The school that tried to end racism

• Engels
• MBO
• Middelbare school
• Leerjaar 4-6

www.teachingenglish.org.uk

What does unconscious bias mean?

Aims of this class

- To raise awareness of unconscious bias

- To practice listening skills

- To practice reading skills

- To focus on collocations

- To practice giving opinions in a discussion

Lesson of the British Council

Guidance

- Be sensitive to the different cultural/ethnic backgrounds of your fellow students

- You are free to give your opinion, however you must be respectful of everyone in class

Let's start

Which of these opinions reflects your own ideas?
Be prepared to explain.

1. “I don’t think race matters”
2. “I believe all people should be treated equally, regardless of their race, gender or sexuality”
3. “At the moment, different groups are not treated equally in society”
4. “Most people have racist or sexist ideas, even if they think they don’t”

Task 1

Discuss these questions in small groups (min 2)  before we watch the video.

a. Have you ever been asked where you come from?

b. Have your parents ever warned you about racism?

c. Is Dutch your parents’ first language?

d. Have you ever had to be worried about your family being stopped and searched by the police?

e. Have you ever been the only person in the room of your race?

After watching

Discuss these questions in small groups.

• How did the students react to this activity?

• What do you think is the idea behind this activity?

• Do you think this activity is effective? Why (not)?

Awareness

Bias

Diverse

Ethnic

White privilege

Not having to live with the consequences of

racism

Connected with a group of people who share a

cultural tradition

Including many different types of people or

things

Supporting or opposing something in an unfair

way because of your personal opinions or

preferences

Knowing about something

Task 2: Reading

Now read the text. Do you think the experiment was a success? Why (not)?

Task 3: After reading

Find the answers to these questions in the text, and then compare with a partner:

1. Why is Glenthorne High School described as ethnically diverse? How does it compare to your school experience?

2. Why is unconscious bias difficult to identify? How did they identify it in this programme?

3. What is “colour blindness” in this context? Why does Dr Rollock think it is problematic?

4. What are affinity groups? What was the main difference between the two groups?

5. Why did some people not like the documentary?

Task 4: Language focus: Collocations

Look at the highlighted collocations in the text. What do they mean? Can you use them to complete these sentences?

1. The decision to raise taxes ______ _____________, as many people felt it was unfair, whilst others thought it was good for society.

2. Her views on climate change are _____ _________ by the scientific community.

3. There is a _______ ________ between what people say they want to do, and what they actually do.

4. We believe that if we __________ ______ _____ __ at a young age, we have a better chance of having a more equal society for all races in the future

5. London has always been a __________ _________ city, with many people from all over the world living there.

Task 5: Discuss in pairs / small groups:

1. Do you think the same types of unconscious bias exist where you live? Why (not)?

2. At the beginning of the documentary, we are asked the question “Could we all be racist without knowing it?” What’s your opinion?

3. Some people argue that separating children into different affinity groups based on race for this project creates more problems than it solves. What do you think?

4. Have you ever been taught about racism? If so, when, and how?

Task 5: Writing

1. Do you think the same types of unconscious bias exist where you live? Why (not)?

2. At the beginning of the documentary, we are asked the question “Could we all be racist without knowing it?” What’s your opinion?

3. Some people argue that separating children into different affinity groups based on race for this project creates more problems than it solves. What do you think?

4. Have you ever been taught about racism? If so, when, and how?

What have we learned today?

Have we achieved these goals?
- To raise awareness of unconscious bias
- To practice listening skills
- To practice reading skills
- To focus on collocations
- To practice giving opinions in a discussion

Yes

Some of them

None of them

I don't even know what I don't know :(