Awareness of Microaggressions

This observation is one that has happened before,however it also occurred this week. During the school year, I have a hard time getting together with the friends I have from the restaurant I previously worked. When the school year finished, we immediately had a get together and of course they asked about my school year and all.  After talking about the year, one person stated, " I do not know how you teach those kids and work with those parents.  You should start working in a school that is a better fit for you."  This comment has always bothered me, but it really bothered me this week partially due to the discussion from this week. When this comment was made, it made me think about the comments , " those children and parents" and " a better fit for you"  I am a Caucasian and  work in a predominately African American school (Which in my opinion should not really be an issue). I feel the hidden message in this conversation was that teaching African American children was separate and different from teaching other groups of children. I am curious to know how people who say this find it to be "different." Are they implying it is easier, harder or what? It also made me feel that they thought it was not a good fit for me simply because of the difference in skin color.   For those of you that are curious, I responded very calmly stating I love my job and I love my children, that's all that matters. This kind of response usually lead to a change in topic which is best. Of course in my mind I did not want to respond calmly, I wanted to use very "not so nice" words, and have actually avoided her at gatherings since the incident.

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


After looking closely at the conversations with others this week, I feel the biggest effect is that it separate others from each other. Certain comments and how they are perceived can set up a wall between people. More importantly it is similar experiences that can also occur between parents and classroom teacher, co workers, and children. If such a wall develops between these groups it could impact the overall effective education we are trying to provide our children.  This is why I think it is so important to remember a simply saying that many of us teach our children- " Think before you speak!"

Perspectives of Culture and Diversity

For this assignment I selected people who were different from me in at least one way. Each other them provided perspectives  that had some similarities as well as some differences.
The first person I asked was a co-worker of mine, Barbara. She is a veteran teacher who I feel has much more experience in the field than I do. She stated that culture is identifying with a certain group of people based on their traditions, beliefs, and social standards. She felt diversity was the ability to accept differences within the groups and coexist. The next person I ask was my boyfriend who works in the civil engineering. He feels culture includes the way you are raised which is also impacted by the region in which you are raised.. Diversity is the differences between each other. Finally, Abby is a first year social psychologist, and she feels culture is what makes you who you are. It includes everything and the ways a person does something. When she thinks of diversity she pictures the school she works in because it has a very diverse population of students on different academic levels,family styles, and ethnicity which all come together for a common goal.

When I look at the different definitions I received, I immediately thought about the reading from our textbook. Derman-Sparks ( 2010) identified to be everyday and every action which goes right along with what Abby stated. I also thought about the panelists in last weeks video who identified culture as simply being complex. When I asked each person what culture was they simply got stuck, one even stated, " how can I define something so broad and in depth?"

Also, when I look at these definitions I immediately think about the omission of language as a components to culture. In last weeks video, Professor Benavides focused a great deal on how language abilities plays such a major part in our culture. I was surprise to see that no one included this within their definition of culture.

By asking others to define culture and diversity it was interesting to find how some people feel uncomfortable talking about it. Upon asking each person I was first provided a very uneasy look as though they thought there definition would not be right. I also feel like what each person has experienced in their lives impacted their definition greatly. For the veteran teacher, I feel she was most comfortable with answer the question and provided an answer that included her experiences as a teacher. For my boyfriend, he was able to pull from his experience from moving from the North to the South. This is why he included regional differences. My friend Abby, was also able to pull from her experiences as a school psychologist within a particular school.

My Family Culture

Selecting three items I would take to an unknown country was actually more challenging that I originally thought.   The first item I would take would be my Kindle. I know it sounds silly, but part of who I am involves one important component of my family culture which is my faith. I would be able to read the Bible, as well as read many other things that help make up who I am. The second thing I would take with me would be my grandmother's photo albums. These albums provide such a vivid picture into what has shaped my family culture. I would also be a reminder of where I come from regardless of the differences I would see in the other culture. The final possession I would take would be my elephant stuffed animal. This elephant has been the security blanket we have passed down in my family. It was my grandmothers, my moms and now mine.  I would like to keep up this tradition and pass it down when I have children.
   When I first thought of giving two items up, I thought well if I could put all the pictures from my grandmother's album in my Kindle than I would keep that as my top of my list, however I would be giving up the security blanket that was passed down in my family. I would have a very hard time giving up any of these possessions because it was already hard enough to get down to these three.
   Completing this exercise was extremely difficult, but useful because it helped me realize just how much in my life helps make up who I am.