All people are a product of their cultures, and because of this, everybody, no matter how well intentioned, has preconceptions of others. Many of these are harmless, but some can affect other people’s self-perception, educational and career choices, or even their lives. Acknowledging that we all have biases is a starting point for treating those who are different from us with respect and fairness. While everybody is an individual, we are all human beings with the same basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, and social inclusion.
To understand the biases that we have internalized, it helps to understand the groups that we place ourselves into. What career do we choose? Which social groups, clubs, hobbies, or sports do we gravitate toward, and what sort of people undertake these activities? Which do we avoid? Examining such groups critically can help us understand our own implicit and explicit biases. Everybody’s perspective is not only affected by which groups are chosen, but the social interactions in those groups can also reinforce or attenuate the strengths of those biases.
Although human diversity is sometimes reduced to a number of checkboxes on a form out of administrative necessity, this reflects reality poorly. If you look nature closely, it becomes clear that there is a spectrum of values in nearly all things. Everybody lies on each of those spectra in a unique place, and that is what makes people individuals.
Engaging with Diversity in the Classroom
Student making use of a recreational-grade GPS receiver.
I teach both face-to-face and online undergraduate and postgraduate classes. My intent is to make classes inclusive, stimulating, and fun for all students.
Each type of class highlights different diversity challenges. For face-to-face classes there may individual or intersectional issues of disability, gender, sexual orientation, age, race, ethnicity, culture, language, and religion. In online classes, students have much greater anonymity, so class diversity is less visible, but present nonetheless. Online classes may be more attractive to those people who do not feel comfortable in a traditional classroom, so it may be even more important to be sensitive to diversity issues online.
Diversity extends to learning styles and talents as well. At the beginning of my classes, I mention that there is a place in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for everyone: the analysts, the artists, the detail people, and the dreamers. I encourage all students to learn the course materials to the best of their abilities and to focus on those areas that will help them in their careers. Their strengths and weaknesses will often have a strong influence over what type of GIS specialist they become, and sometimes these lead students in unexpected career directions.
This type of discussion often takes place in the context of one-on-one discussions about solving problems and using different techniques and technologies. One of the great things about GIS is that there are often multiple ways to solve the same problem. Since every person has their own unique combination of abilities, for some students, extra help may be required in the classroom to find the right path and ensure that the learning environment is equitable for all.
Administrative Work
Vancouver Island University is situated on the traditional and unceded lands of the Snuneymuxw people, and the institution has taken an active role in working with First Nations people over the past decade, through the hiring of indigenous elders as advisors, the introduction of free tuition for disadvantaged native scholars, and the hiring of First Nations people into senior management roles. VIU’s inclusive flexibility is something that is working, and I will continue to bring the spirit of this flexibility to my classes, wherever they may be found.
For many years, I was in charge of domestic and international admissions to the Advanced Diploma in GIS Applications program. Domestic student admissions were fairly routine, but international admissions were more involved because of the different educational standards worldwide. When qualifications were in question, I worked to ensure that international applicants were given a fair chance to demonstrate that they were ready for the program.
Working in the Community
The lake at Colliery Dam Park, as viewed from the dam
In 2012, I worked with a community group to challenge a City of Nanaimo decision to remove a dam at Colliery Dam Park, which holds back a lake that is used for swimming by low-income local kids, in particular First Nations children. In the end, a compromise was reached which saw the dam preserved and an auxiliary drainage structure constructed to ensure that the dam remained safe. The lake, to which many people have a strong sense of place attachment (as I showed in my Ph.D. dissertation), will remain in place for future generations to enjoy.
Final Thoughts
Although binaries have their place in science, laws, and grades, most things in the macroscopic world take on one of an infinite number of possible values within a spectrum of possibilities. Though much of European society is based on binary values, a more mature understanding of reality recognizes that a spectrum of values is both natural and acceptable.
History reveals that past relations between dominant and minority ethnic groups have been checkered, and we must all work together to avoid strife between our citizens. Our bonds with our neighbours can be fragile and minorities must be treated with respect and understanding.
As a “nice” Canadian, I like to believe that I treat all people fairly and equally, but the recent Canadian race issues highlighted after the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States shows that such beliefs are part of a national mythology that isn’t entirely correct. Racism happens in this country on a daily basis, and as a privileged white male, I need to work to ensure that less privileged individuals are treated equitably. In practise, this means carefully evaluating my own behaviour and that of students in the classroom and making necessary interventions, to ensure that each student has an equal chance to excel.
We live in challenging times. From the cinders of colonialism, a new culture is rising, shaped by both the terrible mistakes and the successes of the past. Globalization has given us many things that might not have been affordable or possible otherwise, such as rich cultural experiences, smartphones, the internet, and a rising middle class worldwide. It has also caused suffering and inequity for many as economies shift. I maintain hope that we can continue to learn from history and make the future better for everyone on Earth through education, sustainable development, and justice. To do that, we all need to learn and work together with our neighbours, because we are all in this together as a species.