Speaker 1: A lot of unconscious bias begins at a young age. A study out of Northwestern University found implicit biases among preschool age Children exist four and five year olds rated images of black boys less favorably than images of white boys and girls with black girls falling in the middle. 41 Action News anchor Ray Daniels spoke with our local teachers about how they address these issues and what parents can take away. What does bias look like in a

Speaker 2: classroom when you have pre K in kindergartners? I think bias is just

Speaker 3: the not knowing or not experiencing other cultures are racist. So it's the lack of resources available to students. It's the lack of representation. I think that's how bias starts to develop in young Children. And before

Speaker 2: addressing implicit bias in the classroom with students, sixth grade teacher Monisha Slater says educators need to first address their own. I

Speaker 4: think when kids can see that you're being authentic with them and that you understand race and different cultures, then they're more willing to be honest with you about their culture and be honest with you about their race and have those types of conversations. Perfect. Exactly. So we can include. So

Speaker 2: how do we start these conversations? Identify the point of view. Here's what

Speaker 3: several teachers told me. I think of the idea of the windows and mirrors, windows and mirrors, the concept of windows and mirrors. It's important to see yourself and see that you are valuable. You are special. You have a lot that you bring into our world. Your life has a purpose and a meaning. It's also important to look through those windows and see, okay, there are lots of different things to learn about to celebrate, to embrace, to become more

Speaker 2: knowledgeable about other cultures as well. Creating safe spaces, highlighting differences and also making representation present in the

Speaker 5: classroom. What else do we see through circles? We can sit, sit down together and share, um, and just talk about, you know, how we're all different. Um, and

Speaker 6: what that looks like and the importance of that. Our students, our Children are growing up in a world where implicit bias, explicit bias, racism is a real part of what's happening in our nation. And so to ignore those things is actually ignoring a critical part of their developmental years. Think about

Speaker 7: who do you surround yourself with? And so going back to that mirror and window, where, where might you need windows in? Because you don't live that

Speaker 5: perspective. It's also important to ask questions. Our goal is not to shut anyone down, but to keep those lines of communication open so that parents understand what our goal is here in our schools. When I look at the Children in

Speaker 7: my building and when I look at the Children, you get to pop into other buildings, you know, Kate, the K 12 spectrum, everybody deserves a place to belong. And so that's why it's important that we're engaging in these topics, even though they might not be the most comfortable. A lot of times

Speaker 4: problems in the world were because of race or because of religion or because of our differences and trying to find some commonality is important. And so teaching students that it's okay to be different and also find things we share

Speaker 2: and how we can all work together in Kansas City. Ray Daniel, 41 Action News.