Prejudice means judging someone unfairly before you know anything real about them. When someone has prejudice against a group of people, they decide what those people are like based on superficial things like where they're from, how they look, or what religion they practice, rather than getting to know them as individuals.

Prejudice shows up in small ways and large ones. A teacher with prejudice might assume a quiet student isn't smart, when really the student is just shy. Kids with prejudice might refuse to play with someone new just because they dress differently or speak another language at home. These snap judgments ignore what actually matters: whether someone is kind, funny, honest, or a good friend.

Here's what makes prejudice especially unfair: it treats people as if they're all identical when they're actually unique individuals. Imagine if everyone assumed you were exactly like every other kid in your grade. You'd want them to learn about your own interests, personality, and talents instead.

Prejudice often comes from ignorance (not knowing) or from copying attitudes from others without thinking critically. The opposite of prejudice is keeping an open mind and judging people by their actual character and actions, which means giving everyone a fair chance to show you who they really are.