My Biases

            I have been thinking about what bias I have a lot since Tuesday. I decided not to just write about one but all of them and how I have attempted to eradicate them. I have seen many biases in some of my family members and have strived to avoid them since high school. It makes me really mad and disappointed when I hear a sibling making very bias comments. Some of the biases I have seen in some family members are religious, socioeconomic, weight, and sexual orientation. I know as a kid I was very bias with all of these and more including race. I probably I learned these not only from family but also my community. For example, I judge people on how they act, what they wear, their hygiene, where they went to school, and the level of education they achieved which often leads to feelings of superiority.

             I grew up in schools that were dominated by white middle class students and teachers. I clearly remember feeling better than other kids because I lived in a bigger house.  I also remember thinking, along with my friends, in elementary school that the one African American kid in my grade was weird. I did not even really know him but I drew that conclusion based on the color of his skin. Although I have strived to eradicate this kind of thinking I know that deep down I still have these biases. They do present themselves but I try very hard not to act on them. I feel like my open-mined demeanor has helped me lessen the severity of my biases. As I gain more experiences and get to know more different kinds of people I feel that many of my biases have become less established.

           

            In college I got to know so many different kinds of people that my biases started to decrease. The university I went to was Jesuit. A large part of Jesuit education is a big emphasis on injustices in the community and around the world. Most classes at least touched on this subject and opened our minds to ways that biases present themselves. I took a class about environmental injustice in America and was shocked at all the toxins that are dumped in primarily minority neighborhoods.

            I know that I have not in any way eliminated any of my biases. I have become aware of them and try not to let them show. I do catch myself about to say prejudice statements sometimes and worry about the ones I am not even aware of. I also worry about my actions and how I treat people certain ways based on a bias I have. I worry that my biases will hinder my effectiveness as a teacher but hopefully my awareness will prevent that.  I truly wish that our society in the near future will be able to celebrate our differences rather than judge people on them.

I apologize for going over the max in length.