Practicing Awareness of Microaggression

It's all too easy, for even the most well-intentioned of us, to help perpetuate other people’s condition. One example of microaggression that I detected this week took place right in the shopping mall. Persons were busy going in and out of stores. From the previous store I had noticed a young man seemingly checking if he had enough money to buy what he needed and he was coming in all the stores I went in. Suddenly I saw two security officers walk up and started searching him. One exclaimed ‘when you see the likes of these you know they want something to steal’. They proceeded to speak of his colour and his dress. I was embarrassed when they began insulting him and a huge crowd gathered looking on. I felt threatened too as I could have been under the same watch as a black person  as this was a racial microaggression.

My observation experience this week affected my perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes on people in that I remembered that we are all people with feelings that can be shattered. Not because I am black and look a little less off than you do does not mean I am a thief. All week long I listened for microaggressions and heard many, but listening for them put me on the defense.  Microaggressions are direct insults to a person, which leaves you feeling excluded, inferior and angry.  Microaggressions are the hidden feelings or stereotypes that people believe about marginalized groups of people.  These feelings are a reality to people that holds them, that is why people can easily insult a race of people unconsciously.  It is important that as educators we deal with these untrue feelings or beliefs about people of different culture or race.  We need to have the same expectations of our children despite their race, nationality, religion or economical status.   It is vital that we maintain a partnership with the families that we serve. Biases cause us to make assumptions about families that are not realistic.  It is important that we deal with each family individually and not put them in the same category in our minds.  Prejudice is thinking that people of the same race or ethnicity are the same.  What I have learned is that stereotypes are false and people should be related to individually.