Background -- Chapter 10, Civic Education Volume

This chapter focuses on one important aspect of building a civil society, specifically the need for breaking down harmful stereotypes. Because this lesson raises potentially sensitive issues, it is recommended that the lesson only be implemented after students and teacher have gotten to know one another, after they have developed some level of trust, and after some of the other lessons in the Civic Education volume have been used. The lesson not only raises students’ consciousness about the impact of stereotypes and stereotyping on society, but it also gives them the opportunity to improve their language skills through meaningful interactions with classmates. Because the theme of the lesson can be explored and interpreted from multiple perspectives, teachers may use the proposed lesson plan in a variety of ways: They can use it for a single, stand-alone lesson; they can design a series of connected lessons that explore the theme in more detail; or they can develop a thematic unit that examines the theme from a variety of perspectives over a longer period of time. The ideas presented here are meant to serve as a starting point for teachers interested in introducing this topic to their students.

Building a civil society is a complex task. It requires that individuals, groups of individuals, and governmental institutions make a commitment to tolerance, respect, a willingness to listen and consider new perspectives, openness, honesty, compassion, self-control, understanding, cultural sensitivity, compromise, and participation with the common good of society in mind.

Civil societies are difficult to nurture because there are so many forces that can tear them down. Some of these negative factors include ethnocentrism, xenophobia, prejudice, discrimination, racism, intolerance, hostility, attitudes of superiority, alienation, and stereotypes. In this chapter, we’ll focus on the importance of breaking down stereotypes as one way to build civil societies.

Stereotypes are defined in a number of ways. Consider these definitions of a stereotype:

A simplified and fixed image of all members of a culture or group (based on race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender, national origins)
Generalizations about people that are based on limited, sometimes inaccurate, information (from such sources as television, cartoons or comic books, minimal contact with one or more members of the group, second-hand information)
Initial predictions about strangers based on incomplete information about their culture, race, religion, or ethnicity
A single statement or attitude about a group of people that does not recognize the complex, multidimensional nature of human beings
Broad categories about people that fail to differentiate among individuals, peoples, and societies
Identification of easily observable characteristics of groups of people

Stereotypes can be either positive or negative, but they are all unfair and misleading. In general, stereotypes reduce individuals to a rigid, inflexible image; they do not account for the fact that human beings are complex and multidimensional, with unique attributes. Stereotypes suggest that people or groups of people are the same, when, in fact, they are quite different. Stereotypes about human beings tend to dehumanize people, placing all members of a group into one, simple category.

Although generalizations, the basis for stereotyping, represent a natural part of the learning process, when they are directed at human beings, they can be dangerous and harmful. When we stereotype people, we prejudge them; we assume that all people in a group have the same traits. This form of blind categorization leads to false assumptions about people and causes misunderstandings, hostility, abusive behaviors, conflicts, discrimination, and prejudice.

Civil societies can only thrive when damaging stereotypes are broken down. The difficulty is that stereotypes are sometimes hard to recognize because they are fixed beliefs. Learning to identify stereotypes is one of the first steps we must take to build a civil society. After identifying stereotypes, we can work toward eliminating them from society. When stereotypes are eliminated, it will be easier to acknowledge and appreciate individual differences. When we live in a society that is open to cultural diversity and that values the contributions of all society members--regardless of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, race, life styles, and belief--we will be one step closer to living in a civil society.