Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

    An example of a micro aggression act that I remember is happening to my son while he was in the day care center. When my son turned four, I celebrated his birthday at the center with his friends and teachers. By the time we were about to put out the candles, his teacher made a comment regarding the colors of cake which were one of them is pink. So, his teacher said, Are you girl? My son was about to burst into tears when he heard that comment. Because the teacher noticed that this comment has bothered him, she tried to fix situation by saying that she was just joking.  Upon arriving home, my son told me that he does not want to go to that place again because he believed that his friends would make fun of him. I do believe that his teacher intentionally harm him, and demean his identity in front of his friends.

      This week has really made me realize that microagrressions whether intentionally or unintentionally can hurt people feelings and demean their identity and heritage. I have learned that I need to be more aware when I speak and deal with children and families .Thus, I see that how important is to build strong and effective relationships with families and their children so we can exchange our experiences together and learned from each other. These relationships can play an effective role in helping us not to judge people based on their race, class, religion, or ability.