The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

As an early childhood professional, it is often difficult to separate my personal beliefs and feelings from my professional responsibilities. However, it is something that I try to be conscious of as I interact with families. My attention to respectful and responsive communication has made me very aware of how other teachers are speaking with families as well. Any bias, prejudice, and/or oppression has become more and more obvious to me. In one particular interaction, I heard a parent tell a teacher that they couldn’t possibly know what it was like to raise a white child because they were black. The parent said, “White children are smarter so you don’t need to do as much one on one with them.” I was completely shocked. In fact, I bet if someone had snapped a photo of my face at the time, it would have been the comical defining look of shocked.

                I was quite proud of the teacher’s return comments. She said, “You’re right. Every child needs a different amount of educational instruction. I always take that into consideration.” After the parent left, I was able to speak to the teacher. I asked her if she was alright. She told me that she had to deal with that kind of prejudice all of her life and she found comfort in the fact that they are the ones who are uneducated. She did find it disheartening that a parent could not look beyond her skin color to see how talented she was as an educator. The parent’s prejudice diminished equity by one person intentionally trying to make another person feel intellectually inferior to another based on skin color.

                I was quite angry at the parent for attempting to degrade one my co-workers in this way, particularly a teacher who I have great respect for as an educator and a personal friend. However, I was also very impressed by the way the teacher handled the situation. I feel I would not have been as professional about it. I think the experience with this encounter helped me learn how to talk to parents who intentionally or unintentionally degrade me as a person or professional. This teacher already knows what words to use to create a more equitable interaction. It is fortunate that she had that ability to teach me.