Microaggressions

Prior to this course, I would take comments about others in passing and not pay too much attention to them. This week I have reflected upon a couple examples of things I have overheard and have been said to me.






The Canadian
I overheard several people talking in a break room. One of the girls was sharing an incident of meeting a new guy who apparently was also interested in her friend but didn't realize the girls knew each other. The girl telling the story laughed about the situation and follows up with, "What do you expect? He's from Canada. They're just not that smart up there."






In this example, I wonder what the man would have felt if he had overheard this comment or if there were any other people in the break room who were of Canadian descent.






Age and Wisdom
I had a teacher who brought in excellent play based learning experiences and different projects with the kids. Our center has moved to individualized plans written by all staff including the assistants. In trying to work through this change, she shared with me how she has raised six children and they all have done well. She commented on her age and how paperwork wasn't her forte'. She explained that the paperwork was for the younger staff. All she wanted to do was play.






In this example, the judgment is made that only young staff can keep up with the demands of the paperwork. I also saw the correlation that her experience as a mother inadvertently made her a better teacher than the teachers without children. Both assumptions are untrue.






I do see that our society tends to find ways to share how they are better than others. There appears to be a limelight obsession with how great an individual is rather than celebrating the differences that make us who we are.

Diversity and Equity Interviews

I found this week's assignment very insightful and in the process, realized I needed to avoid some touchy items due to my cultural beliefs. I interviewed three of my staff this week on what their ideas of diversity and culture meant to them and the differences. While two of the people I interviewed were newer to the field, one was a veteran teacher who is compassionate about diversity and equity. The veteran teacher shared everything we have learned so far about the differences in surface culture and deep culture. She shared that culture is "everything we are and everything we aren't". To her, diversity is comprised of the differences amongst our characteristics, but she did not feel that special needs traits were included in diversity. I did not understand why she felt this way as a special need could also be considered a social identity. I knew I needed to acknowledge that we felt differently, but also needed to respect her thought process.


Interestingly, the newer staff members I interviewed focused more on the surface traits of culture such as food, clothing, ethnicity, and skin color.  Each of them talked of the differences we possess in socio-economic levels, relationships, and beliefs, but equated that more to the term of diversity.


I had a lengthy conversation with my veteran teacher on the terms which caused me to reflect on some of my own beliefs. She shared with me how she is agnostic and wrote a senior paper on why God should be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. I am a Christian and believe that the government rests upon His shoulders. I wanted to understand why she felt that way and she explained that she learned that God was added to the Pledge to help differentiate children and people on their religious beliefs. It was believed that if they did not say God, they were Communists and would be killed. I had not considered that this was a possibility. We also went on to discuss our country's foundational beliefs. She believes that America is the land of opportunity and freedom and that anyone from any country should be able to make a better life for themselves here. I see her point, but also see the strain that this puts onto our system. I shared that we cannot financially take care of the people who currently live here, but she retorted what if America felt that way when our ancestors came over? We wouldn't be here either. This exercise has made me question my own belief system. I was once the person who thought that culture was only what you can see. I am beginning to understand who much deeper culture actually is.

Three Items

      In all honesty, I struggled with what to chose to bring with me to my fictitious new country. I have read about families who have left their worldly possessions behind to begin a new life in the United States and only had their clothes on their backs. At first, I thought about bring my genealogical research with me as I worked on this project for years and have my roots traced back to the 1700s. I wouldn't want to lose that, but does that represent our family? I was absolutely sure I would take my computer, but with not knowing about electricity and chargers, it may be obsolete in no time.






 I then reflected upon what our daily routines are and life in general and came up with these three items:






1. My Bible - Not knowing what would lie ahead in the new country and what belief system would be instilled, I would find comfort in knowing that God is with us and will help us make sense of the new surroundings. We have recently began attending church on a regular basis and have learned so much over these last few months. I want to continue in our faith walk.




2. Our dog Zoey - We have had her in our family for 4 years. She has had some anxiety issues and we are her rock. She is like having a fourth child. My children believe the sun rises and sets with her and we could never leave her behind. I would hope no one would attempt to eat her.




3. A soccer ball - My husband is an avid fan of soccer and has instilled the love of the game into all of our children. Many nights we head outside just to kick it around.






If I were told I needed to give up 2 items upon arrival, I would be devastated. I do not know how I would chose as each of these items have a huge significance to who my family has become. I'm sure we could improvise with something to make a soccer ball, but giving up my Bible and my dog are out of the question. I sound like a country song!






The exercise this week truly hit home. I felt the connection and loss of identity in reflecting upon what to take and how I would feel if I were forced to give items up. I felt protective of my items as this would be all I would have left of a life once lived. Even now that I have chosen 3 items, I feel anxious about that decision and wonder if something else would have been better. How can we equate our lives to three items? The panelists in our video this week were right....culture is everything of who we are and what we represent (Laureate Educ., Inc., n.d.).


Reference
Laureate Educ., Inc. (n.d.). Family cultures: Dynamic interactions. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_4210478_1%26url%3D