Hey, Little Ant: An Understanding of Assumption Bias

     We were introduced to a book called "Hey, Little Ant" by Phillip and Hannah Hoose. The book provides a dim glimpse on how our society views the weak and holds all the controls to do what they feel like doing just because they hold the power to do so. The ideology is built upon how human society is built around policies that create this false assumption of who gets to control the other. The book illustrates two main characters; the kid and the little ant. The kid, represents the White supremacist of society and the little ant represents the dark skinned individual that looks different from its counterpart. From one perspective, this book may seem harmless as to the assumption of "what is wrong killing an ant?" However, the inner meaning to this story is the racial bias that is clearly present right in-front of our eyes.

    The importance of the assignment was to show a comparison of how White supremacist in our society controls our way of life only because they are built stronger, possess power both politically and monetary, and foresee anything that looks different is considered the weaker, assume that those people have no purpose of living and everything they believe and act are the complete opposite of what the White controlled settlers deem acceptable only in their twisted society. "The divergent forms of colonization and imperial expansion that took root from this settler foundation employed English instruction policies that maintained the narrative of white settler superiority" (Funie 2020, 240). If you are not White that do not speak any English, you are not an ally. Anything different, you are labeled to be a perpetrator and a bullseye target. There are also people that call themselves bystandards who take no side, but also show no affection to one another even though they know what is considered to be right and what is considered to be wrong. 

    After reflecting upon the assignment, I reflected on all of my past actions on what I did when I saw an ant in areas I did not want the ant to be. Before reading this assignment, I was also part of the ally as I too were squashing ants and killing them to their gruesome outcome only because they were in my way. Now that I have a different mentality where even as small as ants, I began to believe that ants also are trying to live courageously and less tirelessly within our society. It is not their fault that they are located in places that we don't want them to be. It is because our society pushed their boundaries aside, taking over their land due to our greediness. All they are trying to find are places where they can live without any fear and disturbance. After reading this book, I tell myself how true are the contents of this book to how we live in our society now. The imbalance and inequality of the distribution of human power pretty much sums up what the current United States represent as a country. 

    Now that I completed the assumptions assignment, I realize even further that values differentiate greatly between many diverse cultures. Just because your stronger and bigger does not hold the right to control or even kill another just because of differences in appearance or values. These are the many reasons why there are countries that are still at war because they have this totally false assumption that one is better than the other and that they have the right to control another because they look less superior and different. These bias thinking's need serious revisions a even in our modern day, there are bias connections throughout all systems that associate to the human society. 

    This assignment along with the book is a great way to teach young children the understanding that life is precious to anyone, no matter the size and power difference. Just as humans are important in life, so as animals, insects and even objects. Everything all has a meaning and purpose to life. Without trying to understand the true meaning, we as the dominant society on this planet earth should not have the right to do what we assume to be right because in most cases, our decisions impact dearly to other systems that change and evolve at a constant pace. "Educational inequities can be reinforced by policy development and implementation" (Sampson 2019, 175). As long as we have the right mentality and provide meaningful, equitable education for young children, this can be the critical stepping blocks in our continuing survival of mankind. We the adults need to provide the meaningful and nurturing ideas about life and how we can be the role model to teach the young minds of tomorrow. We have already done the damage. Now it is time to recollect our thoughts and guide the positive purposes to the next generations. 

Questions we can continue to ask:

1) Are we able to change someone else's assumption on a certain topic? Explain.

2) Why do we assume something when we clearly know it is not the correct outcome? Explain.

3) How could we provide a meaningful lesson for young children's critical thinking through an assumption?

Critical Policy Analysis through Murals

    We were introduced to four different illustrations of murals but in some way similar in how every painting is associated to the many systems theory that are portrayed into each painting. Our group specifically was assigned to the mural called "Ceasefire," painted by Juana Alicia, as it represents an individual adult male who is holding a leather briefcase and seems to be minding his own business walking through the dense forest during the early morning hours. He is then confronted by four machine guns pointed at the individual while an anonymous person who is shown just holding up both hands is portrayed shielding the individual with just his bare hands. The assignment was to identify and address the potential policy options that is creating the problem and by using critical policy analysis, we would then expose the inconsistencies associated between the illustrated policies identified through the painting.

    The importance of the assignment was to show how systems resembles policies in ways where one way of a certain rule can portray differently to another individual. In the case of the "Ceasefire" mural, we can identify that a certain countries political system has the authority to use firearms (a way to show power) as a way to protect its countries assets and to rule its people however way they see fit. Clearly, the mural portrays independence differently to the people that reside in this country, as the individual illustrated in the painting would do whatever he can to cross paths with the policies that is forcing him to move forward without being shot.

    After reflecting upon the assignment, I ponder the thought of feeling really lucky that I grew up in a country where everyday policies are not governed through violence and conflicts, where the presence of a firearm can change the dynamics of an individual's thought process. I live in a country where I have the freedom and independence to the likes of when I can sleep, when I can wake up, where I can work, what I can eat, what I can wear, where I can walk, where I can live, and where I can learn. Unfortunately, there are too many countries that oversee this, illustrating the strength and monetary differences to hold the right to control another. Depending on which side of the policy that is being comprehended determines outcomes that are beneficial to one and disastrous to another. 

    Now that I completed the assignment related to policy analysis and critical policy analysis, my thinking on policies all relate to the different systems that we are part of. It's obvious that people with power and money make the rules and see fit how one system works to their benefits. In a democratic country like the United States, we still have the freedom to change our systems if the policies associated to that organization doesn't fit into the same beliefs as yours. However, with many aristocratic governments these freedoms are not an option and whether you like it or not, people cannot judge and have the need to live by the policy rules. For example, the private school that I am currently working at constructs these specific policies embedded into their school rules and teachers like myself don't really have the power to overtake the general rules. The school advertises mindfulness and bridges character through individual knowledge from the teachers, but in reality, the school refuses to respect individual opinions when it comes to the creativity in how students should be taught. I believe in the statement that Zera (2002) presents, "by recognizing that change is inherent in all systems, and that change effects further change, all person involved in educational planning for a child must frequently engage in dialogue about their perceptions, evaluate the success of a prescriptive program, and be willing to foster further change with newfound knowledge" (p.20). The inconsistencies are there and I knew from the beginning that it will be a challenge to construct my own thinking into the classroom. I need to earn the trust from my fellow colleagues and together, we can identify the balance point to officially coalition the fair partnership between teachers and the organization. 

    The assignment is a great way to introduce how systems are affected to each other and through our everyday lifestyle. By taking a step back and actually viewing a system from an outside perspective can create a better understanding of how systems that we live in are controlled by implemented policies or how we can maneuver through the policies in ways that we feel fit in our society and through our educational system. As Sampson (2019) states, "educational inequities can be reinforced by policy development and implementation" (p.175). Whether the assignment is dedicated to my son or to my students, I can identify the importance of placing yourself in a system where policy and rules apply, but explore the individual freedom of how to maneuver through the systems so that you don't feel different and lost from the many cultural values that every individual brings to the table. The quote Ewing and Sadler (2020) states, "students making sense of socio-scientific issues will need to recognize that not all questions can be answered by science and that solving problems involves human decisions influenced by ethics and values" (p.20). Making sense and allowing students to exercise these practices would help develop their system thinking.  

    We can continue to raise key questions like how do we introduce an illustration of policy analysis toward young children? What are the advantages and disadvantages when we look at policies associated through different systems from an outside perspective? How do we implement equitable policy through system thinking? In general, recognizing and comprehending the policies associated through its systems would disrupt any confusion to co-exist within that organization. 

References

Ewing, Molly and Sadler, Troy D. "Socio-scientific Issues Instruction: An      interdisciplinary approach to increase relevance and systems thinking." The Science Teacher, November/December 2020. 18-21.

Sampson, Carrie. (2019). "The State Pulled a Fast One on Us": A Critical Policy Analysis of State-Level Policies Affecting English Learners from District-Level Perspectives. Education Policy 2019, Vol. 33 (1), 158-180.

Zera, David Aloyzy. (2002). "What is a System and a System Perspective? Educational Horizons 81 No. 1, The H.W. Wilson Company. 18-20.