EDUC-6164: Practicing Awareness of Microaggression

 

I remember an example of microaggression that I detected a while back. One of my assistants approached one of our parents, who were Gay, telling them how she is impressed by how they send their children to school dressed in coordinated and ironed clothing. Also, she added that she is surprised by how they monitor their children’s behavior and growth. She finished her statement by saying that she is amazed that fathers can raise their children in such sensitive care, and she wished that they could teach the other parents to treat and care for their children the way they do.

I was shocked by her bias and embarrassed as I witnessed the incident. As this microaggression version was unintentional, and my assistant meant to compliment the parents, she offended them. She exposed her personal biases (Laureate Education, 2011) by questioning two fathers’ ability to raise children as heterosexual parents do. That microaggression incident led me to conduct a team meeting, addressing the essential requirements to portray cultural sensitivity. We should think about the implications of our unintentional and invisible bias and reflect upon our conversations with our students and families.

As professional educators, our role is to raise awareness of discrimination, bias, and judgment, as the consequences of microaggression are cumulative and have lasting effects (Laureate Education, 2011). Reading this week’s assigned materials highlighted this vital issue and our role in educating ourselves, colleagues, and staff of practicing microaggressions awareness.

Reference:

Laureate Education (Producer). (, 2011). Microaggression in everyday life (Video file).

Retrieved from: https://class.content.laureate.net/928bc9029b0997e8f6bbdebf36f9807b.html

 

Comments

  1. Kwilson123.wordpress.comNovember 27, 2020 at 2:07 PM

    Your assistant is not alone in her thinking abilities that two fathers can raise their children as heterosexual parents do. While I imagine that this conversation was embarrassing and yet, hilarious, I believe this sort of thinking has people conforming to societal norms. I commend your courage in acknowledging her personal biases through conducting a team meeting to educate others of unconscious discrimination, biases, and judgment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 27, 2020 at 5:00 PM

    Hi Ilana.

    I am so glad you were there to hear the comments that were made to those parents and be ready to address them before it got too out of hand. I understand that your colleague meant no harm, I think we all have moments when we have to reflect and think about what we want to say before we actually say things. Hopefully, the parents weren't too offended and their children were able to remain at your facility. Thank you for sharing and I look forward to sharing further with you throughout this course.

    Andrea

    ReplyDelete
  3. Samantha M. GarciaNovember 29, 2020 at 8:06 AM

    Hello Ilana,
    You handled the situation with at your center with such professionalism. I can't say that I would have even understood that the compliment was a slight against the parent unless it was pointed out. This week has been an eye opening experience for me. I tend to "live in my own world" so to speak, but have certainly noticed how saturated our lives are with microaggressions. One of my daughter's favorite shows, Daniel Tiger on PBS Kids is incredibly proactive in teaching acceptance of others. There is much to learn and teach children and adults.
    Samantha

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dorothy ADecember 2, 2020 at 5:52 PM

    I was embarrassed reading it lol. I think that it is a shame that people try to group behaviors like that. I am sure a lot of parents parent the way they do. I am impressed by how you handled the situation and that was, indeed, professional.

    ReplyDelete

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