During our 1st two classes we talked about ourselves. What our neighborhoods were like, what our schools were like. None of us chose our ethnic backgrounds; we were just born into them. Most of our thoughts and ideas about other races come from our parents or other family members. I know for me personally, as I was growing up I was a product of my environment. As little kids we do not know any better. Children seek approval and praise from parents and conform to their expectations. As kids we also adapted to our parents’ lifestyles, which we based on how/where, we lived. So if that did not involve doing certain activities or going different places with minorities than we wouldn’t have learned much about them. I read a study that stated, prejudice is much higher in young children because even from birth we are trained to recognize certain faces. As children grow older, due to increasing intelligence, prejudice decreases. I believe it is more and more important as the generations continue to teach children from a young age to recognize that skin color really doesn’t make someone any less desirable than they are. I also believe classes such as American Studies should be introduced to children at younger ages to increase awareness about racism.
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