Sunlight and Shadow
Unlearning Internalized Bias as Educators
Bias does not announce itself. It does not knock on the door and introduce itself by name. Instead, it lives in the shadows — unspoken, unchallenged, and embedded into the very structure of how we move through the world.
For educators, internalized biases don’t just shape our personal beliefs — they shape our classrooms, our expectations, our disciplinary practices, and the futures we imagine for our students. They influence who we see as a “leader,” who we assume needs “extra help,” whose voices we uplift, and whose struggles we dismiss. If we aren’t intentional, these biases become self-fulfilling prophecies, reinforcing the very inequities we claim to resist.
But here’s the thing about shadows: they only exist in the presence of light. If we are willing to step into that light, to examine ourselves with honesty and humility, we can begin the work of uprooting these patterns within us and within the systems we uphold.
Where Bias Hides: Unspoken Beliefs in the Classroom
Bias is not always loud. Sometimes, it whispers. It shows up in the seemingly small, everyday decisions that, over time, define a student’s experience of education.
Think about the rhythm of your classroom. The habits are so ingrained they almost feel automatic. Who gets called on? Who gets redirected? Who gets the benefit of the doubt? Consider the following questions as we begin exploring this subject matter deeper:
Who do you see as “naturally gifted” in math, science, or leadership? Are your assumptions shaped by racialized or gendered stereotypes about intelligence?
Who do you assume will need “extra support” before they even ask? Are your interventions based on individual student needs, or are they pre-scripted based on bias?
How do you describe student behaviour? Who is seen as “confident” versus “disruptive”? Do the same behaviours get framed differently based on the student’s identity? If the last question provoked uncertainty, how can you become more aware?
When you read student writing, whose voice do you subconsciously expect to be “polished” and whose do you expect to need “fixing”? What does “academic” writing mean to you and who has been historically excluded from that definition?
When students challenge authority, who do you see as “passionate” and who do you label as “defiant”? Who gets the space to push back, to take risks, to be outspoken without consequences?
Bias lives in these quiet moments. The pause before a name is called. The hesitation before a punishment is assigned. The unspoken expectation of who will excel and who will struggle. The work is in noticing, in disrupting, in rewiring our instincts towards equity rather than assumption.
Stepping into the Light: Strategies for Unlearning Bias
We cannot uproot what we refuse to see.
To move from intention to action, we must be relentless in the world of self-examination and change. Here is where we begin this interrogation and introspection:
Name It to Dismantle It
Bias thrives in silence. It is not enough to believe we are “good” educators; we must interrogate where our implicit biases reside. Actively engaging in self-reflection, seeking research on implicit bias, and having the courage to name the ways it shows up in your teaching are major steps to locating the root systems of where bias is born. Awareness is not the end of the work, but it is the doorway we must walk through first.
Examine Your Patterns
What we track, we transform. Keep a journal for a week: Who do you discipline most? Who do you praise? Whose ideas to you centre in discussions? Look at the seating chart — who gravitates toward the front of the room? Who stays on the edges? Bias is rarely random. As my sister, who is the most perceptive person I know when it comes to first impressions, says: Patterns don’t lie.
Once you see them, you can begin to shift them,
Reframe “High Expectations”
Too often, “high expectations” are code for forced assimilation. True high expectations don’t mean making every student conform to a dominant standard; they mean believing in every student’s brilliance and adapting our teaching to support their success, not demanding they shrink themselves to fit a narrow definition of achievement.
Interrogate Your Curriculum
A classroom is only as inclusive as the stories it tells. Whose voices are missing? What histories are erased or sanitized? Are you teaching “about” marginalized communities or are they centred as complex, brilliant, world-shaping figures? Expand your sources and diversify your reading lists. Challenge the default narratives and uplift perspectives that have long been pushed to the margins.
Shift from Control to Connection
Do your classroom management strategies prioritize compliance or community? Are students safe to ask questions, to challenge ideas, to exist in their full humanity without fear of punishment? Restorative and healing-centred practices allow us to move beyond punitive discipline, recognizing that behaviour is communication, and every student deserves to feel seen and valued.
Build Feedback Loops (The Good Kind!)
Educators shape environments, but students LIVE in them (although, to be fair, many educators spend so much time at school it does become a secondary residence!). Instead of assuming what they need, ask your students directly: Do you feel seen in this classroom? Do you feel your voice matters? What do you wish educators understood about you?
Then, listen.
And change.
Because true accountability is not about intention alone, it is about impact.
A Question to Carry Forward
Bias is not a personal failure; it is an inherited condition.
We were raised in systems that shaped our perceptions long before we had the language to question them. But we are not bound to these patterns — we are capable of unlearning, of shifting, of stepping into the light.
So ask yourself: Am I willing to stand in the sunlight — to see my own shadow, to name it, and to do the work of transformation?
Justice in education doesn’t begin with policy. It begins with us.
With clarity and courage (and some extra sunscreen for the less-melanated),
Ms. K
