I
mentioned personal bias in my week 4 post. I think that as human beings we
innately carry biases with us, not because we want to but because the
environment in which each of us lives is different and tends to reinforce ideas
and beliefs that often do not allow us to see the full picture as we try to
relate to something that is different from our sense of normalcy. Simply—we are
products of our upbringing as well as our cultural, social, and physical
environments.
I grew up in “The South” although
not too far south…. I was born and raised in central North Carolina; however,
what set me apart from most of the children I went to school with, was the fact
that half my family was from “the south” and half from “the north” so, I grew
up with two very different families—my mom’s family from Long Island, New York,
and my dad’s family, most of which are “native” North Carolinians. I have
always been closest to my mom and many of my beliefs and values I learned from
her. She was a product of the ‘60s… Woodstock… etc. she has been a middle and
high school English teacher for the better part of 30 years. I learned to
appreciate both my “southern” and “northern” halves, but as I went through
school I realized that I did not share the same ideas and beliefs that many of
my classmates and some of my family members shared with regard to judging or
stereotyping people based on the color of their skin or their ethnic background,
which is very common, even today in this area. In fact, I would say that over
time I developed a bias for what many consider to be “red-necks.” I dislike this word because it is extremely
offensive; instead I would rather describe my bias as an inability to relate to
anyone who chooses to be ignorant with regard to someone or something that is
physically, ethnically, culturally, etc. different from themselves. I am aware
of this bias, and I often try to avoid interacting with people who choose to be
this way, but I think as teachers, we must confront our biases and work around
them to provide and equitable environment for our students. In my case, this
means working with students who I may be biased against and helping them
overcome their biases and prejudices, thus, creating healthier relationship all
around.
Lauren, I agree that bias and stereotyping is something that we as humans cannot avoid. I am impressed with the way you wrote about your bias because it was very safe and thoroughly explained. I also think that as teachers, it is inevitable that we will need to confront our biases in order to fulfill our commitment as teachers. I think the most important thing is to just be aware of our biases and know how to go about our professional business without allowing them to surface.
ReplyDeleteLauren, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with the idea that "we are products of our upbringing as well as our cultural, social, and physical environments." For the same reason, I'm not so sure that many of the "choices" that people make are really choices that they have. While it is true that at some point we have to start taking responsibility for our actions, I think that some things (like biases) are quietly transferred to us and in many occasions they dictate how we make choices. Certainly being aware of our biases is a great way to start making real choices.
Lauren: I also agree that with your statement that our environments greatly affect the biases that we have. My bias also became much more apparent as frustration with my people in my environment arose. I too feel that as teacher we have to learn to work around these biases because we will not always be able to avoid them.
ReplyDeleteLauren thanks for sharing. You should be a writer! It seems like it comes so easy. As I was reading, I was thinking of how you can teach your students about your background and tell them about your bias so students can be more aware of their own. I feel like children have way more biases just because of their youth. Talking to them about the effects that prejudices have may help students in the long run and maybe by the time they are our age they will have less and less biases.
ReplyDelete