S3E13: Addressing Bias in Education
Amber and Will in truth-and-justice-inspired Halloween outfits for this October episode
Diverse Joy Podcast - Season 3, Episode 13
For this Halloween episode, “co-ghosts” Amber and Will are in costume as Wonder Woman and Superman, two characters known for embodying truth and justice!
A mid-record still of Will and Amber
To open, Will shares his love of “dark joy”–à la the Addams family–which includes things such skull art and goth aesthetics. Amber’s joy is some of her “Forty Before Forty” activities (which, admittedly, have turned into a “Fifty Before Fifty”) including doing to a UFO convention and a haunted tunnel tour of Portland!
They discuss bias and exclusion in schools for the main topic; touching on what gets taught versus banned, racial biases in discipline, adultification, police in schools, school-to-prison pipelines, standardized testing, achievement gaps, language assimilation, and more.
During Story Time, Amber shares a story about a student who was penalized for their accent–not great, particularly since there are ways in which “accents” can be accommodated–and a story about a task force that created guidelines to help reduce bias and colonization in education.
The question is about how “anger” and “disgust” are common reactions to bias and prejudice; is one more “useful” as a reaction? A great discussion ensues! (Spoiler alert, anger tends to be less helpful in actually resolving anything.)
This episode’s Bias Habit-Breaking Skill is Speaking Up, with guidelines for how to address both intent and impact and how to speak up for other people’s slip-ups versus your own slip-ups. (Allies have particular power when speaking up for others.)
To close out the episode, Amber’s joyful recommendation is the fun, smart, charming show Abbott Elementary! If you’re unfamiliar, Abbott is a sitcom focused on faculty and staff working at a K-8 school in Philadelphia (with some fun, recurring student characters); the setting naturally allows for great diversity in the cast, and though it’s a comedy, the show frequently tackles topics that real teachers have to deal with, and highlights the difficulties facing educators, while still being thoroughly entertaining.
The episode can be found below, by following the podcast wherever you get podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, RSSFeed, Amazon/Audible, or by subscribing to @BiasHabit on YouTube.
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