I realize that I label this a teaching blog, but this post will morph into more than that.
First, though, I will write as a teacher. In Speech class we learn about psychological noise, an internal interference that gets in the way of our communication. For my high school students it often involves daydreaming or being preoccupied with something other than the subject matter. However, psychological noise also includes preconceived ideas, prejudices, and biases. On Friday in English 2 I attempted a Socratic seminar. We are in the midst of a unit on author’s purpose, so I assigned three different nonfiction articles about concussions in high school football. The discussion, however, quickly turned into a debate because students were unable to set aside their preconceived notions about the topic and instead reference suggestions and solutions presented in the articles. I interrupted several times to reiterate the purpose of our conversation, that conversing rationally about topics like this was an important life-long skill. However, the psychological noise was getting in the way, and at the end of the period, I felt like a failure. Now, I write as a Christian. Today I sat in church as we sang Christmas carols, anticipating the celebration of Jesus’ birth. And as I thought about the arrival of that little precious baby, sent to save the world from its weight of sin, I realized that the Pharisees were experiencing psychological noise as well. They thought they knew what the Messiah was going to be like: a king, an earthly ruler. Because of their psychological noises of preconceived ideas, they missed the point entirely, persecuting their Savior instead of worshipping him. Finally, I write as a mother and a human. In the past few weeks our country has exploded with protests over the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. And because of psychological noise, many Americans are like my English 2 students, unable to engage with the real topic at hand because they believe they already know the answers. “It was his fault. He wasn’t really choked to death. His hands weren’t raised. He shouldn’t have been there in the first place. He was breaking the law.” And because it’s scary to examine our own preconceived notions about race, we choose instead to ignore rather than listen and examine. “I have black friends/family members. I don’t see color. We’re all the same. Well, this one black man posted this, so it must be true. I’m not marching around in a hood, so I’m obviously not prejudiced.” I’m here to say I think we should listen, and not just to the voices that make us comfortable. Listening and examining our biases doesn’t mean we are on the same level as the KKK. It doesn’t mean we are standing against the many valiant, trustworthy law enforcement agents who take the streets every day. It means we are struggling against the psychological noise. Ugly confession: Before I became the mother of black children, I would have read a story about Michael Brown or Eric Garner and thought, “Oh, that’s too bad.” Or maybe even, “Well, I’m sure he did something to deserve it.” And then I would have watched the protests and thought, “Oh, c’mon. Let’s move on with life.” And I hate even writing that my heart used to be that hard. I hate that only my own personal experiences could push me to examine my own psychological noise and instead listen. And now I do have experiences with prejudices and biases against my own precious sons. We need to listen to stories like those trending at #alivewhileblack, stories like transracially adopted Alex’s, like this ex-cop from Saint Louis. We need to try different news sources that might open our eyes to a different perspective. Read a few stories at The Root or follow a few activists on Twitter. And then sit back and listen. (Questioning whether or not you have implicit biases? Use the test to find out.)
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September 2020
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