Reactions to "Challenging Cultural Biases Toward Diverse Students" Article

When I first read the abstract, I was able to predict exactly what the study was going to reveal. Since we have been discussing the issue of cultural biases in this science class as well as my Latinos in U.S. Education class, I feel that I have learned a great deal about myself and the attitudes I hold and held at the beginning of the semester.

The bulk of the article was not surprising in the least. In fact, I felt that this article and study could have been about our class specifically. From our class discussions, it has been made clear that we all possess some biases, and I feel that our class has done well to explore and eliminate those biases throughout the semester. I really like the authors use of the term "cultural baggage". In the beginning of the semester I had not given much thought to my culture or culture in general. After having discussed the topic at length in several courses, I can say that I have cultural baggage, but I am glad to have been made aware of this.

I think the most important lesson to learn from these studies and class discussions is that we all need to look inward and evaluate our cultural baggage. In doing this we can be more aware of any biases we might form while teaching our class. In addition, this article was another support for the importance of taking the time to become familiar with our students and their parents. Children do not all learn the same way and we need to be aware of their differences so we can differentiate our instruction.