One of the definitions for the word bias is: "Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair." I got this on a search engine. Could be more than this because a bias is an action; a bias is a thought; a situation that we rehearse in our brain and we perform in society. My biases have grown with and through me. I have fed some while I have decided to starve others. My biases have been uneducated thoughts coming out of fears because I do believe the roots of them are fearsome conjunctures we create. At some point we decide certain things in life are true and for some reason we want to prove ourselves right every time we encounter certain situations.
I feel that I am biased in favor of kids that seem unprotected or underprivileged. I am aware that this is a situation that I need to mature . I am easily triggered by my motherly self and the more I sense neglect in a kid the more I am drawn to jump in and want to protect. In some ways this is a recurrent situation that I have had in the past with family and friends. I easily try to assume the role fo protector of the weak and frail. It has not benefited me at the end or the other person. As I said before, these biases are created at some point and what scares me is that I have no clue where this one is coming from.... Actually I do. When I was in elementary school I had a couple of very difficult situations with my parents divorce. At one point one bad situation led to another and my mom was having a very difficult time surviving economically. In sixth grade we were in such economic mess that led us to food scarcity and it did not seem to get any better. No one knew about our ordeal and I did not feel I could reach out to an adult in school. It would have been of benefit to reach out and vent all the situation which was troubling me but I did not. It is then when I feel that I tend to want to self compensate for these difficult times and be there in case a I can help a student. I know it is a biased attitude because we are all struggling one way or another and the fact that one need seems more evident in a kid than in another does not minimize the difficulties of all.
You hit a chord with me when you described what a bias means to you. I agree that many biases are rooted in fear. I believe that I fall into the category that you described as always needing to be right. When I have that kind of self examination, I cringe because I am conscious of my actions and I know that I’m pretty darn good at making sure the negative and hurtful thoughts that go on inside my head don’t come out in my actions. It’s difficult to admit, even to a group of relative strangers in our class, that I let negative thoughts inside my head. I don’t even like to tell people where I’ve been in life sometimes because I don’t want that to effect how I fit into the group. I’m glad you shared about your time of need when you were younger. My mom got divorced when my brother and I were 2 and 4. We lived in a trailer and then in my grandparents’ basement for quite a few years. My mom went back to school, but for a long time we received WIC (Women, Infant, and Children assistance) and Medicaid too. Having needed so much as a child, I work hard to make sure my kids don’t ever have that feeling for themselves. My mom is inspirational to me because she went from a young divorced mom, on assistance, struggling to a college graduate who bought her first home on her own during a time when bankers didn’t loan to single women. She ended up marrying again to a wonderful man, the man I now call Dad. Wow, that was a “share”. It is our history that shapes how we see the world and live in it. It was nice to learn more about you,
ReplyDeleteHi Kim,
DeleteThank you for your comments! I think we need to be easy on ourselves too. One person pointed out to me one day that we are not our thoughts even when it seems we are. As a teacher it is easy to feel guilty when our brain is not behaving properly. Your comments reflects a great amount of care and awareness on your part in relation to the students you work with. I appreciate your insight and commentaries as well are your shared personal experience. What an incredible story about your mother!
"At some point we decide certain things in life are true and for some reason we want to prove ourselves right every time we encounter certain situations."
ReplyDeleteThis is a powerful observation. It alludes to a common abuse of the Trivium. Taken in the correct order, the Trivium includes 1) Grammar, 2) Logic, and 3) Rhetoric. In step 1 you answer the questions of Who, What, Where, and When (discovering facts); in step 2 you address the question of Why (establishing valid relationships among facts); and in step 3 you provide the How (applying knowledge and understanding). But the untrained mind often falls into the trap of starting with step 2 and then using step 1 to fallaciously support whatever conclusions have already been reached. Most misconceptions can be resolved by properly using step 1, Grammar, first. This is what we try to do when we consciously avoid stereotyping individuals. By first learning factual details about a person's life, we can then come to valid conclusions about that person. However, if we start with the conclusions and then look for facts to support them, invalid prejudices will inevitably emerge.
I agree. I just want to make sure I am interpreting your comments right. It is all based on language? right? So the structure of our thoughts is based on concepts derived from language most of the time and to some level. Again, I agree. What is interesting is that these linguistic structures are institutionally informed and uniformed. I react to your Trivium process I just wish I could understand it better.
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