Blog #12

 

 

      My high school itself could probably be considered a stereotype threat, because when someone sees that you went to my school, they scoffed at you or asked you if it was dangerous, or pitied you. My high school was one of the most diverse in the district. To give you a sense of how diverse, there was a high school maybe 3 miles away that was 90% white, while my high school was maybe 5% white. My high school got a bad name because, when it first opened, the district had the smart idea to bring in students from different areas with rival gangs to the same school. Needless to say the first four years at my high school were full of fights and gangs. After they changed the boundaries of where the students came in the school got a lot better, but because of those first few years the school's name had a stereotype attached to it. Our SAT scores, STAR testing and CAHSEE scores were almost the lowest in the district, and people disregarded us and any achievements we did make. I think this got to the heads of many students, they see the scores and our ranking in the district and then they think, why even try? But then we had an amazing principal come in who turned the school around and created a more positive environment that encouraged the students, and because of this, our school has improved. It is a completely different school from when it first opened, and I am proud to have gone there. There were so many good teachers, the principal was great, and my friends from high school that I still talk to today are doing really well in college. So even though stereotype threat can really affect the performance or confidence of one person, or even a whole school, it can be turned around and things can get better. It takes a good amount of hard work and some time, but it can happen.