The most blatant example of microaggression I witness this week was made by a principle at the school in which I teach about a four year old child. A parent of one of my students asked to speak to me in regards to foul language her child used at home . When the mother questioned her about such language the child stated that she heard another student in her classroom use this language. I worked with the mom explaining how sorry I was and that I would have a tlak with the entire class about appropriate language.
Later that day I brought the incident to my principles attention. Her respond was “I am not surprised if …… uses such language, you’ve seen that that family, I mean where did all of those kids come from? They look all different. And that dad has been to jail.” My response was … could have heard it from anywhere, her parents are very involved with her and I think she was just making a bad choice. I left her offices feeling sad, embarrassed, offended. I had nine siblings. Does that mean I was allowed to watch inappropriate movies or listen to inappropriate music or use foul language? Not with my parents or one of my elder sisters knowledge!
Lilliane,
ReplyDeleteLet me first say, I love the picture you included in your post. As we study microaggressions we become almost hypersensitive to them. It is not a bad thing to having that sensitivity because it helps us have positive conversations with others. We now have an opportunity to rethink how we talk to others.
Lilliane,
ReplyDeleteThis example really shows how a microaggression can even come from professionals. For you this had to be such an uncomfortable statement. I feel the same way when I hear someone making negative comments about a teen or young parent.
Meredith