Navigating Implicit Bias in Coaching Conversations
Creating sustainable change in schools doesn’t happen easily, automatically, or without some serious introspection on long-held beliefs. As coaches, how can we break down some of those societal barriers to foster an open dialogue? I reached out to Dr. Roxy Manning and Sarah Petyon for some ideas on how to best support teachers during coaching conversations.
In framing my question, I referenced a particularly sticky change that I struggled through: A teacher is a proponent of celebrating Christopher Columbus, and their district has moved to honoring Indigenous People's Day. How might a school leader coach them on delivering effective instruction to children? If this specific issue doesn’t apply to you, you can imitate by replacing Christopher Columbus and Indigenous People’s day with nearly any topic or event that has been replaced in favor of current societal thinking or expectations. For example, Dr. Seuss being replaced by the NEA as the symbol for Read Across America, or someone who centers Christmas in their classroom, regardless of student backgrounds.
Here’s what Dr. Manning said on breaking down societal barriers to foster open dialogue: “In order to break down societal barriers, we need to understand what is underneath our resistance. What are we trying to protect? We then need to understand the perspective and needs of those who are asking for a different response from us? What has not worked for them about the existing practices? What needs are they seeking to attend to? Once we are clear on what is important to us and what is important to them, we can begin to look for strategies that honor all the needs. This kind of dialogue can be helpful when people are holding implicit bias - bias about which they are not aware. We want to acknowledge that it can be a difficult challenge for coaches or administrators to connect with people who are holding biased views that they are consciously committed to. In such cases, we first recommend taking clear action to prevent harm to students in the targeted group. We can then work to offer the biased employee education and choiceful opportunities to interact with members of the groups they hold bias against who are engaged in anti-oppressive work.”
Dr. Manning generously provided a script on the subject that coaches and school leaders can use as a framework to prepare:
Coach: Why is it important for you to honor Christopher Columbus Day?
Teacher: Italian immigrants were vilified and disparaged for many years in the US. They experienced a lot of hardship and suffering. It is important to me that the challenges all people experienced here are seen. I want children from all ethnicities to have pride in their heritage. If we stop honoring Christopher Columbus Day suddenly, we send a message to some children that their ancestors were evil. We also invisibilize the painful experience that being Irish in the US had been.
(Coach reflects back important needs voiced by Teacher)
Coach: You want to be sure that all the children in your class take pride in their heritage. And you want to teach a complete history of the US that includes both the contributions of each group and the travails they faced?
Teacher: Yes. How do we explain why we stopped honoring Christopher Columbus Day without making a whole group seem bad?
Coach: It’s really important to you that we don’t paint a picture of one group as being the only bad actors. And, you think the messaging about the switch in the focus of the day sends that message?
Teacher: Yes.
(Once the coach trusts that the teacher’s concerns are fully heard and articulated, the coach can invite the teacher to consider the perspective of those taking the other stance.)
Coach: I’m glad I was able to understand your concerns. Let’s look together now at what was important for those who want to honor Indigenous People’s Day? I have a sense you share some of the same concerns. I understand part of the concerns of those who wish to honor Indigenous People’s Day is that they also want a nuanced, more complete sharing of the history of the US. They are concerned that in the current way Columbus Day has been celebrated, we have not heard about the challenges that Indigenous people experienced. And, that the achievements of Indigenous peoples before colonization and the contributions they continue to make to the US are not seen. It seems you both want a more complete picture of the history to be taught - one that includes the impact of colonization on Indigenous people, and one that includes the ethnocentric hatred that many Italian Americans faced.
Teacher: Yes. I can see that. But if we drop Christopher Columbus Day, we’ll basically be saying Italians were responsible for the genocide. I don’t want my kids feeling bad. And we don’t have any reason to talk about the challenges they faced here.
Coach: Am I getting that you see the importance of teaching the full history, but you’re struggling with how to do so in a way that students don’t judge themselves as inherently flawed?
Teacher: Yes. I can see that. But if we drop Christopher Columbus Day, we’ll basically be saying Italians were responsible for everything that happened afterwards.
Coach: Okay, let’s look at all the needs we identified: We want Italian kids, Indigenous kids, all students to feel pride and joy in their heritage. We want all children to have a sense of the many accomplishments of their ancestors and community. We want all students to have a nuanced understanding of the harm that various groups have experienced. We want to present a complete picture of the struggles our country faced as it came into being. We want to offer these lessons in a way that empowers children, not deflates them. Does this capture what you’re concerned about? So I’m hearing that you’re not against honoring Indigenous People’s Day, but you want trust that we can do it in a way that honors all the contributions of many groups in the formation and growing of the United States.
Teacher: Yes.
Coach: I’m glad to hear this. I know we all want to support kids in feeling positive about their heritage. One way we can do this is to help the children differentiate what has happened in the past from what they can do now. Many children feel empowered when they learn that people in the past made choices that were harmful, and that we all now can work to make different choices that support everyone. Would you consider helping your students think of actions they can take that help them mitigate the continued impact of inequities in our societies today?
Teacher: Yes. I can see that is sending a message that they are not bad because their ancestors took harmful actions.
Reading through that role play was incredibly insightful. Sarah Peyton helps us unpack the process that the coach took, so we can replicate it in our own practice. She says, “First, it’s important to understand what’s happening, and to really listen to what’s important to the resistant teacher. When someone says or does something, it is perceived on three levels. The first level is what is happening in the moment. The second level is the memories and related past experiences that are activated. And the third level is cultural: what are the responses of the groups that the resistant teacher belongs to? Begin by finding the shared value, the deep root of love for children, of the love for this continent or country, of the people in it. Then ask consent to present the information about harm that is done when we stay with Christopher Columbus Day, and emphasize how the new material conforms with your shared values even more effectively. If the person says yes, present whatever is most important to you from the impact of incomplete history, or microaggressions and racism, and request that the person reflect back to you what is most important to you. Then, because it can take a few days for new information that does not confirm previous beliefs and biases to trickle in, let them know you would like to check in with them about what reflections they made in a day or two.”
We can clearly see how the coach moved through the three levels of perception. They listened to the teacher and restated the concern. Then, they found a shared and connected value on a personal and classroom level. Finally, the coach asked consent to present their view on the topic without dismissing the teacher’s concerns.
An incredibly huge thanks goes out to Dr. Manning and Ms. Peyton for sharing their insights. I hope you have found this as helpful as I have!
Roxy Manning, PhD is a clinical psychologist and certified Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC) trainer. She brings decades of service experience to her work interrupting explicitly and implicitly oppressive attitudes and cultural norms. Dr. Manning has worked, consulted, and provided training across the US with businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations wanting to move towards equitable and diverse workplace cultures, as well as internationally in over 10 countries with individuals and groups committed to social change. She also works as a psychologist in San Francisco serving the homeless and disenfranchised mentally ill population. She is the author of How to Have Antiracist Conversations: Embracing Our Full Humanity to Challenge White Supremacy and the co-author with Sarah Peyton of the companion text, The Antiracist Heart: A Self-Compassion and Activism Handbook.
Sarah Peyton, Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication and neuroscience educator, integrates brain science and the use of resonant language to awaken and sustain self-compassion, particularly in the face of such difficult issues like self-condemnation, self-disgust and self-sabotage. She teaches and lectures internationally and is the author of the Your Resonant Self book series. She is also the co-author alongside Roxy Manning, PhD of The Antiracist Heart: A Self-Compassion and Activism Handbook.