No Stereotype

by Anthony Williams 

Conformed to Stereotype

This post is on stereotype an interesting subject, one that takes me back to my teenage-years. In retrospect, I can truly say that if one conforms to a failing system, belief, or mindset he or she is destined to fail. This is speaking not only from reading but my life experiences as well.


For instance, when I was in high school I made some bad choices. I conformed to the stereotype that I was expected to be in, making it a reality.  When I came to America at the age of fourteen I was quite the scholastic one. I did not have to study for my exams nor do any home work; however, I had no street smarts. As well, my parents should have enrolled me into a higher grade at the high school. Instead, my parents listened to the school counselor who started me in the 9^th grade, where I was bored.

Stereotype to High School Dropout

What’s more, I knew all the school work, as I had studied the material before in Trinidad. So, I started to hang out with the in crowd which was a new experience for me. Before I realize what was going on I stopped going to my college bound classes. When I caught myself and went to the school counselor. The counselor at the school told me that I needed to dropout and may be try for a GED (general education diploma) or trade school. She, also, said that I was not cut out for high school. I had missed too many classes to be eligible for the graduating class.

Self-Threatening Stereotype

Further, this was a classical case of “the possibility of conforming to the stereotype or of being treated and judged in terms of it– becomes self-threatening” (Steele, 1997, p. 5). I became “self-threatening” (Steele, 1997, p. 5), when I placed myself into the stereotype of a West Indian immigrant whom could not pass his classes. And, I was judge as such, knowing to myself that I was probably the brightest kid in my classes. It was not until 5 years later that I went back and obtained a GED, I then joined the Marine Corps. Today I don’t conform to anything; I am the guy that is turning right when everyone else is turning left; unless I determine that to turn left will benefit me.

Reference

Steele, C. M. (1997). A Threat in the Air:  How Stereotypes Shape Intellectual Identity and Performance. American Psychologist, 52(6), 613–629.