College Senior Reflects on Teachers’ Implicit Biases

Back in 2013, Lauren was a student in my 9th grade Composition class. Now, she’s a senior at Tulane University studying early childhood education and sociology, and in the fall she’ll be teaching in Houston! Lauren is passionate about education, social justice, and equity, and she’s been reflecting a lot on her high school and collegiate experiences before she steps into the classroom. 

Lauren and I chatted the other day about implicit biases and blind spots her teachers had. Implicit biases refer to unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that can manifest in places like school. Removing implicit biases can be challenging because we often don’t even know they exist, so Lauren is going to shed some light here!
What blind spots or implicit biases do you think your teachers have or had?

I think one of the major implicit biases or blind spots teachers have is the culture of the students they are teaching and how their family dynamic and home life can be different from the teacher’s experience. What’s really important is to take note of the culture these kids represent and make sure you’re knowledgeable on that past and history so you can really understand where they’re coming from; you can understand how they learn or approach things differently because of their culture. It’s really easy to get into the classroom and think “I’m only here to teach,” but the students have their own lives out of the classroom. So I think it’s really important to look holistically at your students and not just mathematically or literacy-wise. 

Can you share any specific examples of blind spots?

I have definitely had college professors who are not as cognizant about stereotypes within mental health. I’ve had teachers who use actual mental health diagnoses as jokes, and there have been students who call them out (and I majored in Sociology so that’s probably why). I think that especially over the pandemic, professors have had to realize that mental health is a thing people struggle with and it affects how students might show up in class or how they get their work done. Some professors just consider that mental health issues are something you should and can immediately take care of--not how it can impact your life holistically.

How do you think those blind spots impact their teaching?

When you're not thinking about the student as a person and only considering them about how they engage in your class, you can not only lose student participation, but also students are not as engaged. I think that’s small-minded to think that students only exist within your classroom. Just like a professor has an entire life out of the classroom, so do students.