Microaggressions

Microaggression is a new term to me.  It is not something that I had ever heard of before yet once learning what it was, I knew what it was- if that makes sense.  A microagression are racial, gender, sexual, or disability related inferiors that people partake in yet often in an unconscious manner (Laureate Education, 2011).  At the time that this occurred, I did not know that it was a microaggression although I knew that it was an act of discrimination.  I wrote about this example in my reflective journal this week.

When I was a childcare center director, I had a few make teachers that worked for me.  One was a preschool teacher, one was a school age teacher and one would float and work in all classrooms.  There were a few different occasions in which families would come in for a tour of the center and when they saw the male teachers, their demeanor would immediately change.  I remember one time I had a mom say to me “Does he actually work here?” When I told her yes that he was actually one of my best teachers she said to me, “Why would a guy want to work with preschoolers? That does not set well with me, we will have to look elsewhere”  This made me so angry and I told her that she was entitled to her opinion and that her family would probably not be a good fit for our program because we do not discriminate against who we hire, we look at experience and qualifications.  Needless to say, I did not hear back from her.

With this type of microaggression, she clearly was using her inferiority to verbalize her opinion on something although she  never came out and said why she would not want her children around a male teacher.  She did not consciously offend the teacher by saying he was some time of child predator, but by not wanting her children in a program with a male teacher, certainly makes the assumption that she is concerned of his true intentions of being a preschool teacher.

Perspectives on Culture and Diversity

I reached out to about 6 people to respond to this assignment.  I have included three responses that I received to the questions-

1. What is your definition of culture?
2. What is your definition of diversity?
3. Do you think they are the same? (I added this question because I use to think they were the same thing)

Response 1: “Culture to me is the collective system of beliefs and morals of a group of people.  Diversity can mean different things, however, in a culture, diversity is a collection of sub-cultures that form together to define a larger culture. I don’t think they are the same but they definitely go together and relate to one another”

Response 2: “My definition of culture… it’s the way of life. It is how nationalities celebrate their heritage and the things they believe in. My definition of diversity… it means being different and understanding that individuals are unique in their styles of race, gender, sexuality, etc. I think they go hand in hand for example cultural diversity”

Response 3: “I think culture is the values and traditions a person is raised with. It comes from your family, country of origin, or local traditions. You can be ethnically one thing and culturally another, like me for example.  I am part black, so people identify me as such. However, my mother was Italian. I was raised in an Italian American family, and culturally I identify with Italians. I really don’t know much about black culture, at all.  I think diversity is the differences among us that come from those various cultures, what makes us different.  I do believe that culture and diversity are similar in that one’s cultural upbringing makes them diverse from others.  There is nothing wrong with diversity; it is who we are as a nation and world”

I think that every response that I received relates to what I have learned in this course so far, as well as what I have learned throughout this entire program.  Especially response #3.  She really makes a great point about what we have learned about surface culture and the point that culture is much deeper and more complex than just what is on the surface (Derman-Sparks & Olsen, 2010).  Response #1 to me feels like a textbook response so I am not sure if that is really what she came up with based on her past experiences and learning but it is definitely related to what I have learned from this course and others.  Response #2 is pretty general and does not go very deep.  It is probably how I would have defined culture a year ago, before starting this program.  I have now grown into a deeper and complex definition (such as response #3).

I do not believe anything is missing from these responses.  They all touch base on some different points and ideas in regards to what I have learned about culture and diversity.  One new concept that I learned about is dominant culture, and no one really talked about that.

One way looking at these responses has influenced my own thinking is that they have verified how much I have learned in this program (and this course).  I found myself relating to the responses that were not as deep and being excited about the responses that were exactly what I was “looking” for when they responded.  I am influenced to learn more and to be able to eventually use my gained knowledge to teach others in the future.

My Family Culture

Wow- this is quite the question and I had to really think long and deeply about what I would bring with me.  The three small items that I would bring with me are my cell phone, my children’s photos albums and a bible.

I would explain to others that in America, cell phones are a major form of communication for us and to stay in touch with our friends and family.  Cell phones allow us to talk to each other, send messages and use social media; which we have become so accustomed to.  I would absolutely want this with me so that I could continue to stay in touch with my loved ones.  I would explain to others that my children’s photo albums are all of our memories of our children and the milestones in their lives.  In America, we love to take pictures and share them with everyone.  We are proud of our children and families.  I would explain that pictures are a very important part of our culture and a memory for us if anything ever happened to our loved ones.  The last thing that I would take is a bible.  I would explain to others that religion is a big part of our family culture and my children even attend catholic school in America.  My family needs our bible so that we can continue to educate our children based on our religious beliefs.

If I was to arrive in the country that I was in and was told that I could now only keep one of my items, I would be visibly upset.  I would need a very valid explanation of why I was not allowed to keep the other two items.  I would feel a little better if I was given a choice of which one item I could keep.  Honestly, I would have to keep my phone.  I would choose this because I would still be able to access pictures that I have of my children, via social media as well I would be able to use the internet ( I am assuming I would maybe have access to this) to gain resources to teach my children about our religion.  If I had no access to the internet, I don’t know what I would do!

One insight I have gained about my family culture, my personal culture and American culture is that we are very dependent on social media, phones, and the internet to communicate and get what we need.  I really do not know what I would do if I did not have my phone.  It is the way I stay in touch with people, send pictures, share memories, etc.  I am assuming that there are many countries that are not like this and of course, as I do not know where I am going yet, my phone may not really be a good choice.  I guess I could always get a new one?  This was a very tough decision to have to make.