Practicing Awareness of Microagressions

Robin C. Miller                                                                                              EDUC 6164

Blog Week 4

            This week we are asked to identify a microaggression that we either recently witnessed or were a target of. I have witnessed the all three racial microaggressions, the microassault, microinsult, and microinvalidation. I witnessed a woman who seemed very frustrated and upset ordering Chinese food at a Chinese food take out restaurant in my neighborhood. The woman behind the counter who spoke very little English did not understand the woman’s order and asked her to repeat it. The woman became very hostile and agitated and began fussing and using profanity. The woman behind the counter apologized but the very irritated woman didn't want an apology and called the woman a, “stupid chink.” This is a form of microassault.

            The woman continued on her rampage with the lady behind the counter saying, “this is America you need to speak English or you need to leave. That’s what’s wrong with society today, we let you chinks in and you take over everything but can’t understand a lick of English.” This is a form of both microinsult and microinvalidation. I consider this a form of microinsult, because the upset woman made the lady behind the counter feel as if her native language is inferior to the English language. I believe that it is also a form of microinvalidation because she made the woman also feel as if her existence in American was meaningless because she did not speak the native tongue of the Americans.

This experience is a form of cultural racism, “cultural racism can be defined as societal beliefs and customs that promote the assumption that the products of a given culture, including the language and traditions of that culture are superior to those of other cultures”( American Psychological Association., 2013). The woman at the store felt as if her cultural language was more superior than hers because of the society she lives in. America is diverse for a reason; it isn't called the melting pot because we are all the same. Natives to our land see it as an opportunity for freedom and new life. Americans need to be open and begin respecting the variety of cultures in which makes our homeland unique.

References

American Psychological Association. (2013). Cultural racism: Conceptualization. Retrieved from                         http://www.health-psych.org/Cultural.cfm

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). "microaggressions in everyday life" [Course Media]. Available from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=/webapps/blackboard/execute/launcher?type=Course&id=_3397499_1&url=

Week 3 - Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Robin C. Miller                                                                                                  EDUC-6164

Blog Week 3

            I asked three of my colleagues who are all culturally different from me by both gender and race to define the terms culture and diversity.

Culture is a person’s family background, roots of their ancestors, where they came from, and their way of life. Diversity is a variety of different things and cultures of people (Personal Communication, 2013).

Culture is something that has been passed down through time that a group of people share. Diversity is a group of people that come from different backgrounds of different races and ethnicities to come together and share a common goal (Personal Communication, 2013).

Culture is the background of one’s heritage, their upbringing (from your beginning—great grandmother, etc), origins, the place where you came from (county), and nationality. Diversity is when all difference is brought together. It is different colors, ages, sex, and backgrounds (Personal Communication, 2013).

My colleagues did a wonderful job defining the terms. The each stated similar aspects of what culture and diversity is. My understanding of culture and diversity was the same at the beginning of the course. My colleagues listed the basic attributes of culture and diversity. They listed only things that can be seen from the outside. For the term culture my colleagues didn’t mention “race, economic status, language abilities, gestures, eye contact, and how you view the world” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). The missing attributes in diversity that were not mentioned are, “religion such as Christianity, and geographic origin such as Africa” (U.S Department of the Interior., n.d). 

My colleague’s definition of these terms made me realize that many people, including myself before this course, only look at the basic outward appearance and characteristics of people when culture and diversity mean so much more and goes so much deeper than that. According to, Louise Deman-Sparks, Julie Benavides, Nahdiah Taylor, culture is defined as characteristics based on everything about yourself such as, beliefs, values, family traditions, and how you view the world (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). The term "diversity" is used broadly to refer to many demographic variables that are not just physical but emotional and social as well (U.S Department of the Interior., n.d). Educators must be aware of the true definitions of these terms in order to provide an anti-bias education for the children and families that we serve.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). 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_3397499_1%26url%3D

U.S Department of the Interior. (n.d). What is diversity?. Retrieved from http://www.doi.gov/pmb/eeo/what-is-diversity.cfm

My Family Culture

Robin C. Miller                                                                                            EDUC-6164

Blog – Week 2

My Family Culture

            If there were ever a major catastrophic event that devastated my country to the point where the government initiated an emergency evacuation that led my family to permanently reside in a foreign country I would bring the following three items that I hold dear to my heart and represents my family’s culture.

1.      The bible

2.      My family Album

3.      A crocheted blanket made by my mother

Each of these items holds a very different and important meaning to my family. The bible represents my family’s faith and religion. It is our instruction, motivation, and inspiration for daily living. The family album represents generations of people that came together to form the wonderful blended family of Miller’s, Rheam’s, Simpson’s, Stallworth’s, Smith’s, and McLaughlin’s that we have today. The crochet blanket represents the hard work, dedication, and love my mother put into making the blanket which resembles me as a woman, mother, daughter, sister, and student today.

If for some reason I was only able to choose one of the three items upon arrival to this new country I would be devastated for each item holds a significant personal and priceless value. But, if I had to choose I would choose the bible. The bible is the first and most important item on my list and it will help my family and I to stay rooted in the word of the Lord and keep our faith.

This exercise has helped me to realize that I need to begin to research my ethnic roots further to bring more traditions and experiences into my family. We come from a very diverse background (Italian, Indian, Irish, German, Dutch, and African American) but, do not fully participate in or understand any of the beliefs, traditions, holidays, and customs other than the common tradition, beliefs, and celebrations of the American culture.