The Stereotypes of High School
Mike Zegers shows his talent on stage his junior year. “[Stereotypically], I would have probably been in the middle. Not a jock or anything. [A] Fine-Artsy [kind of student],” Zegers said. Photo courtesy of Mike Zegers.
Do you ever feel like you are unfairly judged by teachers, parent and other adults around town? Most of the time, you are. These judgments made are called stereotypes. Most high school students are stereotyped by who they hang out with or what activities they are involved in.
There is no telling when stereotypes started or who created them but they are everywhere. Many movies use stereotypes to portray the high school students as jocks, suck ups, wanna-be’s, nerds, thugs, preps, band geeks, skaters, stoners, fresh-meat, gangsters, etc. While some people may think that these assumptions of people are wrong, freshman Katharine Newburg had a different opinion.
“For the most part they do a pretty good job, some are way off base though,” Newburg said.
Most stereotypes given by teachers and other students are not as accurate as everyone thinks. Not all “jocks” are dumb and not all freshmen are beat up within their first year of high school. Some stereotypes are somewhat truthful on the other hand. Most underclassmen are not fully mature and it is rare that a high school relationship will work.
Teachers are not stereotyped in the same way that the students are.
“They just get characterized as ‘smart’ or a ‘know it all’,” Senior Hannah Culbertson said.
Mike Zegers, a fine arts teacher here at the GEHS, agreed with Culbertson by adding,
“The only stereotypes that teachers endure are usually just old and boring.”
Some of these stereotypes are negative and do not leave a good reputation for those who fall into its path.
“I think people got bored with their lives and made it a game,” Newburg said, “I would stereotype our school as judgmental.”
There are several different stereotypes that we could classify students in this high school class as. Zegers came up with a list of 13+ stereotypes that he could think of just from when he was in high school.
Although stereotypes aren’t always positive or correct, they are everywhere in life and it can be difficult to avoid them. People may be classified by what they wear, who they hang out with and the color of their hair, but it doesn’t make the stereotype they are put in accurate.
