Stereotypes

Our guidance lesson for January focused on stereotypes.  Students learned that a stereotype is a thought or judgement about a group of people based on incomplete information.  Although categorizing things or people can be a natural human inclination, people often make assumptions about an individual or group that they don't even know.  Each class explored a wide variety of stereotypes that exist in society including: gender, age, hobbies, occupation, culture, religion, birth order, education, wealth, geographic location, and more. Ask your child the following questions to continue the conversation at home.
1.  Do stereotypes apply to everyone in a certain group?
2.  How do stereotypes negatively impact others?
3.  How can we (as individuals) avoid using stereotypes when we meet someone new?

Career Cafe Kick Off....

Our first day of Career Cafe was a huge success!  We had two presenters today.  The first speaker, Ms. LuWayna Allen, is a Career Counselor with St. Louis County Human Services.  The second, Dr. Kim Stallons, is the principal at Spoede Elementary.  After lunch, I heard many great compliments from students and staff regarding the opportunity for fifth graders to learn more about careers from professionals in our community.  Our next Career Cafe date is set for February 6th.  We are thankful for all of our speakers.