Week 4 - Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Microaggressions is a new term for me however, my experiences with microaggressions are not at all new for me. There are so many instances of this type of behavior in my life that I could probably write a book about them and have a Best Seller as a result! As I thought about a particular instance of Microaggressions that I have recently experienced I remember an instance that could have been considered a stereotype microaggression it has led to great things in my life over the last year. As a full time student, I decided to work part time as a Substitute Teacher so that I could accommodate my class schedule and daughters' school schedules. After graduating in 2012 I began to work more and after establishing a great relationship with one of the teachers I subbed for, she asked me if I would be interested in a long term assignment working for her while she went out on maternity leave. I gladly accepted the challenge and in doing so, I began working full time and was given all of the responsibilities of a teacher which also included lesson planning, meetings and classroom management. Being that this school is a Title 1 school, located in a low income area, there are some challenging dynamics that come with this kind of environment that are not uncommon. The population is predominantly minority where behavior issues are prevalent as well as low parent participation. One day, the Principal of the school came into my classroom and asked to speak with me. When I stepped outside of the door, she began to tell me how impressed she was with the work I was doing with the children and many other great comments about my work ethics and the positive way the students respond to me as a person. The one comment that now sticks out in my mind was this: "You know it takes a special kind of person to work with these type of children." Now, I know for a fact that her statement was coming from a great place within her being that she is also an African American woman however, in thinking more deeply about the statement I can now see that there were some hidden stereotype microagressions in her statement which begs the questions: What "kind" of person is required to work with these "type" of children? Does this means because the children respond to me in a positive manner that she views my character as one that can "relate" to those "type" of children? I know that her intentions were meant to be complimentary because she encouraged me to go in pursuit of a career in teaching Middle School Language Arts and I did just that by receiving my Licensure and she has since hired me on as a teacher! I felt empowered and encouraged to pursue a career that I never thought I was capable of acquiring and to have the Principal see things within me that I didn't see within myself gave me a since of pride. However, I am now more aware of how our statements can have hidden messages of stereotype microaggressions even within our own cultural settings.