Confusions I Sometimes Have

One large part of TE 448 is our ability to question the text. Although this can be helpful most of the time, I sometimes wonder whether or not certain issues in texts are really problems or whether or not we are just digging extra deep to find problems. What is a stereotype? If a book has an Asian-American in it who happens to get into a car accident is the author stereotyping all Asian-Americans to be bad drivers. I brought this question up in class and although people laughed I was not trying to be comical. I really am unsure of the difference. I have my own ideas but sometimes I am afraid that I am either being insensitive or ignorant. I think that it is however important to be careful when reviewing possible text that will one day have a place in my own classroom. Right now I am going to be critical but not too critical. I want a piece of literature that is going to be factual and a part of a history. Stereotypes in all different cultures were derived from somewhere, I think the difference is using 'all' or 'whole' to describe something rather than it being part of an individual.