Assumption or Bias

Thank you Joy for sharing your very personal reflection about biases which lead me to stop and think about my own.

My first thought is, I'm not comfortable with the word -bias. To me, I don't wish to be associated with its negativity, prejudice or inclination against a person or group. I'm not bias or prejudice. Then I thought, why am I being so defensive?

Because it is true. I make assumptions without any facts or proof, which leads to being bias. We recently sold our house and are applying for a rental while our new home is built. I'm avoiding certain parts of town because I'm bias. I assume anyone who lives there is in a lower social economic circumstance, perhaps dysfunctional families and wouldn't make ideal neighbours.

I see very young mothers and couples during the day and assume they are unemployed, unwed and living on welfare and life must be challenging. Again I'm being bias, stereotyping.

Having greater awareness of biases and preconceived ideas can be addressed by knowing and understanding different groups and cultures in my community, country and the world and listening to their story.

I am very conscientious not to show any assumptions or biases, especially in the classroom. It's a priority to know each of my students well, to build a relationship with each. When biases are raised, together we need to arm ourselves with proper knowledge, understanding, and perspective.

This post was written by Catherine Williams.

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