Reaction to Professor Moje's Lecture

I found Professor Mojes lecture, “Reading the Adolescent Reader” to be a very important testament to the dangers of stereotyping. I think that the stereotype evident in Professor Moje’s lecture is that adolescent Latinos living in urban areas are uneducated and illiterate. Stereotypes like these simplify the out-group’s condition and tend to homogenize, when in fact they are a heterogeneous group with complex conditions. I think the danger of stereotypes in this situation is the perpetuation of ineffective teaching methods. If teachers engage with this stereotype, they simplify the experience of their students assuming that because they can’t read or understand their selected texts, they can’t read or understand any text, when in fact, Moje’s research disproves this.

I think that generalizations in the education system are not only limited to situations like these, but manifest themselves in many forms and can greatly affect the success or failure of the student. In this way, I believe that stereotyping students is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If a teacher expects a child to under-perform, it is very possible that they won’t challenge the student, while if they assume the student has great potential they will engage the student in more demanding tasks. I think this is the problem facing schools in many impoverished urban areas. Perhaps if teachers were more sensitive to the students’ interests, they could develop a more effective way to engage students rather than discouraging them.