This week I have become aware of microagressions in the form of insulting messages that can be intentional or unintentional. I have found myself considering the ways in which my words could be offensive to other people. My thoughts took me into my classroom with my students. Because I taught 5th graders (the oldest kids in an elementary school), our assistant principal would call down to my classroom every once in awhile and ask for assistance. He would ask for me to send a few students to help him load something or deliver things to classrooms. After studying microaggressions, I recall the fact that I stereotyped by gender and would send my bigger male students to do the job. Many times the girls would ask me why I never picked them to go, and now I realize that this was a type of unintentional microaggression.
My experiences this week have led me to understand that people often show prejudice/discrimination and stereotype against others without realizing it. I am now aware of the microaggression talked about in this week's resources, and I will use the knowledge gained this week throughout my life and career to be sensitive to others when it comes to gender, race, ability, or sexual preference.
Tabitha,
ReplyDeleteAfter the readings I also did a check on how I treat my students differently by gender. For example, one of the readings explained how a teacher greeted her students each morning by expressing how lovely the girls looked in their clothes, and then to the boys she would say that certain blocks or cars were set out. Since then I have become more conscious about how I greet my students in the morning and at other times and try to do it in a way that does not differ because of their gender.