Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Microaggressions happens when  insulting or  depriving messages, usually unintentional,  are communicated verbally,  creating feelings of uncertainty, inferiority or marginalization.Microaggression can effect a person both positively and negatively and they can cover a broad range of topics from, race, culture, age gender etc...

Due to inclement weather this week I have not been out of the house. The experience I will share with you happened about a week ago during one of my staff meetings. We were in a workshop for beginning teachers. As an icebreaker we had to introduce ourselves to one another, tell what grade-level we were and what college we attended. After we did that we continued to talk about classroom management and what information we had obtained from our perspective colleges. Most of the teachers in the room had went to East Carolina University which is a very popular college in North Carolina. I on the other hand had attended Elizabeth City State University which is a Historically Black college in North Carolina. The director of the meeting was talking where we obtained our degrees from and she made a statement along the lines of this, "well most of us went to an ivy league college where we were taught different strategies for managing classroom management while others of us went to a Unknown low performing school which probably did not have the accurate resources to provide a substantial education. At that point I felt some type of way about her statement because she had basically said going to an HBCU (historically black college) meant that I did not receive a quality education. The director had made a statement that I think was to be intentional and she degraded a race at the sometime.  The reaction in the room were mixed meaning that others had picked up on the statement as well.

After being the target of the microaggression, I came to the realization that  prejudice is still alive, and that discrimination and /or stereotypes of other people are real. I have learned the importance of understating a persons race and ethical background is important. You never know how your comments can affect someone. Microagression can happen to anyone and it would make things a lot better if people would think before they speak. 

Blog Assignment: Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

     Culture/Diversity

When I began my journey of asking people about their definitions of culture and diversity I decided that I would ask a couple co workers and a male friend of mind. One person is Hispanic another African American and the last is an African American Male.

 When I asked my coworker whom is Hispanic her Definition of Culture she replied, “ Values that come from your own family, because each family comes from their own culture. When I asked her about Diversity she replied, “Diversity is when you are different from other people.

When I asked my Coworker is a Female African American woman what her definition of culture is she replied, “Culture is the beliefs or characteristics of a particular group. When I asked her what her definition of Diversity is she replied, “It is being different.”

When I asked my male friend his definition of Culture he replied, “Culture is the combination of the environment you were brought up in and the people you were surrounded by. He explained that Diversity is, “anything that separates people from race, to religion, to social status.

After looking at each person response to their definition of what culture is they all say something about it being related to their own particular families and their environment. After reviewing each person’s definition of Diversity they explain it as being different from other people, but my male friends answer was closet to mind. After everything that I have learned so far this week It seems as if though the answer for the questions are just being looked at from the surface instead of including all people and different categories this is what is being omitted from all of the answers. I learned that culture is respecting diversity and culture of all families.

Since hearing about others people definition of culture it has made me realize how much people do not understand the true important of knowing and understanding what diversity and culture is. Yes I did share some of the same thoughts about culture and diversity and my friends did, but I now understand how important it is for us to respect those cultures of others in order to maintain a welcoming and trust worthy environment

My Family Culture

My Family Culture:

Imagine the following:

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.

 If I were to be faced with something this traumatic happening in my life I would choose to take the following items: a pair of drum sticks, a bible and a Photo album of my family and friends. I would choose these three items because I feel these would be the ones to help me to move on and keep living. The reason I would take a pair of drum sticks is because I am a drummer and I love music. Having my drum stick could help make money in what ever country that I am in. One thing about music is that it is everywhere. I could take anything pots, pans, plastic bottles and make music out of them. To make money I could sing and play whatever creation of a drum set  I come up with. This Could possible allow me to get off my feet. The next thing I said I would take would be a Bible. I was raised in the church and I have learned that God does not put more on you than you can bear. The bible would serve as my sense of spirituality, but having the word will help me to calm me down and to keep me strong through whatever I may be going through. The bible would be what would give me a piece of mind. The final thing that I would take would be a photo album. I would take the album with pictures of my friend and family to help me remember what life was like. It would help me to remember the happy times that I had with the ones that I loved. The picture would be the only thing that would let people know who my family and friends are and where I come from. This would kind of be what would serve as my family history. Being able to have pictures would give me that sense of home and a reason to keep living. If upon arrival I was told that I could only keep one item out of the three that I brought, I think that I would choose the Bible. Having the Bible would keep me on the straight and narrow. The Bible would allow me to keep my faith and to never give up. Even if I am separated from my family I would use the bible to seek understanding and to keep the faith. Even if something were to happen to my family I know that I would get to see them all again in the afterlife. The Bible would help me keep my faith, stay strong, and help see me through all situations.

 Doing this exercise help to realize that culture is deeper than just my own beliefs. I have learned that culture is everywhere around you and you just have to learn to embrace it. Having these scenarios helped to realize how much of my family culture and values are instilled in me.  My family has always taught me that regardless of what you are going through you always keep God first. When thinking about this scenario it made me realize why it is so important to try to understand the different cultures inside of the classroom. You never know how how that person that is not from your culture feels and if you are every put into this situation you would you would end up in a welcoming environment. Understanding culture and diversity will allow you to look at things in a different perspective and learn how to respect and connect with other people.