Most regular Radical readers know that I’ve been wrestling with race in America for a long while. It’s something that I’m pretty passionate about — and I’m more than ready to speak out against any injustice that I see in the world.
But here’s the thing: I keep catching myself being biased against people of color.
That’s hard to admit, but here’s a tangible example: I had the chance to work with a group of students from a different school this month on an activity that I was modeling for their teachers. The class was a perfect reflection of the community that their school was a part of — equally split between white students and students of color and equally split between kids from middle class homes and kids living in poverty.
The lesson went well — it was on a feedback strategy that I dig using in classrooms. And the kids were more inviting that I expected middle schoolers to be when working with a guest teacher on a new lesson. There was lots of participation and effort from everyone.
Two kids of color were stars throughout, though — adding insightful comments, asking good questions, and generally leading the conversation.
I really enjoyed their participation and appreciated the contributions that they were making to the lesson that I was teaching. In fact, they quickly became the kids I’d call on at pivot points in the lesson when I was looking for an idea that would move the class forward. I remember smiling at one point, watching them help their partners to think through something that I wanted everyone to try.
On the drive back to my hotel, I remember thinking, “That was cool! Those kids were on the money.” I also remember feeling surprised by their participation. “I didn’t expect that,” I thought.
Can you spot the problem in my thinking?
Two kids of color are the stars of my lesson and I was surprised.
Surprised that they were the leaders of the group. Surprised that they were asking the most insightful questions. Surprised that they were adding great comments to our classroom dialogue. Surprised that they were able to participate so well in a lesson that they’d just been introduced to.
Something in my unconscious mind didn’t EXPECT them to be the most accomplished students during the lesson that I was teaching. Their accomplishment — their ability to shine in a room filled with other students — was unexpected enough that it lingered in my mind long after I’d headed home.
Now don’t get me wrong: I didn’t walk into that classroom thinking that white kids were more capable than kids of color. In fact, when I see that kind of thinking on display in the world around me, I push against it.
But something deep inside my brain did. Somewhere in there, a pervasive set of beliefs that represent actions I am openly and outwardly opposed to is driving my thoughts. I can speak passionately about equity and injustice, but the core of who I am isn’t always listening.
THAT’s implicit bias, y’all. And it’s evil in a sneaky kind of way.
Sure — I caught myself this time. I quickly spotted the flaws in my thinking. And that’s good news because implicit bias is malleable. It can be unlearned over time.
But as a guy who really WANTS to do better, I’m left wondering how many times those same unconscious thoughts shape my interactions with the kids of color in my classroom. And what damage are they doing?
I bet that those unconscious thoughts sometimes shape the expectations that I have for the students in my classroom when we start challenging activities. I bet they sometimes shape the questions that I ask of and the conversations that I start with the kids of color in my classroom. I bet they sometimes shape the responses that I have to the work turned in by the kids of color in my classroom. I bet they sometimes shape the conclusions that I draw when I have to make decisions about the choices of the kids of color in my classroom.
#sheesh
So what’s my point? Why am I writing this?
Here’s why: I want you to realize that when equity advocates talk about the impact that bias has on students, they aren’t talking about the overt actions of openly racist people that are easy to spot. They are talking about the unconscious actions of good people like me and you.
Stew in that for a minute, y’all.
More importantly, I want you to see that even a guy like me — who has spoken out on behalf of marginalized groups for years here on the Radical — can spot implicit bias in my own actions. And that matters because it means that if you look carefully enough, you can probably spot implicit bias in your own actions, too.
If we aren’t willing to confront that reality — to acknowledge that even well-intentioned people are shaped by implicit biases — we are going to continue to fail the kids of color in our classrooms.
And I’m not OK with that.
#trudatchat
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Related Radical Reads:
https://buildingconfidentlearners.com/2017/09/26/second-guessing-kids-of-color/
https://buildingconfidentlearners.com/2016/07/09/after-__________-whats-our-role-in-promoting-peace/
https://buildingconfidentlearners.com/2015/06/28/charlestonchurchshooting/
https://buildingconfidentlearners.com/2016/01/15/are-you-standing-up-for-tolerance/
