"...categorization is a natural and crucial shortcut," Mlodinow writes, yet "like our brain's other survival-oriented tricks, it has its drawbacks" (147). One of those drawbacks is that when we categorize other humans, we tend to see "the doctors in a given practice, the attorneys in a given law firm, the fans of a certain sports team, or the people in a given race or ethnic group as more alike than they really are" (148).
What assumptions (positive and negative) do you think people are likely to make about students in the Honors Program? Have people ever made wrong assumptions about you based on your membership in a certain group?
Since I have never been involved in the Honors Program before I can only guess what assumptions are made of the students involved in it. I think the obvious one is that we are all highly intelligent individuals who have done well in our academic studies. That would of course be a positive assumption. As for negative ones, I can speak of what some assumed in high school about being involved in AP. Some think that since we take advance and tougher courses we think that we are better than others, which personally is not true for me. We have all strong points and for some of us that strong point just happens to be academic performance. Another assumption might be that we are book nerds who don't have a real life. Which for most of us is not the case. Most of us have a wide range of hobbies and interests outside of the classroom that we choose to pursue.
ReplyDeleteI began attending a new school, partly to play softball because it was not offered at my previous school, when I was in the seventh grade. One of my teachers knew this was one of the main reasons I switched schools. I wanted the opportunity to compete in the sport that I had grown to love. On the first or second day of school he asked a question in class to which he did not expect anyone to know the answer. Much to his dismay I answered the question correctly and in great detail in front of my new classmates. After I had answered his question, he looked at me and said, “Wow, I had you pegged at the dumb, pretty, athletic girl.” No joke, he said that to me as a seventh grader! Just to be sure my mind hadn’t deceived me on this memory, I checked with a classmate earlier today to verify the facts were as I remembered. Needless to say, this comment served to fuel my desire to do well in his class and prove to him that I was by no means dumb!
Kathryn Keiffer
Several positive and negatives assumptions exist for Honors students. Some people would likely categorize Honors students as know-it-alls or individuals who are on their “high horse.” These are the negative views. However, there are also several positive assumptions. Honors students will finish a job quickly and thoroughly; honors students will not act like a reprobate, but will act responsibly; honors students can handle situations in a mature way. These positive assumptions suggest that we can accomplish something and meet standards. Educators, employers, and adults expect more from us; they expect us to be mature, capable individuals.
ReplyDeleteThere have been several times I’ve heard the annoyed, “you’re good at everything,” assumption. Though I am talented in a few areas and good academically, there are several things I am not good at. Take sports; in no way am I a talented athletic person. In fact, clumsiness might be a better way to describe me in this area. However, people who do not know me automatically assume the “honors” stereotypes and only see the things I excel at since I spend a lot of time in these areas. As people get to know me, they realize that like everyone else I am imperfect. I have my talents and weaknesses, my positive points and my negative points. Another example of the categorizing that Mlodinow describes in chapter seven would be the class that was a year behind me. Negatively referred to as the “juniors,” this class was rowdy, annoying, and thought that they were far more mature than they actually were. Because the students who acted like know-it-alls were always rebelling against the authority and trying to claim the privileges of the senior class, the entire class was lumped into the negative assumptions. However, there were a few students in this class that I saw as their individual self. Just as Mlodinow says, I saw them as the exception to their class’s stereotype.
I agree with the above posts that being in the Honors Program, we are automatically thought of as being the smartest students. To me, this is both a positive and a negative. Some people will be proud of us and assume we are hard working students who enjoy learning. Others will look at us as nerds or over-achievers trying to be better than everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI was homeschooled from 3rd grade through 12th grade and many things were assumed about me. Homeschooling has a very specific stereotype that is not accurate for a lot of homeschoolers. I did not do my schoolwork in my pajamas or do whatever I wanted. My mom made sure I was doing my work and learning. A big stereotype is that homeschoolers are anti-social and awkward. This is not true at all. Homeschoolers know how to socialize and how to act in many different situations. While some homeschoolers may not be very outgoing, there are also public school students who aren't outgoing. Being homeschooled doesn't make me different than any other student or teenager. I've had people tell me they were surprised to find out I was homeschooled because I acted "normal" and knew how to be social.
Ashlyn Angel
I really agree with what Katy said. Not being in the Honors before, I really don't know what people are expecting from me or assuming I will do. I have heard some of what others have posted, like how Honor students are supposed to be the "smartest of the smart" and that even being accepted seems to boost your intelligence to the people around you. I actually had friends in high school that will only call me "that smart chick" now, even though I'm no more intelligent than I was before I was accepted. The only negative associations I’ve heard are that Honor students are apparently more haughty and self absorbed, similar to what Darby has heard.
ReplyDeleteI have been mis-categorized many times, mainly because of the way I act or the people I hang around. I am not a Christian. I used to go to church and was even the student leader of our youth when I was younger, but I've chosen differently now. I still have many friends that are Christians and have no prejudice against any of it. Once while playing the “questions” game with a group I brought up that I was not a Christian, and one of the girls gasped. “But you’re so nice!” was the only thing she could say. Just because my friends were Christians, she assumed I was as well. However once she realized I wasn't, she treated me in a totally different way. It was as if I suddenly had a negative connotation around myself, even though I was still the same person as I was 10 minutes earlier.
Personally having dealt with being stereotyped by non-Honors students last year, I can attest to the fact that with every positive connotation associated with University Honors, there is a negative one. I am used to hearing that while Honors students are smart, they think they are better than other intelligent students who "chose" not to participate in the program. I also hear a lot of comments about how we value our study time more than social time, and more than once people have asked me if I get sick of living in the "quiet" and "isolated" Knight Hall. While all of these assumptions can at times be hurtful to the image of an Honors student, I think they serve as great opportunities for conversation and expanding the horizons of others.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that we can all agree that we have been misjudged at one time or another based on groups to which we belong. While I am an Honors student, I am also in involved in sorority life at East Central. I don't know how many times people have assumed that because I am in a sorority I am out every weekend getting drunk or falling all over womanizing men. That is not the case at all, and it is one of the assumptions that hurts me the most! The opposite is true; I have taken on a leadership role within my sorority to enhance the academic interest of our chapter and our national organization. As Academic Achievement Chairman I work extremely hard to devise programs, organize study sessions, and pair members up with tutors or mentors that will help them to achieve their very best.
While assumptions are our brain's way of taking natural shortcuts, they can ultimately be harmful to our potential relationships with others and at times prevent meaningful relationships from forming.
-Emily Davis
I agree with most everyone else in that people assume Honors students are very intelligent. They also probably assume that kids that live in Knight just sit around and study all day and go to bed at 9 o'clock. Other than that, I don't really think I dealt with much negative feedback last year.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Parham
I think that there are positive and negative assumptions about almost every category in life. There is also a huge variety of assumptions about most things, especially the honors students. I have heard anything from "I'm not smart enough to be in the honors program," to "Wow, i didn't know you were a nerd." In no way is intelligence a "nerdy" characteristic, and all of the people that i have heard say that they are not smart enough to be in honors had all of the intelligence but none of the drive. People are programmed to judge, and like Mlodinow suggested, no matter how much effort you direct towards seeing everyone fairly you naturally will judge or categorize them.
ReplyDeleteMaecey McClain