Selective over-generalization

At a recent service club meeting, the pre-meeting table conversation revolved around the press coverage given to police officers. One of my WASPish fellow members declared that it was but a tiny fraction of law enforcement officers who act inappropriately and that makes society unfairly believe that all of them perform badly. Heads nodded in agreement.

A bit later the talk turned to a YouTube video where a group of young men watched and recorded a man drowning rather than saving him.  "Typical "millennial generation' behavior," the same fellow who had just made the pronouncement about the police officers asserted. Again heads nodded.

Except mine.

I asked "Why would you not apply the same logic to kids that you just applied to police officers? Why do you think this was not just a few kids giving the rest of their generation a bad name?" And I added, "I can guarantee my grandsons - who are both Boy Scouts - would have done everything in their power to save a drowning person."

I didn't see many heads nod.

Over-generalizing, believing stereotypes, making "allness" statements - I know I am selectively guilty of such thinking myself. But doing so is especially dangerous in educational leadership.

 Image source