User:Dcaxew/sandbox

Article and area I plan to edit: Talk:Character education

The article is missing a (sub)topic that I believe has connection to the subject of character education. The topic that I believe relates to character education is the “negative” practice of teaching stereotypes as well as influence of and introduction of prejudice into one’s character. The Wikipedia article itself states that such specific qualities of “respect”, “non-bullying”, as well as social acceptability, are what is being taught when it comes to character education. However, if there is suggestions(covertly or otherwise) of stereotypes within said character education, is that considered respectful or “good”? Is it socially acceptable to have stereotype formation as part of an individual’s character? The article does not really go into depth about “negative” character education, which seems necessary to address.

Children are taught from an early age how to perceive and display character. However, this character comes from the child’s in-group, which hosts such individuals as classmates/friends, certain teachers, and family. Outside of this group, the child recognizes their “out-group”, which might include bullies and strangers. Children perceived that people within their “in-group” would be more likely to act morally acceptable, while those in the “out-group” more likely would not.(Liberman et al., 2017)  Children can essentially be taught(or learn) from an early age the act of stereotyping. The link between negative behaviors with “out-group” members and positive behaviors with “in-group” members, must come from a place of stereotype attribution. (Liberman et al., 2017)

Media is a place that is growing in influence, especially with the younger generations. Influencers start grabbing children’s attention based off the content the influencers display online. There can be what is considered lots of “good” content on these sites, however, there can also be a large amount of  “negative” content on these sites, including stereotypical content. Teaching media literacy could have a potentially wondrous outcome in aiding children who sit and view this stereotypical content, to come to understand and critically think about the content. As Vargas(2006) observed from a study of a “group of transnational Latina teenagers…”, there was a “click” of understanding and examination of the perceptions and mainstream depictions of their race/ethnicity amongst themselves. (Scharrer & Ramasubramanian, 2015) Therefore, it seems that perception of stereotypes and formation of character can be found within media. This Wikipedia article could be reevaluated and edited for information surrounding stereotypes in relation to character perception and development, as found in relation to media.

Another area where the article could be edited, is in regards to how stereotypes negatively affect the development of character. Potential edits could include discussion of how racially, individuals attain what could be viewed as “negative” character traits that are typically associated with the marginalization and stereotypes that their racial group faces. Such negative traits could potentially include media-portrayed stereotypes, such as the hypersexualization of black men in media, or the portrayal of Latinos/as as being manipulative in media.(Khanna & Harris, 2015) These types of stereotyping need to be thought critically about and should be addressed in their effect on how others view these racial groups in terms of character.

There is a theory proposed by American philosopher Hilde Lindemann, in regards to character, that pertains to how character can be "damaged". How I believe this relates to character education (and especially stereotyping), is that limiting an individuals character can have consequences with not-so-favorable outcomes. To damage someone's character is to cause defamation to said character. Stereotypes, cause defamation of character, because they pertain to an either over-exaggerated label or a marginalized label. I think Lindemann's work is also important to mention, because Lindemann theorizes about the concept of character damage, as found in her book, Damaged identities, narrative repair. Lindemann's work shows that there is definitely more research (and work to be done) on character damage out there.

Overall, this article does not address the potential it could measure up to in terms of discussing stereotypes and the effect of such on character. The development of character can be affected by how one is perceived by others. While stereotypes may be a speed bump in the road to shaping character, character development is an ongoing process. However, stereotypes can be highly detrimental and marginalizing for one’s perception of a whole entire group of people and their character. I do believe that there should be a subtopic introduced into the character education article in regards to stereotypes, because stereotypes can be formed through learning from others, and stereotypes can shape how one views another’s character. I also believe that either this section on stereotypes includes research on character damage, or that a new subsection on character damage is addressed as well.

Bibliography:

Khanna, N., & Harris, C. A. (2015). Discovering race in a “post-racial” world: teaching race

through primetime television. Teaching Sociology, 43(1), 39–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X14553710

Lindemann, H. (2001). Damaged identities, narrative repair. Ithaca : Cornell University Press.

Liberman, Z., Howard, L., Vasquez, N., & Woodward, A. (2017, April 09). Children's expectations about conventional and moral behaviors of ingroup and outgroup members. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.03.003

Scharrer, E., & Ramasubramanian, S. (2015). Intervening in the media’s influence on

stereotypes of race and ethnicity: the role of media literacy education. Journal of

Social Issues, 71(1), 171–185. https://doi-org.summit.csuci.edu/10.1111/josi.12103

Vargas, L. (2006). Translational media literacy: analytic reflections on a program with latina teens. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 28(2), 267–285. doi:10.1177/0739986305285823.