The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

Bias, prejudice and oppression can be so subtle and can come from even those who are supposed to care and be protective of you. I can think of many stories that could fit, but I am going to share a personal experience. When I was in junior high I did the qualifying exam to enter a very good technical high school and I scored very high. I was so thrilled and excited as my best friend got in as well. It was summer vacation and many of us went away to visit relatives, I did as well. When it was time to go home I was told that I am staying. I was devastated and to make it worse, I was beginning a new school in the middle grade!

 I was placed in the ninth grade where everyone else came up through grades seven and eight and knew one another. I went through a friendless first two weeks being the only new student in the class. A teacher asked my name and when I told him, he said that I pronounced it incorrectly (it was not so nicely said), I had to insist on spelling it for him. When he found that he was wrong, he smirked and dismissed me. On the same day the math teacher asked me to work out a problem on the board which I did. When I was finished, she asked if I thought it was correct, I said yes then she asked again and I got scared. She then shouted for me to sit, stating that I had no sense or confidence in what I do. Right there I was embarrassed and felt belittled, my whole world was crushed in front of strangers who knew how to be cruel! Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2010) states, “When a teacher acts out of unexamined internalized privilege or internalized oppression, that teacher runs the risk of unintentionally undermining children’s development”.

My dilemma did not stop there, I lived with cousins who suddenly had to make room for me. They made sure that I knew how they felt about it. I struggled at home and school because I did not feel like I belonged, nothing was originally mine. I was often reminded at home of the different last name that I had which made it no easier for me to fit in. In my culture children were seen and not heard so I suffered inside.

I graduated high school a year earlier than many of my peers, because no one went to school to speak on my behalf. Other students who spent another year, (I found this out years later), were a year older than I was but they had representation. Others were in the choir and members of sport teams and other groups. This was a clear example of institutional privileges that I did not have because I was new to this group.

Equity was diminished because everything and everyone was new to me, I did not get a chance to even see the teachers styles or function. I knew nothing about the school, classmates or teachers, I was groping in darkness, navigating my way without a compass so to speak. I was not given a fair chance to show my true potential. Prejudice and bias can be very damaging to ones self-worth and self-esteem.     

For a while I felt like I did not belong, I felt that it was not a wise decision that my guardians made. I believe that they thought that it was the best thing they were doing for my benefit and so I did not complain. Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2010) puts it this way, “Those advantages encompasses a whole series of rights, expectations and experiences that function as the oil that can make daily life easier”. I would have had a better experience and an easier transition had I gone to the school of my choice, and stayed home with my grandparents where I knew I belonged.

In order to change these incidents into opportunities for greater equity, my guardians and teachers would have to gain knowledge about equity, isms and diversity and how they interface with culture. They would then be able to employ the practices to effect continuity and to positively impact the shaping of my social identity. 

Reference

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.