Bias Isn't Just A Police Problem, It's A Preschool Problem

[sheshe2]

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New research from the Yale Child Study Center suggests that many preschool teachers look for disruptive behavior in much the same way: in just one place, waiting for it to appear.

The problem with this strategy (besides it being inefficient), is that, because of implicit bias, teachers are spending too much time watching black boys and expecting the worst.

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"What we found was exactly what we expected based on the rates at which children are expelled from preschool programs," Gilliam says. "Teachers looked more at the black children than the white children, and they looked specifically more at the African-American boy."



Indeed, according to recent data from the U.S. Department of Education, black children are 3.6 times more likely to be suspended from preschool than white children. Put another way, black children account for roughly 19 percent of all preschoolers, but nearly half of preschoolers who get suspended.


One reason that number is so high, Gilliam suggests, is that teachers spend more time focused on their black students, expecting bad behavior. "If you look for something in one place, that's the only place you can typically find it."

Much more here: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/09/28/495488716/bias-isnt-just-a-police-problem-its-a-preschool-problem?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20160928

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Full story at the link, this is a very good read.

[mythology]

1. Thanks for sharing this

I think it's really important to realize that the problem is so much larger than the police, it runs throughout our society.

The police have guns and thus their mistakes have a higher immediate cost. A kid getting expelled from pre-school has long term costs that aren't immediately visible.

We need to start much earlier to deal with our societal racism, bias and prejudice so that when someone grows up to be a cop or a teacher or whatever job, they don't have a subconscious bias toward assuming the black guy is the villain. I don't think very many cops set out to shoot a black guy, I think that when they are in stressful situations resort to acting on deeply buried biases. With a gun that has severe consequences.