help our personal growth and understanding. Stereotypes are incredibly hard to overcome, yet being aware of the stereotypes we hold we are better equipped to address them
ReplyDeleteI also grew up in a town where there wasn't a big difference in each person. But, I too thought it was cool to see myself grow throughout the last year and a half. Last night really showed me how I have changed since I first started at Iowa State.
ReplyDeleteSam