During the month of December, WISE is working with our middle school students as part of our adolescent health curriculum. WISE is a local advocacy organization that works with families who are struggling with issues related to abuse. WISE provides youth educators to local schools as a means of prevention in regard to unhealthy relationships.
Celine Guedj, a youth prevention educator from WISE, joined our sixth grade class and held a discussion about stereotypes and how we are often socialized to fit into categories based on gender, race, or socioeconomic means.
This discussion also included how the media often plays a role in perpetuating those stereotypes. Students were put into small groups and given advertisements to analyze what stereotype(s) were being promoted.
Students shared specific examples from their advertisement. Students also learned that they see between 1,000 and 5,000 advertisements a day between computer, phones, social media, TV, and radio.
This lesson served as a springboard for future lessons on how stereotypes can be broken down, and even apart, to allow people to be celebrated for their individuality.