4 minute read
Reflection to Action
Reflection to Action
Now that you have your journal ready, go through the following questions and answer them thoughtfully and honestly. If you feel the need to put a lock on your journal or type in a protected file, do that. These notes should be private so that you feel completely comfortable being transparent. This should also be the place that you give yourself grace and permission to be flawed, as we all are. 1. What did you learn from your implicit bias test? 2. Was the outcome what you expected? Why or why not? 3. Based on what you learned, what is one thing you want to work on specifically? 4. What are three ways you can use what you learned about yourself to better your practice this week?
Now that you have done the difficult work of critical self-reflection, it’s time to choose a goal that impacts your learning or even personal community. The activities in table 1.1 will give you some ideas about where and how to begin.
Table 1.1: Sharing What I’ve Learned About Building a Sense of Belonging
Group
Littles (preK–grade 3)
Middles (grades 4–7) Talk about the word discrimination and ask why students form groups that shut some students out. Ask students if their friends are more similar to them or more diverse. Talk about the whys behind their answers and why it’s important to interact with all kinds of people. Have them come up with an action plan to diversify their groups. Ask students to think about generalizations like “boys love sports,” or “girls love pink,” and have them bring up their own. Discuss how generalizations can be harmful to groups and communities.
Activity
Provide students with a crayon set that includes a variety of skin tones and shades, and have them do portraits of each other. Give students words to compare and contrast different attributes related to hair (brunette, braided, afro, blonde, natural, straight, curly), size (taller, shorter, bigger, smaller), and skin (beige, rosy, tan, peach, caramel, chocolate, dark brown). Contrast diverse physical attributes with things students have in common, like school, parents, teachers, love for ice cream, and so on.
Group Activity
Secondary Ask students to think about generalizations and “in-groups.” Ask them to discuss how those groups are formed and to consider whether or not they have value. Have students take the IAT on page 15 and discuss the results in as much or as little personal detail as you deem appropriate. Have them come up with action plans to correct their biases. Staff Have staff take the IAT and discuss the results in as much or as little personal detail as you deem appropriate. Have them come up with action plans to mitigate their biases. Ask teachers to reflect on their personal circles. If their circles are not diverse, ask them to reflect on how this might affect their educational practice.
Parents and Community Explain to parents that your school wants to be a safe place for all students. Explain that it is important that all stakeholders consider their biases and treatment of others in order to make the world more welcoming for everyone. Consider having a culture corner in your newsletter—a short section that might include a fun fact about a particular culture, a recipe from a parent, or a greeting in another language. Consider regularly sharing links or reflection questions, like those in this chapter, in your newsletter.
“Finding Your Blind Spots is an excellent framework to ensure that schools provide an atmosphere that facilitates growth in social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity while empowering students to become conscientious citizens of the world.” —TRACI NICOLE SMITH, Conscious-
Driven Living Coach, Educator, Parent Advocate, and Writer
“All educators can benefit from reading this book and completing its reflective activities. Each personal story and activity that Hedreich shares exhibits her passion and expertise and will be immediately meaningful to every reader.” —BONNIE NIEVES, Science Teacher, Author, and Founder of Educate on Purpose
“Hedreich craftily weaves her lived experiences as a Black student and teacher in the United States and abroad into an introspective approach to education that stresses developing meaningful relationships, wherein all students are valued and appreciated in the richness of their diversity.” —MERVIL JOHNSON, Chair, Fatherhood Coalition of Tarrant County, Texas
Visit go.SolutionTree.com/diversityandequity to download the free reproducibles in this book. Educators who set out to make their classrooms welcoming, effective learning environments for all students sometimes struggle with biases that they don’t even realize they have. In Finding Your Blind Spots: Eight Guiding Principles for Overcoming Implicit Bias in Teaching, author Hedreich Nichols presents the knowledge, skills, and tools to identify those places of bias that adversely affect teaching practice and to move beyond them to build equitable schools. Readers will gain valuable insight into the experiences of students who may look or identify differently than they do, enabling them to become better-prepared and more understanding educators. K–12 teachers and administrators will:
•Understand their personal biases and how they affect students’ sense of belonging in the classroom
•Learn how language can reinforce discrimination and how to choose inclusive language • Gather knowledge about gender expression and sexual identity to be effective allies • Celebrate and foster diversity daily • Understand microaggressions and how they create barriers to relationships
