Fellow colleagues, by the time you read this I will be in Peru visiting my son and daughter in law, and will be very remote at times so I don't know if I will be able to respond. As soon as I get home I will read you posts, as I look forward to learning from all of your experiences. My apologies.
I think the most microaggression I have experienced is in the early childhood field. I feel I am always getting defensive and having to justify it as a viable career and an important part time of a child's and families life. I have heard parents refer a person when we are looking to fill a teaching position; they say "she is a great babysitter, I think she would be perfect for the job." Sometimes I just let it go, other times I try to explain that there is much more that goes into the job than babysitting. Wages for early childhood professionals are very low in comparison to Kindergarten teachers, so when the word "just" is put infront of early childhood the feelings of inadequacy pop up. Because I have been racialized only a few times I can only imagine the oppression felt by ongoing assaults, as Dr. Sue explained it is the accumulative effects that are so damaging.
This causes me to have a sharp ear as well as be impecable with my own words, and speak up so the shift to equality can take place!
Tina,
ReplyDeleteI wish you a fun vacation visiting your family! I have never thought of people disregarding early childhood as a microaggression but you have changed that. Just this week I actually got the opposite kind of reply giving me "props" for taking care of other people's children. This came from a man who had recently re-entered the workforce realizing that being a stay at home parent is the hardest job. Even though he was being polite I still continued on to educate him about what an early childhood professional does (more than just take care of children). It is so easy sometimes to speak before making sure what we say will be offensive or uncomfortable. Because of our own individual experiences, we may not be aware of is a microaggression to others.
Victoria Leming