Stereotypes: The Role Of Discrimination In Children

adulthood. We hear so much bullying in schools. Unfortunately, the children that look different, walk different, and talk different are usually the ones that get bullied. Society is not kind to those that look different. Persons with disabilities are often shunned or discriminated against in one way or another from childhood through adulthood. This emphasis the point that attitudes that lead to discrimination are learned and they are learned from other people (Henderson & Bryan, 2011). No one is born hating others or thinking of other groups in negative ways. A person’s environment (culture, ethnicity, work, friends, and families) all shape a person’s attitude and behaviors. We are more polite than even 30 or 40 years ago but still discrimination
For persons with disabilities, this leads to employment, education, health, housing, and many more forms of discrimination. In conclusion, negative attitudes and behaviors are not based on facts…they are based on assumptions, myth, or plain stereotypes. Negative attitudes are not knowledge or based on logic (Henderson & Bryan, 2011). Attitudes lead to behaviors that lead to bad treatment for persons with disabilities. Discriminatory attitudes and behaviors are formed from a young age through the perception of culture, family, and friends. Diversity is good for all of us. It is good at work, at school, at the playgrounds, and at all social, political, and professional arenas. Diverse populations create many different ways of doing and solving issues. A melting pot of ideas and innovations occur a diverse workforce. The U.S. needs to embrace diversity in order to compete with the rest of the highly developed world. In 20-30 years’ time, the labor market will be tight. There will not be enough labor supply to work in all the highly skilled sectors. All of the baby boomers would have retired or died by then. Majority of the U.S. population would be from the current minority groups. As mentioned by Bryan (2012), persons with disabilities are the single most group in terms of percentage. We learned that they are also the most diverse comprising of men, women, young, old, from every culture and every religion. Although things have improved and persons with disabilities now enjoy more freedom and the ability to live independently, many still suffer stereotyping and discrimination. We must harness this diverse group to our advantage. In creating a skilled labor force, we must educate and give opportunities to persons with disabilities and other minority groups. Our attitudes and behaviors must change. We must embrace diversity to survive in the