Wilson points out that one of the best ways to reduce prejudice is for students of different races and ethnic backgrounds to work together to solve a problem. He calls this cooperative learning. Although much of his work was with older students than the ones we mentor, I believe this technique could be used successfully with elementary children. He found that friendships developed from cooperative learning and academic achievement was higher for these children than the control group.
Using Wilson’s writing technique to change student mindsets, “he asked students to write about a time when they didn’t think they would become friends with a person and they were wrong.” So again, Wilson seems to be on to something. If we want students to overcome negative biases, we need to:
1. Expose them to others of differing racial backgrounds
2. Control the interaction with a specific assignment that challenges students to review established beliefs
3. Have them write about what they discovered.
It occurs to me that Jesus used much of the same techniques when he exposed his disciples to Gentiles. Perhaps we can encourage our schools to pursue such a program with our students.