Examples Of Cultural Biases

My biases were formed through several factors, particularly through family members and media. The views my family had were projected onto me and the media reinforced my biases. Since I only knew one side of my bias’s story, I only ever looked for, or saw, that one side. One of my biases formed due to the area in which I lived as a child. I lived in a small, suburban yet rural town, along a major highway. The town housed the state prison, equipped with the high security ward for top offenders. Therefore, some of the population of the town reflected the presence of the prison; there were a few gangs – stemming from the low income areas. In these low income areas were Hispanics. I made the assumption that people of color are the ones associated

I thus made the conclusion that those who do not perform well in school because they are non-native English speakers, are less intelligent than those who are native English speakers. The media supported my bias of Hispanics being linked with crime (and crime being linked with lack of intelligence), as well as spread my bias to other people of color, namely African American males. The overwhelming coverage of crimes committed by people of color led me to believe that people of color were the main criminals. While I consciously knew this was false – I knew white people committed crimes – the intense media coverage made me forget, even question, the truth. I believed males of color were more dangerous than white males. This probably comes from my perception that whites are more likely to have education, jobs, income, and family – all factors I associated with a low level, or nonexistent level of criminal activity and

It is a difficult process to transform and rid one of biases. I am currently in the stage of awareness – I know my biases, I know they are wrong, and I am consciously working to change my thinking. Since coming to college, I have become more aware issues such as race and I have been able to form my own opinions outside of my family. Since I am no longer in the same environment, I can objectively look at the beliefs of my family and how I do not agree. I am learning that the media is, in fact, incredibly unfair in their portrayal of races. For example, my first university experienced the tragedy of a school shooting. The perpetrator was white as was branded as “mentally unstable”. However, if he was a black man, he would have been deemed as “naturally prone to violence” and would represent his entire race. I began to see how the media was inconsistent, and incorrect, based on race. Another circumstance which allowed for my equity skills to grow was when I worked at an ethnically diverse school where I was the minority. These students were all of color and when I worked with them, I realized there was no difference in intelligence between them and the white students I worked with at another school. It forced me to reassess my views and analyze how the bias came to be, and what factors led me to think it was true. This experience directly transfers to my perspective as an educator. I now realize