Eton

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  • RussRuss Shipmate
    KarlLB wrote: »
    Russ' attempt to raise this caricature as if it represented any actual person's position would be risible were it not disruptive to a thread which is about real people holding actual real positions...

    ...I see no value in continuing this diversion into the Land Of Invented Political Beliefs.

    So the possibility of teachers being biased against black pupils is real, and the possibility of teachers being biased against white pupils is a fantasy ? That's your belief ?

    I wonder what would happen if we exposed this belief to evidence ?

    Suppose we were to ask a sample of teachers and retired teachers. Have you ever found yourself dealing more leniently with white pupils because they are white ? Have you ever found yourself dealing more leniently with black pupils because they are black ?

    What sort of response do you think we'd get ?

    I think you'd get some who deny both, seeing it as their job to be scrupulously fair to all their pupils. And some who strenuously deny bias in favour of white pupils, whilst seeing nothing wrong with a bit of leniency to black pupils, who after all have all that racism to contend with.

    But I could be wrong.
  • DafydDafyd Shipmate
    What Russ thinks a survey would find is not evidence.
  • An interesting question might be "How many people are really fit to be teachers?"

    I am tempted to say "Gey few an they're a deid!" but that would be unfair. However, I can think of many people who "taught" me who were not fit to teach ivy to climb a wall, and very few who did a very good/excellent job. In truth I can literally number the latter on the fingers on one hand, at least until I went into higher education and later, as a "mature" student into university.

    Prejudice is one aspect of it. We all have (at least) unconscious prejudices. Some are, however, more noxious than others. I would prefer it if people were open about their prejudices and stated them outright. For example, I had a lecturer at college who was an avowed communist and made no secret about it. So, I was able to take that into account when listening to what he said.
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