Research has shown that teachers’ biases often inform their instructional decisions. Andrea Brownlee reflects on how this finding played out in his own life as a Black child growing up in a community engulfed by the crack epidemic in the 1980s. His teachers tended to focus on his behavior and the ways his problem-solving methods differed from the norm, and they seemed unprepared to offer lessons that connected to what was happening in Brownlee’s community. Yet his community provided him unexpected opportunities to learn. He urges teachers to learn more about what the children they teach are facing and to dismantle the oppressive norms that get in the way of their success.
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