Blog Assignment: Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

At the beginning of this week we were asked to observe our own and other people’s verbal interactions and detect examples of microaggression. In this Blog Assignment, I will share what I experienced and what I learned from my observations.

Assignment:

• Describe at least one example of a microaggression which you detected this week or remember from another time. In what context did the microaggression happen? What did you think and feel when you observed the microaggression or when you found yourself as the target of a microaggression?

This week, I was in the grocery store picking up a few items when I over heard a white couple commenting that it must be food stamp distribution day and how glad they were that people are able to purchase food to live one.  As I looked around, I noticed a black family of 3 children in line that appeared to be a lower socioeconomic class in dress, but as I observed, the mother paid with cash.  She did not respond to the comment but her body language showed disgust and anger.  I feel that whether or not the white couple intended harm is irrelevant, it was in fact very hurtful on a psychological level.  This interaction angered me as well.  I did not speak up, but left the store feeling sad that our society is so oblivious to racial insults and microaggressions. 

  

• In what ways did your observation experiences this week affect your perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people.

I have discovered that I am more observant of discrimination and microaggressions now that i have explored, researched, and learned about not only this type of harmful behavior, but its powerful affects on others.  I can own that I have most certainly been both a contributor and victim of this behavior. I feel that when the insult is unintended, it is most powerful.  Racism (all "isms") exist today on some level.  We are subconsciously carrying on emotions of hate, fear, and nonacceptance.   Once we realize this, we can begin to curve our behaviors and help others learn from mistakes tool. 

Blog Assignment: Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

For this assignment:

Interview three friends/ family members/ acquaintances/ or colleagues including one person who you believe is in some ways culturally different from you…

Record their responses:

Definitions of culture: “Culture is things that enrich our lives, they make us part of a unit (like a family or community), they are defined by geography, they are rich in history, they are when we have opportunities and experiences, they come from the ability to have enriching experiences and they define who we are, culture is our beliefs, thoughts, practices, ways of doing things, how we approach situations, how we interact and make decisions.”  

Definitions of diversity: “Diversity is a product of our culture, diversity is mainly race, age, gender, religion, political affiliation, diversity makes the world interesting and scary to some, fear of the unknown is why there is sometimes little acceptance of diversity, diversity defines who we are- our abilities, too much diversity can be a bad thing.”

Reflection: I chose to interview a fellow early childhood colleague and found her responses similar to what I have studied in this course.  These include how culture is rich and is defined from experiences, and makes us who we are inside.  She also commented that diversity and culture go hand in hand- that knowledge of both are a necessary part in teaching young children respect, tolerance and acceptance.  My elderly family member’s response to culture was passionate about her own and how it defines us, but then her reaction to the definition of diversity was guarded and cautiously answered.  She mentioned that too much diversity makes this world confused on who we are; we lose sight of our culture when it starts mixing with others.  I was taken by her comments, but had to respect her thoughts and understand that her perceptions were due to her childhood and life experiences.  The third person I interviewed was a young parent in our early childhood program.  This parent is also a student at our community college.  He answered the questions with enthusiasm and included that culture and diversity go hand in hand, that we are living in a melting pot of culture and mixing all together slowly.  He mentioned that diversity makes us all definable as different and unique- I liked his statement. 

It is amazing how these responses have influence my thinking about culture and diversity.  I respect all three individuals I interviewed I different ways.  What an interesting assignment. 

EDUC-6164-2 Perspectives on Diversity and Equity Blog Assignment :My Family Culture

Scenario:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

Respond to all of the following:

• A description of the three items you would choose 
• I would take a photo album of my family of several generations (either old fashioned album or electronic), A cookbook with traditional recipes of my culture and ones I hold dear from my family, and my Great-Great-Grandmother's wedding ring.
• How you would explain to others what each of these items means to you 
• I would utilize the cookbook to prepare dishes that represent where I come from, photos to show my family and to teach others of where I come from, and the ring simply represents love, passion, endurance, and resilience of a young woman who came to America at the age of sixteen alone from Czechoslovakia.   
• Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you 
• I would absolutely be devastated, but would hold on to the ring.  This ring represents over 5 generations of woman and my history of where I come from.  The cookbook and photo album are simply material items that remind us of past experiences, interactions, and memories.
• Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise.
• I found it interesting that I am emotionally connected to a ring rather than a photo album or cookbook.  I hold memories of cooking and family members dear to my heart, but the ring represents so much more of my life.... It represents several of my social identities that I have acquired throughout my life.