Use humor in class that does not rely on race, gender, ability, class, etc. because those jokes are made at the expense of a diverse set of students and create a very unwelcome classroom environment.

  • Racist or sexist jokes are harmful to students of color and women/girl students.

    • Even if a joke seems meaningless or is something everyone knows is true/not true, these jokes make your students a punchline.

  • Create a clear policy that these jokes are not tolerated in your classroom.

    • Allowing these jokes to be told in a classroom creates substantial tension between white students and students of color, as well as men, women, and nonbinary people.

  • Condoning these jokes can also cause students who are already underrepresented in science classrooms to disengage from the content, and feel attacked in the classroom.

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Neftali Dominguez