Help us understand implicit bias. Reflect on the results of your participation in the survey. Name a time when you used your own implicit bias to navigate a situation.

I like to think that I do well at tolerance, equity, equality and acceptance. Taking some of these surveys was a bit disturbing for me. I took one on race and one of body size. The one on race suggests that I have bias towards people of color and the one on body size suggests that I have bias against larger bodies.

I was upset to see the result of the race survey. I am around a diverse population in my school. Not only do we have students from various backgrounds but we also have staff from different backgrounds. I have worked hard to learn what I don’t know but also know I have a ways to go. I think deeply and thoughtfully before asking questions to learn more. I found the directions of the survey to be tricky. I found that I was not even thinking of the pictures but of the sequence and meaning of the buttons.

I was also surprised to see the bias that was revealed in the body size. I have battled my weight since I was in 8th grade. I was diagnosed with an eating disorder many years ago and worked hard to overcome it. I guess it makes sense when I think about it. I went to drastic measures to look a certain way so my bias seems to match how I feel but I thought that was just for myself.

In Wherever I Go, Abia is nervous about finding a forever home. How does this idea differ or match up with your own ideas about refugees and asylum seekers? What do the students in your classroom think about Abia’s nervousness about finding a forever home? Can they relate it to any of their own experiences?

Wherever I Go shows how Abia is nervous about finding her forever home but she appreciates her surroundings. She has been in the camp the longest so it has become her idea of what home is supposed to be. She walks with her friends, she races her cousin, she sings when pumping water, she drums while waiting for rice and oil and howls with the animals. She does so many things that a child would do in a different setting. When her Papa talks about forever homes-it is foreign to her. This is her home.

When I think about refugee and asylum seekers, I never took into account the children’s point of view. As an adult, my mind went to the hardship of being an adult and providing for your family. Comparing life in the camp to previous life or life that is yet to come. Thinking as a parent, I sacrifice and go without to give my child what she needs. This seems to be the case in the book too because Abia seems generally happy in the camp. She does not always see the hardship that her parents are facing and the challenges of leaving the camp.