Wake Up America

By Isaac McClure
So many problems in society originate from a lack of awareness. Why did George
Zimmerman shoot and kill an unarmed Trayvon Martin? Because he was acting based off of
what he knew about black teenagers. Many people do things and avoid certain things simply
because of their narrow perspective on the topic/issue. Now most stereotypical views and narrow
perspectives are formed during the adolescent stage, so to reduce the amount of one-sided
approaches and incidents, something must be done during the teenage years to change this.
Where can this change take place? In the school system where children find a majority of their
influence. To solve this problem, secondary schools and colleges should implement social
awareness classes as part of their core curriculum to increase awareness of the different
ethnicities/social problems going on in America today.
Normally we see Math, Science, History, and English as required classes for almost every
school. Although these are essential for a strong foundational knowledge, adding a social
awareness class would benefit in an interactive world. This class would consist of gaining
general knowledge on many cultures and ethnic groups. In addition to this, each respective class
would keep up with the problems (politically, culturally, economically) going on in society at
that time. Although we should learn about the history of the country, society must realize that
times have changed and will continue to change, thus making a social awareness class more
effective than a History class. This gives children a broader and more relevant view on society,
ultimately leading to less racial stereotyping and nave judgments/actions towards others.

As children age, they are exposed to different environments and factors that influence
their role in society. Teenagers must figure out who they are and what they believe in, what their
values are, and how they may be similar to or different from peers and parents; Sometimes
adolescents and young adults become so involved in constantly trying out new roles that they fail
to form a stable identity (Pastorino and Doyle-Portillo 380). This means that the knowledge
obtained during this stage is crucial to how individuals will go about the rest of their lives. In
many cases, this leaves people with one-sided views that encourage stereotyping to fill the lack
of knowledge on a certain topic. In eleventh grade of high school, Christopher Hoog, an Alaskan
native, transferred to my school in Maryland. After talking with Christopher, he had never seen
an African-American in his life before arriving in Maryland. The only thing he knew about black
people were the stereotypes placed on them, but after his initial encounters, he soon claimed that
they were inaccurate. Through this example, one could see how a social awareness class could
benefit people like Christopher who may experience extreme environmental changes in their
lives.

Although creating social awareness classes would benefit society, some would oppose to
the idea. If these classes were to succeed, schools deeply set in traditions or old-fashioned
communities could be likely to look down on this. As stated earlier, everyone must realize that
times have changed and will continue to change so things stuck in the past will soon be outdated.
Schools and communities must look at the bigger picture of recruitment and reputation when
considering these classes. This would only benefit their environment internally and externally.
Incorporating social awareness classes as a part of the core curriculum for secondary schools and
colleges would help create harmony among the many ethnic groups that make up our society.
Being that Black Americans in BASTS stereotype these groups as being less honest and less
trustworthy, then we may expectthat these Black Americans will be less likely to engage in
social and political relationships with Whites especially (Nunally 261). People have a generally
negative outlook on different types of people and often times know nothing about them. This
leads to racial stereotyping/profiling, hate crimes, and confusion among society. Providing social
awareness classes as a core class to students in the education system would create a better future
for everyone across the globe.

Works Cited
Nunnally, Shayla C. "Racial Homogenization and Stereotypes: Black American College
Students' Stereotypes about Racial Groups." Journal of Black Studies 40.2 (2009;2008;):
252-65. Web. 25 Feb 2016.
Pastorino, Ellen and Susann Doyle-Portillo. What is Psychology: Foundations, Applications, and
Integration. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2016. Print.