I suppose we won’t truly know until we’re in the moment and our character is tested. I’d like to think that exposure to the people and concepts from this class will generate a different and better outcome than we would have had otherwise. Forewarned is forearmed (in a manner of speaking).

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I always appreciate a good pun! Well played!
Your comment sticks out to me because it reminds me of the other fields where the discussion about bias is being swept under the rug or is simply not on anyone’s radar because most (or all) of the professionals in the field come from one group. It can be an insidious practice because it creates this feedback loop that encourages and perpetuates bias and exclusion (“We haven’t got a bias problem! We all get along fine! We’re all [insert demographic here], so we see eye-to-eye…and we’re all in agreement that there’s no bias here, and thus no need for diversity initiatives. Oh, look at that, we’ve got consensus!” rinse and repeat). Computer music has worked a lot like this for decades; it’s mostly composed of white men (slipped in a little music pun for ya), so the conversation about race or even gender in the field of has only begun to pick up steam in the last few years.

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Agreed. I would not have gotten this far without a sense of humor. It’s absolutely essential.

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Thank you for your kind comments. I think these conversations are crucial to getting to that point. It can be uncomfortable for all parties involved, but the rewards far outweigh the discomfort of broaching the subject. For a lot of my friends (be they white, well-connected, wealthy, male or otherwise in a position of privilege), even asking the simplest questions is frightening, so there’s also a great fear of conflict for them. It’s rare for us to move beyond that point because the fear is difficult to negotiate: one can never know exactly which question is “the wrong one”, or which phrase will “get them into trouble” with me or someone like me. One of the best litmus tests for any of my friendships is observing how comfortable they when they enter into that tense space with me. Those who pass come out with a better understanding of how things are for people who are not like them. Those that do not usually come out having refused to listen or are red in the face from shouting me down and/or insisting that they are not bigots. Long story short: listening is good, shouting at people in order to get your point across is bad.

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I’m glad to know that I am not alone in feeling that way, and I agree that the only way to respond is to be who I am regardless of any biases against me. 🙂

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I completely agree with your assessment of the problems in US schools. Having seen them firsthand, I’m at a loss for how things can be improved overall, but job security is a huge concern for teachers and administrators, and in places with underserved populations, implicit bias is a looming problem that permeates every aspect of education, from the classroom to the meeting room of the school board. Have you watched “Waiting for Superman”? It’s an excellent film about what’s going on in education. I recommend it.

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Those are all very good questions, and honestly, I’m not sure of the answer. However, I do believe that the responsibility to find one’s purpose lies with more than just the student or the teacher.

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#TheMoreYouKnow

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I loved what you had to say about social learning theory. That was my exact experience in high school–my friends were very studious, so there was very strong social pressure to study during my free time, and while I am very grateful for the increase in my GPA, I was also wary of being excluded if I chose not to participate, so you have a real-life example!

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You raise a point I haven’t seen very often: that someone can be both mindless and motivated. What do you think that would look like? Can you think about ways in which students can be mindless but motivated at the same time, because motivating students is exactly what we want to do, but if they’re not also mindful, then we still haven’t fully done our jobs, have we? Or perhaps it’s their responsibility. Either way, as instructors, how do you think we can achieve both mindfulness and motivation in our students?

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