The Importance of Questioning Statistics

Dr. Leslie Fenwick spoke to our clss this week about stereotypes in the educational system and how to overcome them. Stereotypes have the potential to change people's attitudes about their ability to succeed. For example, if an African American male falls for the stereotype that they do not perform well on standardized tests, they will likely believe that they won't do well and may not even put forth effort to try to do well on the test. It is important for us as future leaders to debunk the stereotypes that we hear and see on a regular basis. We can not simply ignore the stereotypes and not do anything about them. Dr. Fenwick emphasized the importance of being able to look beyond the stereotypes and even go as far as proving them to be untrue. If we see statistics we should always find out where they are comng from so that we do not overgeneralize what the data is saying. I personally think that stereotyoes that shed a negative light on the African AMerican race as a whole are usual overgenralized from the data that was given. It is not fair to assume that all African Americans do not perform well academically in comparison to theri counterparts of other races. There is always something more than race that effects how well someone performs. The most important thing I learned from Dr. Fenwick was to always question the status quo and to never simply accept the statistics or what you heard somone say. It is always more valuable to do your own research and establish your own opinions and feelings.