(UnitedReader.com) – Teachers can sometimes project themselves onto their students. When the behavior they model is good, that can be exceptionally positive. The student may even begin to take on the same beneficial qualities as their teacher. Yet, that projection can also cause students to feel intense societal pressure. Teachers who bring bias and political views into the classroom risk playing an increasingly dangerous game.
Dr. Crystal Duncan Lane, a professor of human development and family science at Virginia Tech, sent out an unusual message in her class syllabus. She not only told students she is a cisgender white female who married a man, but also apologized to students of color for it.
Campus Reform procured a copy of the syllabus.
EXCLUSIVE: Virginia Tech syllabus apologizes for instructor's White skinhttps://t.co/XgNMPC91q7
— Campus Reform (@campusreform) September 13, 2021
Dr. Lane also encourages white students to join her in her fight to end the injustices people of color endure. She claims she is innately racist because of her skin color, calling that assertion the “reality” of the history of all white people.
Natalie Rhodes, a Virginia Tech student in the class, questions why the teacher took this path in a course about disabilities. She feels the syllabus shouldn’t involve political opinion, judgment, or affiliation, suggesting Lane should avoid veering into other topics.
Another anonymous student said they feel pressure to adhere to the professor’s stance. They fear speaking up lest they say something that violates Lane’s preconceptions. The unnamed student also feels the professor’s allegations were painful.
Copyright 2021, UnitedReader.com