Practicing Awareness of Microagressions

This week we have learned about microaggressions.  Micoaggressions, according to Dr. Sue are indignities that occur every day that may be intentional or unintentional and they can be verbal, behavioral or environmental (Laureate Education, 2011). I have a two examples of microaggression that I would like to share.  The first one happened at Target the other day when I was shopping.  Target has a sale on their Del Monte canned vegetables.  This is the time of year I usually stock up on them because they are always the best price around the holiday season, therefore, I was purchasing a large quantity.  The sales person who was working in the area where the vegetables were located said to me, “Gee you are wiping me out!”  My response was “You have plenty more on the shelf over there and a lot up by the registers”.  This employee would not leave well enough alone and he proceeded to make another comment when he saw me checking out.  He said, “You must be buying them for a food drive, right” I responded, “No!” He then said, “No! I guess you are just a family that likes vegetables, lots and lots of vegetables!” At this point, I began ignoring him and continued checking out.  I probably could have ceased the comments by explaining why I was buying so many cans of vegetables, however, I felt that I did not owe him an explanation and the fact that he kept making comments became a little annoying.  I also wonder if it would have been my husband shopping, would the same comment have been made. 

The second comment that I would like to share has happened to me many times over the years, but, more frequently when my children were younger.  When I would go to the store and all five of my children were with me, most of the time someone would say are they all yours or they are not all yours are they?  When I would tell them that they were, they usually would follow up with Wow! You look way too young to have so many children.  This first part of the comment always made me feel like people were thinking down on me for having so many kids.  The second part of the comment did not bother me as I am happy that I look younger than I am to others. 

I believe that both of these situations demonstrated microinsults.  Observing and specifically looking for microaggressions made me realize how easy people tend to discriminate, develop prejudice and or stereotypes against others.  Unfortunately, more often than not, people do not even realize they are hurting the other person.  I am quite positive the man in target was just frustrated as he had an open spot on his shelf that he was going to have to restock.  He probably was not even considering how he was making me feel.  This assignment has made me realize that it is important for me to make sure that I think about what I am going to say, before I say it.  This will help to make sure that my words are not hurtful to others.   

Reference

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

For my assignment this week, I asked four individuals how they would define diversity and culture.   

First person’s definitions:  

Culture to me is a person’s background, history and traditions

Diversity is differences in race, gender, culture, religion and sexuality.

Second person’s definitions:

My definition of culture is knowing about different Countries and how they do things. 

Diversity is the differences between people, how they dress, style their hair, their religion and just being different.

Third person’s definitions:

Culture is the uniqueness of a particular group that distinguishes them from another group such as attitude, beliefs, environment and practices

Diversity is different entities or an eclectic group of something.

Fourth person’s definitions:

Culture is the way a group of people act or believe.

Diversity is a group of people made up of various ethnicities.

After reviewing what the four individuals gave me as their definitions of culture and diversity, I noticed that three of the four defined culture as the reason why a group acts the way that they do. One of the four describes culture as being the individual background history and traditions.  Both are correct, but, I found it interesting that only one looked at it from an individual perspective.  Like Janet Gonzalez-Mena (Laureate Education, 2011) stated, that culture is a set of unconscious rules that tends to govern everything that we do.  The four individuals that I spoke with mentioned good characteristics and some mentioned characteristics that would be under the tip of the iceberg, but, most were closely related to the tip of the iceberg (Laureate Education, 2011).  For example, person number two mentioned knowing how people do things in other countries, this makes me think of the food, costumes and the music they listen too (Laureate Education, 2011).  In my opinion the answers that person number one and number three shared were more from the unconscious level, which would fall on the part of the iceberg we don’t see, known as the unconscious rules that govern us such as attitudes, beliefs, history and person’s background (Laureate Education., 2011).  By thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity, it has made me realize that it appears that many individuals share the same thoughts on what characteristics come into play when we think about culture and diversity.  Further, it made me want to share with the four individuals, the way Janet Gonzalez-Mena explained culture.  As our society continues to become more diverse it is important to understand all aspects of culture in order to ensure that we are providing children with the opportunity to feel welcome, valued and an important part of the early childhood program that they are enrolled in. 

Reference:

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Culture and diversity [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

My Family Culture

If I were faced with the tragedy of having to be evacuated to another country that was unlike my own culture with the possibility of having to stay permanently I would be devastated.  I would, however, be thankful that another country would be willing to host me and my immediate family.  The three things that I would take would be my phone, a form of identification, such as a driver’s license and my favorite blanket. 

The reason I would take my phone is because there are a lot of pictures on it and it is able to connect to a cloud where I can view many more pictures.  Being able to view pictures would keep me connected with other friends and families that I may not see again for a long time or not again.  I chose my driver’s license as I believe that it would be important for other people to be able to identify who I am.  The third thing I would choose would be my favorite blanket as it will help to keep me warm and I have had it for a long time. 

Upon my arrival to the new country, if I were told that I could only keep one item I would be truly devastated, but, I would take a picture of my identification with my phone, so that I would still have a way to identify myself and then I would destroy the identification card.  I would also take a picture of my blanket and then leave it behind hoping that someone will be able to use it and cherish it, like I did.  Please keep in mind that I am only choosing to keep my phone in order to have access to information and pictures that are near and dear to my heart, not so that it can be used for texting or communication, however, if it is successful in working, then I would consider it a plus.  I just believe that it is the best way to be able to keep my memories alive through pictures.  I understand that I face the possibility of the phone breaking, but, I will have everything backed up and pray for the best. 

Through this assignment I have learned that being faced with such a drastic change would be very devastating for me.  I would have many feeling disbelief and I would be very scared leaving what I have always known.  It is also apparent to remember that as an educator, I can never be sure what a family has been through or exactly what they are going through, unless they are willing to share, therefore, it is best not to assume.    For me this assignment re-emphasizes how important it is to acknowledge the diversity that may be present in my early childhood program and why is important to learn about the families in my program.  Learning about the families and valuing their diversity will help to ensure that all children and families feel welcome, respected and have a sense of belonging in the classroom that they are entering each day.