Feminism and Women’s Self Image an Example by

Feminism and Women’s Self Image Womens looks have primarily been influenced by media and the images it projects. From early adolescence, a girl begins placing her value on what is the norm according to peers, television, movies, magazines and billboards. Since its inception, the feminist movement has attempted to counter the negative, false images imprinted upon girls self images. Need essay sample on "Feminism and Womens Self Image" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Students Frequently Tell EssayLab professionals: Who wants to write essay for me? Professional writers propose: Don't Waste Your Time Buy An Essay For College Websites That Hire Writers Essay Paper Writing Service Essay Writing Service The standards of beauty that the media portrays are unrealistic and set young girls up for a negative self image. When a young girl, then later a woman, never feels as if she is good enough, based on media influences, she is left feeling less-than and inferior. As a woman ages she becomes defined as even less desirable. The media rarely portrays a woman over 30 as beautiful, vibrant, sexy or desirable. The ingrained message women (and men) receive is that mature women are not attractive or sexy. This continual bombardment of unachievable standards sets women up for lifetimes of poor self-image. This image, usually contrived from seeing models as idols, is at the root of the problem. The Barnard/Columbia Women's Handbook says, The range of actual body types in the past was no different than today. What has changed is what has been set up as the ideal. Studies have shown that while 25 years ago the average model weighed 8% less than the average American woman, today's model weighs 23% below the national average. The exclusion of so many women from representation is a denial of the wide range of bodies and appearances. Instead of marveling at the assortment of body shapes, we continually compare ourselves with each other. We begin to objectify our own and other women's bodies. So women have ingrained a sense of competition with other women. They also feel innately inferior to the standard. Women have these feelings more strongly than men. In the article, Mirror, Mirror the author explains, Why are women so much more self-critical than men? Because women are judged on their appearance more than men, and standards of female beauty are considerably higher and more inflexible. Women are continually bombarded with images of the 'ideal' face and figure - what Naomi Woolf calls 'The Official Body'. Constant exposure to idealized images of female beauty on TV, magazines and billboards makes exceptional good looks seem normal and anything short of perfection seem abnormal and ugly. It has been estimated that young women now see more images of outstandingly beautiful women in one day than our mothers saw throughout their entire adolescence. Since its inception, feminism has attempted to correct this faulty image. According to www.usinfo.state.gov, feminism is defined as The view, articulated in the 19th century, that women are inherently equal to men and deserve equal rights and opportunities. More recently, a social and political movement that took hold in the United States in the late 1960s, soon spreading globally. Feminism tries to make the media take responsibility for its influence and the images it projects. In a talk given by feminist journalist Rose Simone, she said, A good journalist is aware of the fact that his or her reality is not the only reality. A good journalist should try to reflect the diversity that is out there . . . and the ability to do that involves being able to see and understand that just because you have not experienced something, such as racism, or just because you would personally not perceive the same thing as another person, that doesn't make the other person's set of experiences less real or less worthy of reporting. Other ways feminism attempts to overcome negative beauty/body images are by education and instilling a sense of responsibility. In The Good Body, author Eve Ensler says, The Good Body began with me and my particular obsession with my imperfect stomach. I have charted this self-hatred, recorded it, tried to follow it back to its source. Here, unlike the women in The Vagina Monologues, I am my own victim, my own perpetrator. Of course, the tools of my self victimization have been made readily available. The pattern of the perfect body has been programmed into me since birth. But whatever the cultural influences and pressures, my preoccupation with my flab, my constant dieting, exercising, worrying, is self-imposed. I pick up the magazines. I buy into the ideal. I believe that blond, flat girls have the secret. Although feminism has made great strides since the 1960s, there is still a long way to go in enhancing womens self image. As long as women compare themselves to false images of perfection portrayed by the media, they will be haunted with low self worth and a need to reach an unattainable goal. Sources: Public Face/Private Suffering: the female body (Chapter 3, Reshaping the female body: the dilemma of cosmetic surgery) by Kathy Davis Beauty Secrets (Chapter 3, Dress as Success) The Barnard/Columbia Women's Handbook 1992 (Chapter 3) The Good Body by Eve Ensler

The Cooperative Principle in Conversation

The Cooperative Principle in Conversation In conversation analysis, the cooperative principle is the assumption that participants in a conversation normally attempt to be informative, truthful, relevant, and clear. The concept of the cooperative principle was introduced by philosopher H. Paul Grice in his article Logic and Conversation (Syntax and Semantics, 1975). In that article, Grice argued that talk exchanges arent merely a succession of disconnected remarks, and would not be rational if they did. They are characteristically, to some degree at least, cooperative efforts; and each participant recognizes in them, to some extent, a common purpose or set of purposes, or at least a mutually accepted direction.   Examples and Observations We might then formulate a rough general principle which participants will be expected (ceteris paribus) to observe, namely: Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged. One might label this the Cooperative Principle.  (Paul Grice, Logic and Conversation, 1975. Reprinted in Studies in the Way of Words. Harvard University  Press, 1989)[T]he  sum and substance of the Cooperative  Principle might be put this way: Do whatever is necessary to achieve the purpose of your talk; dont do anything that will frustrate that purpose. (Aloysius Martinich,  Communication and Reference.  Walter de Gruyter, 1984) Grice's Conversational Maxims [Paul] Grice fleshed out the cooperative principle in four conversational maxims, which are commandments that people tacitly follow (or should follow) to further the conversation efficiently: Quantity: Say no less than the conversation requires.Say no more than the conversation requires. Quality: Dont say what you believe to be false.Dont say things for which you lack evidence. Manner: Dont be obscure.Dont be ambiguous.Be brief.Be orderly. Relevance: Be relevant. People undoubtedly can be tight-lipped, long-winded, mendacious, cavalier, obscure, ambiguous, verbose, rambling, or off-topic. But on closer examination they are far less so than they could be, given the possibilities. . . . Because human hearers can count on some degree of adherence to the maxims, they can read between the lines, weed out unintended ambiguities, and connect the dots when they listen and read. (Steven Pinker, The Stuff of Thought. Viking, 2007) Cooperation vs. Agreeableness We need to make a distinction between communicatively cooperative and socially cooperative . . ..  The Cooperative Principle is  not about being positive and socially smooth, or agreeable. It is a presumption that when people speak, they intend and expect that they will communicate by doing so, and that the hearer will help at making this happen. When two people quarrel or have a disagreement, the Cooperative Principle still holds, even though the speakers may not be doing anything positive or cooperative. . . . Even if individuals are aggressive, self-serving, egotistic, and so on, and not quite focusing on the other participants of the interaction, they cant have spoken at all to someone else without expecting that something would come out of it, that there would be some result, and that the other person/s was/were engaged with them. That is what the Cooperative Principle is all about, and it certainly does have to continue to be considered as the main driving force in communic ation. (Istvan Kecskes,  Intercultural Pragmatics. Oxford University Press,  2014) Jack Reacher's Telephone Conversation The operator answered  and I asked for Shoemaker  and I got transferred, maybe elsewhere in the building, or the country, or the world, and after a bunch of clicks  and hisses and some long minutes of dead air Shoemaker came on the line and said Yes? This is Jack Reacher, I said. Where are you? Dont you have all kinds of automatic machines to tell you that? Yes, he said. Youre in Seattle, on a pay phone  down by the fish market. But we prefer it when people volunteer the information themselves. We find that makes the subsequent conversation go better. Because theyre already cooperating. Theyre invested. In what? The conversation. Are we having a conversation? Not really. (Lee Child, Personal.  Delacorte Press, 2014) The Lighter Side of the Cooperative Principle Sheldon Cooper: Ive been giving the matter some thought, and I think Id be willing to be a house pet to a race of superintelligent aliens.​ Leonard Hofstadter: Interesting.​ Sheldon Cooper: Ask me why?​ Leonard Hofstadter: Do I have to?​ Sheldon Cooper: Of course. Thats how you move a conversation forward. (Jim Parsons and  Johnny Galecki, The Financial Permeability. The Big Bang Theory, 2009)

Im One Archie Anderson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Im One Archie Anderson - Essay Example Environmental campaigns have also raised the need for alternative, renewable sources of energy within the society to conserve natural resources for posterity. The issue of environmental pollution caused by the burning of the fuels from this industry has led to an extensive criticism of the oil and gas industry in a harsh way. The I’m One Campaign sought to handle these crises by documenting all the benefits oil and gas to the American society. It reviews numerous aspects in which oil and gas are fundamental to the society to persuade them to support the industry. The advertisements states facts about the dependence of oil and the benefits it has to the American fraternity. Jobs, education and day to day activities within the American society get reviewed in the advertisement, and their relation to the existence of oil gets developed in the advertisement to enlighten the American consumers. (AmericanPetroleumInstitute) According to the campaign, 9.2 billion jobs in the US get maintained by the gas and oil industry. The capitalist nature of the US makes this statistic a welcome one as the citizens are in a constant mission to attain economic stability. The recession hit the country dearly leading to reduced job security, and thus any effort to improve the situation shall get immense support. This advertisement aims at this niche to enable the embracing of the oil and gas industry. The jobs that got covered in the campaign that get supported by the oil and gas industry were numerous. Among them were mechanics, power pricers, researchers, marketing coordinators, design engineers, field engineers, chemists, landmen and environmental, health and safety technicians. This long list in their advertisement brings out the quantity aspect of the benefits of the oil and gas industry. It goes to a personal level in naming the respective discipline apart from mentioning the staggering statistic of 9.2 billion

Budgeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Budgeting - Essay Example Initially, traditional budgeting acted as the only alternative for budgeting. But, in the recent phenomenon, budgeting has come up with several alternatives. It can be affirmed in this regard that traditional budgeting is often criticized as sufficient enough to support global companies in attaining their desired targets. In this regard, several budgeting processes, with new innovative ideas and broader perspectives, have been developed in order to deal with the changing business scenario (Finkler & et. al., 2008). With this concern, this paper intends to explain the problems along with the weaknesses of traditional budgeting and identifying possible strategies to overcome those problems or weaknesses. Moreover, the discussion in this paper would also emphasize the benefits that an organization can anticipate while making changes in the traditional budgeting procedure, applying the concept of ‘Beyond Budgeting’. A Brief Overview of Budgeting Budgeting is regarded as a pr ocess of making a financial plan, wherein efforts are made by the accountants or the business owners to meet the strategic goals of the organization facing minimum or no hindrances in terms of financial resource scarcity or misuse of financial resources. ... It has often been praised as a strategic tool that can broadly enhance the interrelation between the units and the departments to work together efficiently, which in turn reduces the chances of failure in sharing critical information. Budgeting process acts as a motivational aspect that again helps the managers as well as the employees to work more productively making better use of the resources available. It can be apparently viewed that most of the companies follow previous year budget plan in order to acquire a brief idea about how well they had performed and forecast a plan to overcome deficiencies in the upcoming future. This further advocates that the budgeting process needs to be formalized and quantified (Fontinelle, 2013). Failure in making proper budgeting will eventually lead towards the wastage of organizations’ scarce resources, time and manpower among others. The goals that are set by the budgeting process should therefore be realistic and idealistic in nature, t o assure greater benefits of the budget planning (Donovan, 2005). In this regard, several large scale companies may hire accountants or other professionals in order to outline the business budget, while in relation to the case of small companies, it is the owners or the officials belonging to the top management team, who are responsible for preparing budget plans (Donovan, 2005; Wallander, 1999). Problems and Weaknesses of Traditional Budgeting Cautiously planned approaches and continuous reviews of finances are few of the key concerns required to be followed in order to run a business. Budgeting, along with forecasting of financial statements, as included in the paradigm of accounting, play an imperative role in managing financial information in accordance with the

Custom Made Finger Prosthesis Study

Custom Made Finger Prosthesis Study ABSTRACT: AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Maxillofacial Prosthodontics is an art and science which provides life-like appearance to the missing structures of an individual. The complete or partial loss of a finger results in significant functional deficiencies. In addition to immediate loss of grasp, strength and security, the absence of a finger may cause marked psychological trauma. CASE DESCRIPTION A case report has been presented where a custom made finger prosthesis; comfortable in use and esthetically acceptable to the patient was fabricated; using silicone material. CONCLUSION The retention for this patient was obtained by reducing the stump and using a ring of suitable size. Introduction: Finger and partial-finger amputations are some of the most frequently encountered forms of partial-hand losses.1 Although the most common causes of these amputations are traumatic injuries, congenital absences or malformations may present similar clinical challenges.2 Prosthesis refers to artificial replacement of an absent part of the human body. These artificial substitutes serve primarily to improve the patient’s appearance and to support them psychologically. They play an immense role in making the patient more socially acceptable.3 Reconstructive surgery cannot restore esthetics as much as prosthesis can and thus has limited role in case of lost body parts. The major role in rehabilitating the patient is thus played by the maxillofacial prosthodontist and the anaplastologist. The ideally constructed finger prosthesis must meet the following preconditions: the prosthesis must assist in grip and absorbing and transferring forces to the hand; the prosthesis should look natural, allowing expression of gestures.4,5 This article presents a case of rehabilitation of a finger defect with a silicone prosthesis and describes a method of retention for the same. CLINICAL REPORT: A 22-year-old female patient reported to the Department of Prosthodontics, with a chief complaint of a partially missing index finger on her right hand. A complete hand examination was carried out that revealed a residual stump on the index finger of the right hand measuring 1.5 cm in height. A solitary healed wound/scar was seen on the base of the residual stump. The surrounding area appeared to be normal with no signs of any infection or inflammation. Informed consent was obtained before beginning the treatment procedure. Making Impressions The index finger of the patient’s left and right hand were lubricated with a thin layer of petroleum jelly, to prevent the hydrocolloid impression material from adhering to it. Impressions of the stump and of the index finger of the contralateral hand which correspond to the lost digit were taken using irreversible hydrocolloid. A plastic disposable cup of sufficient length and diameter was chosen to confine the impression material. The containers were tried on the patient’s fingers to provide adequate clearance of at least 5 mm around for the impression material. Regular setting alginate was mixed using cold water to increase the working time and poured into the containers. The patient was asked to dip her finger and stump vertically into the container without touching the sides or the bottom of the container. Both the impressions were made with the digits in the semiflexed and relaxed position. The material was allowed to set and the fingers were removed quickly in a jerking motion after the material was set. The impression of the stump was poured in Type-III dental stone. The impression of the middle finger was poured with molten modeling wax. Upon cooling, the wax pattern was retrieved from alginate mold by partially incising the alginate mold with sharp instrument. The wax pattern was then adjusted by sculpting and adapted on the working cast. Approximate length and angulations were determined on working cast and later confirmed during trial of wax pattern. The wax pattern was tried on the patients affected right hand little finger. Necessary adjustments regarding the length, contour and angulations of the finger were done at this stage of prosthetic fabrication. Stump preparation A reduction of 1-1.5 mm was done on the stone casts to produce prosthesis with a smaller diameter which can be stretched over the stump to provide retention. The pattern and the cast were then invested in a large size Hanau flask. The mold was first poured only upto half of the pattern. Tin foil substitute was applied and then the other half was poured, wax was eliminated in the conventional way. Color matching and incorporation of nail The most critical step was to match the color of the prostheses to the patient’s skin color. The basic skin color was observed. The colors were mixed with the silicone to obtain the base color. Maximum efforts were made to achieve the appropriate characterization for the palmer and dorsal surfaces of the prostheses. The shade matching was done using natural daylight. Artificial nail was properly shaped and trimmed to the required size. Around 1 mm of nail bed was carved in the wax pattern and the nail was incorporated in that space. The mould created by the elimination of the wax was packed with silicone rubber. The material was allowed to bench cure overnight and for the final polymerization, it was placed in hot water, for one hour, at 45 degrees Celsius. Once the final prosthesis was retrieved, the flash was trimmed using a sharp blade and the final finishing was accomplished using fine sand paper. The retention for this patient was by using a ring of suitable size. DISCUSSION: Individuals who desire finger replacement usually have high expectations for the appearance of the prosthesis.6 The polyvinyl chloride material generally used is easily and permanently stained by such common materials as ballpoint pen and newspaper ink and has not proven durable enough for active use. The acceptance rate has been much higher when individually sculpted custom restoration using silicone elastomer is provided.7 The overall durability and stain resistance of silicone is far superior to any other material currently available for finger restorations. Almost all stains can be removed easily with water and soap.8 Silicone finger restorations may have additional functional benefits. Many traumatic amputees experience painful hypersensitivity at the termination of finger remnants. The gentle, constant pressure of an elastomer prosthesis can help desensitize and protect the injured tip. Over time, scar tissue contained within a silicone prosthesis seems to become more pliant an d comfortable. Recent literature speculates that silicone gel improves the hydration of the stratum corneum of immature hypertrophic scars. Placing a decorative ring over the margin of a finger prosthesis ending at the metacarpal-phalangeal joint will make the changing color of the hand less noticeable although the distal joint functions will be slightly restricted. Conclusion The custom-made finger prosthesis is esthetically acceptable and comfortable for use in patients with amputated fingers, resulting in psychological improvement and personality. An esthetic and retentive prosthesis are the primary determinant factors in the successful prosthetic restoration of a finger. The retention for this patient was obtained by reducing the stump and using a ring of suitable size.

12 Hours Without Technology Essay

Those who identify themselves as technological determinists believe we as humans have remarkably little control over technology and the effect it has on the world. Just two months ago, I passionately denied this point of view and identified myself as a social constructivist. Perhaps it is the idea of not being in complete control of my decisions that I did not want to accept. However, after completing the challenge of going twelve hours without technology, I quickly learned that my thoughts on technological determinism were not in line with my experiences. The fact is technology has become an integral part of day-to-day life. Truly understanding the effects and dare I say, control, that technology has on life, twelve hours without it will certainly enlighten each one of us. In the following pages, I will attempt to describe the challenges of my day without technology. Furthermore, I will attempt to interpret how my experiences relate to my relationship with technology and society. Ultimately, my purpose is to identify events which support or defy the view of technological determinism and understand the driving factors behind them. See more:  First Poem for You Essay With a career that heavily relies on technology, I reasonably challenged myself to refrain from using technology on a Sunday. What I learned was quite surprising and honestly, quite stressful. First, to appreciate the challenges I endured on this Sunday, it is crucial to know a little bit about my professional background. As a licensed mortgage loan originator, I have a fiduciary duty to all of my clients that are purchasing a home. While my career requires a large set of professional requirements, the most valuable aspect to being successful is to be available nearly 24 hours a day every day of the week. Going into this project, I knew that refraining from using technology, specifically my phone and the computer, would prove to be challenging but at the same time I figured everyone deserves a day off every now and then†¦I soon learned that this would come with a cost. My Sunday morning started off much the same as any other. I woke up early to tend to my e-mails that had made their way to my inbox from potential homeowners throughout the evening. Responsibly, I made sure to reply to every e-mail, voicemail and, text message prior to 9:00AM. Completely disconnecting from the internet and shutting down my phone was just as nerve racking as I had anticipated it to be. Knowing that this day would be a challenge for me, I had previously arranged a few things to do to keep my mind and attention away from my business. Depending on how one would define technology, someone could argue that I instantly failed to avoid the use of technology within just an hour of starting my project. My wife and I left the house in the technological wonder of a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid around 9:30AM to attend regular church services. I recognized right away that avoiding technology entirely for twelve hours would be impossible for me to accomplish. Instead, I switched my focus to avoiding my phone, internet or computer use for the remainder of the day. My wife and I proceeded to attend church and then went to lunch. When we returned home, I decided to take each of the three dogs for a run. Normally, I opt to take one of them each day on a rotation, but it was a beautiful day and the small blinking light on my phone begging me to check my text messages, e-mails and voicemails were not within reach. This was my first insight into a day without technology. Almost immediately I was able to find more time to do things that are more valuable to me. While I was enjoying the extra time with my beloved pets, I also recognized that as the day progressed, I was growing more and more anxious from not being able to use my phone. Little did I know that by the time I had finished taking the last four-legged child for a run, I was not the only anxious person affected by vacation from technology. There was a storm brewing that would hinder my goal. When I returned home, my wife frantically met me at the door with her phone in hand. My managing sales supervisor had called her because he had received a few phone calls from upset potential clients. Notably, this was just five hours into my twelve hour challenge on a Sunday afternoon. Reluctantly, I took the phone from my wife and proceeded to field the onslaught of exploratory questions as to my whereabouts and reasoning for not answering my phone or promptly replying to my e-mails. It is crucial to remember that I’m essentially self-employed, so I had no obligation to answer to a supervisor for an issue such as this but the fact that I had chosen not to use an ordinary technology such as my phone, I found myself in an awkward and rather challenging position. After taking some time to put out some proverbial fires with my sales manager and a few clients, I put my phone down and resumed my challenge of avoiding technology. Before doing so, I noticed that I had received several text messages throughout the day from friends and family. Reflecting upon the nature of the texts as I read through them, I noticed one general recurring theme. Many of the initial text conversations had begun with an unassuming â€Å"hello† and â€Å"how are you. † Just five or six hours after not receiving a response from me, many of the one-sided conversations had progressed to worry about my safety. At this point, I dismissed the idea that I had control when it came to technology. As I reflected on these events, I could not help but be reminded of Neil Postman. We need to proceed with our eyes wide open so that we may use technology rather than be used by it (Postman, 1998, p. 6). Suddenly, I realized that I have been interacting with technological development in a way where technology was using me more than I was using it. By definition, social constructivism â€Å"presumes that social and cultural forces determine technical change† (Johnson & Wetmore, 2009, p. 143). On the flip side, technological determinism â€Å"is the claim that the introduction of new technologies produces direct and unalterable social changes† (Johnson & Wetmore, 2009, p. 93). I acknowledge that refraining from technological use for twelve hours was an extremely small scale task in terms of the technology available at hand. Despite that, it was surprising how disturbed my friends, family, co-workers and clients alike had become by my avoidance of a phone. â€Å"Technological change creates winners and losers† (Harris, 2012). These disturbances certainly support this idea, and I would argue that this is at the foundation of the technological determinism theory. The introduction of the smartphone into my personal and professional life has set an expectation which has had a direct and unalterable affect. While this reliance on the phone may put me on the loser side of this equation, my clients are certainly on the winning side. My choice of career has brought new technology into my life that may have not been necessary with different decisions on my part. In closing, I should repeat that the main point of this paper and this experiment was to describe the challenges of a day without technology while interpreting my experiences in terms of the relationship between technology and society at a personal level. My experience with this project may have been more extreme than others given the expectations of my profession. However, by the end of my unsuccessful day without technology, it was clear that the technologies I have brought into my own life on a personal and professional level unmistakably dictates how I interact with the world and more importantly, how the outside world expects me to interact with it.

Prejudice, Stereotype, and Discrimination Essay

Have you ever gone a day without judging someone? Probably not. It is so easy to judge others without even meaning to do it. In the textbook Education Psychology, Anita Woolfolk describes prejudice as â€Å"prejudgment or irrational generalization about an entire category of people† (Woolfolk, 2008). Prejudice is a major problem in everyday lives. It is happening all around us. Prejudice can be a positive or negative thing. It is usually negative, brings people down, and not all the way true. Discrimination is â€Å"treating or acting unfairly toward particular categories of people†. (Woolfolk, 2008) Conflict Research Consortium says â€Å"Prejudice and discrimination are negative manifestations of integrative power. Instead of bringing or holding people together, prejudice and discrimination push them apart†. (Prejudice and Discrimination, 1998) Prejudices can be judged by race, appearance, gender, values, location, and religion. By about the age of four, children are aware of differences among people, like appearance, language and names. Later they become aware of religious and cultural distinctions. â€Å"Young children will not develop biases unless their parents teach them to be prejudiced. Even without direct coaching from their parents, many young children develop racial prejudice†. (Woolfolk, 2008) It is sad that children are learning about racial prejudice at such a young age. Young children may or may not be aware of the special treatment boys tend to receive from their teachers over girls. They are very much aware that their feelings, opinions and beliefs receive less consideration because of their youth. When children approach adolescence, they become more alert of the subtle prejudices about the differences in social class and religion. Stereotyping is a â€Å"schema that organizes knowledge or perceptions about a category†. (Woolfolk, 2008) It is so hard not to stereotype others. Stereotyping organizes what you know or believe about people into groups. People use stereotypes to make sense of the world. Stereotypes distort information to fit your thinking better. â€Å"Prejudice creates social and emotional tension, can lead to fear and anxiety and occasionally hostility and violence, and can ruin the self-esteem and self-confidence of those being ridiculed and make them feel terrible, unaccepted, and unworthy. Children’s school performance suffers, they may become depressed and socially withdrawn. † (Prejudice, 2007) Prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination have been going on for a long time. African Americans were considered worthless a long time ago. They were used as slaves. There were segregated schools, buses, and stores. In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his speech about whites and blacks should be treated equally. The laws started to change after that point in time. I do not think prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination has gone down. I think it is still a big factor in society. This parenting website I looked at said this â€Å"children are also being exposed to different cultures through the media. They are learning and forming opinions about people and events all over the country and the world. As a result, there is more of a need and opportunity to help children learn to understand and value diversity. † (Prejudice, 2007) Children need to know why people are different and do things differently. Media is still a big part of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination. Children see what actors and actresses wear and how they act in movies. They see the commercials about food (if I eat this, I will look like that). I think as teachers and parents we need be good examples for children today. They should not say bad things about people in front of children. Teachers and parents need to tell children that it is okay to be friends with a person who is different. I found an article on this website that parents have asked some questions about prejudice. Some of the questions are â€Å"Is there prejudice in public schools? Yes. Do educators hold different expectations for minority children? Yes. Are children denied access to advanced or gifted placement classed based on racial biases? Yes. Can the battle against prejudice in public education be successfully fought and won? Yes†. (Prejudice and Discrimination In Public Schools, 2001) I really like the last question, prejudice can be fought and won. It all starts at home, parents are their child’s first teacher. Children see what their parents say and how they act. One example of stereotyping that I thought of was that I did an internship my senior year of high school. I helped a second grade teacher. After a couple of times going into the class, the teacher would always whisper to me about this little girl. She says she never gets anything right, she always has messy hair, she is always talking, and the list went on and on. One Sunday I was at church and I saw that girl. I told my mom what the teacher had told me about that girl. My mom said that she has had a hard couple of months. She told me that the little girl’s mom had left her and her family. I felt really bad for the girl. After that day, I started to recognize the girl. I would say hi to her when I would see her. I did not care what she looked liked. To this day, the girl always comes up to me in church and gives me a hug. â€Å"Stereotyping often results from and leads to prejudice. Prejudice leads to discrimination. Prejudice can be spread by the use of propaganda. Language, particularly slang, is often used to dehumanize members of certain groups of people†. (Grobman, 1990) All three of these judgments go together. It is hard to do one without doing the other two. It is really bad that people rather make judgments about people than getting to know them. People really need to take the time to know the person or group of people before they start making judgments. It is sad that young children are making judgments about people. Parents and teachers need to turn prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination around. It can be fought and won. Works Cited Grobman, G. M. (1990). The Holocaust–A Guide for Teachers. Retrieved November 29, 2009, from A Guide for Teachers Web site: http://remember. org/guide/History. root. stereotypes. html Prejudice. (2007, June). Retrieved November 29, 2009, from American Academy of Pediatrics: http://www. aap. org/publiced/BK5_Prejudice. htm Prejudice and Discrimination. (1998). Retrieved November 29, 2009, from Conflict Research Consortium: http://www. colorado. edu/conflict/peace/problem/prejdisc. htm Prejudice and Discrimination In Public Schools. (2001). Retrieved November 29, 2009, from The Public School Parent’s Network: http://www. psparents. net/Prejudice%20&%20Discrimination. htm Woolfolk, A. (2008). Education Psychology: Active Learning Edition. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.