We all have unconscious biases - a lesson on acceptance in the teaching world and real world. Inspired by STEM TQ.

It's been so long since I blogged!  A much needed summer break I have had.  My summer is coming to a close.  The most current reason for that is because I have committed myself to an incredible opportunity for two whole weeks attending the STEM TQ Teacher Quality Workshop at Washington University!  It has been AMAZING so far!  It's seriously the best thing I have done for myself lately!

So, when you think of STEM, what probably comes to mind is integrating amazing science inquiry lessons into your day with a push for higher level thinking in mathematics and the use of amazing technology to captivate and entice your students.   Guess what most of my experience has been about so far???  Cultural diversity, race, acceptance, community, encouragement, and team building.    I know - not what you would have expected from a STEM workshop right?!  WRONG!  Behind every good teacher is a heart for all people.  A heart that does not judge, has bias or stereotypes, and KNOWS the cultural diversity of his or her students.

I have learned about cultural consciousness and efficacy and building a sense of belonging for all students.

Today I sat in a room with teachers from all over the St. Louis area - St. Louis Public, East St. Louis, Mehlville, Hillsboro, Rockwood, Hazelwood, Premier Charter, Kirkwood, Normandy, and many many more districts.  There were teachers from all different cultural backgrounds.  We had black, white, Hispanic, Asian, and multicultural backgrounds represented throughout our room of kindergarten and first grade teachers.  For three days now, we've brought attention to ideas revolving around cultural consciousness and efficacy while building a sense of belonging in our classrooms.

We've had some CONVERSATIONS you all!  We had some down to the nitty gritty, heart to heart, eye-opening, REAL and honest CONVERSATIONS!  It was so...invigorating and freeing.  I needed to hear all of it, and just listen to others' perspectives and their stories about life.  Truth is, everyone has differences.  At times, I'm sure everyone has had some sort of bias portrayed on us regarding our background, race, gender, money, or cultural differences.  The reality is that there is a problem in this country. A huge problem.  People don't TALK to one another.  We assume if we go about our business and they go about theirs, that things will be fine.  Well... things are not FINE in our country.  I don't know if you've checked lately, but people are dying, protesting, hurting, angry, and feel unheard and misunderstood.  This has to change!  It can start with our teachers.  Teachers see all of the different kinds of people out there- we see them through the lens of our kids.  We see our kids that have two moms at home.  We see the kids that speak two languages fluently.  We see the kids that have been neglected or abused.  We see the kids that have parents with mental disabilities.  We see the kids that have been adopted or put in foster care.  We see all different races, religions, and beliefs.  We see it all.
So when we started out, our leaders had us write on this handy little map.

The middle is the part of me that I cannot change - how I was born.

The next circle are the things about me that I chose to do or how I choose to live my life.

The most outer circle are words that are used to describe me and all the jobs I do or hats I wear (or have worn).

This exercise was about realizing that we as people are SO MUCH MORE than what is in the smaller middle circle!  We cannot be defined by the color of our skin, our gender, our age, or our looks!  WE ARE SO MUCH MORE!

DO YOU FEEL EMPOWERED?  YOU SHOULD!

The purpose of this in the education/STEM world is to teach us and children that ANYONE can do jobs involving technology, science, math, and engineering.  It isn't just for a certain group of people!  We are all STEM capable!

Another activity we did was we looked at our personal biases.  The truth is... every one has some biases toward others that we aren't even aware of.  Our subconscious tells us to act a certain way or look at certain people differently - whether we think we do or not.  We are all guilty of this.  It was super interesting to look at this next map.

Our leaders encouraged us to answer how we would have looked at each group of people when we were about the age of 11 or 12.  The reason for this is because by the time we are in about 5th-6th grade, we have already made certain distinctions, observations, and judgments that can define certain types or groups of people.  It is through either our home exposures, school exposures, media exposures, or religious exposures.  I encourage all of you to think about the TRUE answer to these questions for yourself.  It is quite eye opening.  I'm sure some of you have had different ideas of certain groups of people as an 11-12 year old that you are now realizing wasn't correct.  It first takes a realization that you were wrong, then you can be motivated to change and make that change for the better of our students and FOR ALL PEOPLE!  Teachers can really reflect and think about this before they start off their school year.  This affects the way you treat students, their families, and even colleagues.

As I go through the rest of this week and next, I will continue to blog.  I will continue to take a look at myself and the way I treat my students and their families.  I will continue to self-reflect.  I will continue to be an advocate for ALL my students and expect the highest performance from ALL my students regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender, or culture!  It starts with just a few to ultimately make the biggest impact!  I have always believed that teachers have the most important job.  They do!  We are sometimes the one who says "I believe" when others did not.  We say "you are amazing" when some thought not.  We say "You are capable" when some said otherwise.  We are encouragers!

I hope I have inspired some teachers out there!  I know I am inspired after just 3 days of the best teacher workshop EVER!!

Thanks for listening!

PEACE!