June 23, 2016

Want To Address Teachers' Unconscious Biases? First, Talk About Race


Peter Balonon-Rosen
Ayana Coles, right, sits with students at Eagle Creek Elementary School. At Eagle Creek, students of color make up 77 percent of the student body, and all but four of the school’s 37 staff are white. Coles has led conversations about race with colleagues throughout the year. - Peter Balonon-Rosen/Indiana Public Broadcasting

Ayana Coles, right, sits with students at Eagle Creek Elementary School. At Eagle Creek, students of color make up 77 percent of the student body, and all but four of the school’s 37 staff are white. Coles has led conversations about race with colleagues throughout the year.

Peter Balonon-Rosen/Indiana Public Broadcasting

INDIANAPOLIS - Ayana Coles teaches third-grade at Eagle Creek Elementary in Indianapolis. 

At the school, students of color make up 77 percent of the student body. All but four of the school’s 37 staff are white. Throughout this past year, Coles has led a series of after-school discussions with teachers about race. 

Her goal? Create a common understanding of race and power, with the hopes that teachers acknowledge, then address how that plays out in the school.

But getting there means first exploring often-taboo topics: race, power and teachers’ biases.

Indiana Public Broadcasting's Peter Balonon-Rosen explores how -- and why -- it's important to explore those biases.

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