The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

    A few years ago I was enrolled in the childhood education program at a local college in my area.  This particular college teamed up with the district with which I was employed, and offered teacher's assistant an opportunity to gain their teaching degrees at a slightly lower rate.  Of course, I jumped at the opportunity and eagerly began my journey towards earning my degree.  Throughout my time at the college I saw many familiar faces, and along the way met many new ones.  many of the professors were helpful, encouraging, and approachable.  it wasn't until my final semester that I ran into some challenges.
    In my final semester I was preparing to student teach.  Finally the moment I had waited for had arrived.  In preparation we (those preparing to student teach) had to chose schools in which we would student teach.  We were allowed to pick three in total and the professor would review them and approve only two.  Having spent a few years in a less affluent district, I thought this would be a great opportunity to expand my experience and chose to student teach in a more affluent community and school district.  So, the time had arrived to hand in my choices to my professor and I was excited about receiving my approvals.  I never would have imagined that I would walk away with more than an approval.  During my meeting with my professor, a professor that was new to the building, she began to question my choices.  From the moment I entered the room she asked me twice what my name was.  Might I add we had met twice before briefly.  I proudly said, Emily.  She looked my way and said, "really, you don't look like an Emily", I immediately sat up and kept a serious face.  I thought to myself, "what is an Emily suppose to look like?"  I thought about it briefly, but I was so engrossed with wanting to know what schools I'd receive approval for that I left it in the back of my mind.
   However, the rest of the conversation did not go as smoothly as I would have liked.  To make a very long story short, I never did receive approval for the schools I had chosen.  I was given two schools that were in less affluent communities, and was told that I would be able to handle being at both because I could connect a lot easier with the population "they" served.  it wasn't until I got home that I began asking myself a list of questions.  Was it because I was Hispanic? What does an Emily look like? What did she mean by, I could relate to the population better?  Why wasn't I given the opportunity to expand my experience?  These questions invaded my thoughts for days, until one day another student asked me about my assignments.  I explained where I would be going and I asked the same question back.  Funny thing was that this other student was Hispanic.  Apparently the professor had given her the same lecture. 
    It was clear to me that this professor was biased.  Her actions, words, and statements allowed me to see how she felt about me and other Hispanics.  Apparently we knew how to connect with others from less affluent communities, apparently my name didn't fit the look of a Hispanic woman.  I was hurt beyond words, and shocked that a professor of education could be so biased.  The concept of equity was so far out of the window that it was unattainable for me.  Once my hurt had subsided, anger began to brew.  I wanted to answers to my questions and I wanted to know why.  So, I went to the Deans office  with the other Hispanic woman and we shared our story.  An investigation ensued and after a few semesters she was dismissed form the college for reasons I was not made aware of.  I can only imagine that they were because of her biased attitude, because it had been brought to my attention that she had continued such behavior and expressing unnecessary statements in other classes as well.  Had her attitude changed after she was initially addressed in my case, equity may have been available.  But, it had become available once the school had dismissed her because they did not approve of her behavior or allow for it to continue. 
    When a teacher acts out of unexamined internalized privilege or internalized oppression, that teacher runs the risk of unintentionally undermining children's development (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  The same stands true for adult's!  It is important as educators to be mindful of how we treat one another because we set the standards and bar for our little future resources.  Everyone unique qualities and backgrounds need to be celebrated and embraced in order to build strong foundations for tomorrows children. 

References:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).