It is important as the adults shaping the lives of children, that we acknowledge the implicit bias that we have and pass on to the children.
Psychologist Derald W. Sue defines microaggressions as: "The everyday slights, indignities, put downs, and insults that people of color, woman, LGBT populations or those who are marginalized experiences in their day-to-day interactions with people."
I shared with the students that there is a great book for their age group which explores this topic. Author Jerry Craft wrote the book New Kid to explore the experiences of a young black male switching schools and learning his own implicit bias while handling the biases of others.
When we think about how to mindfully address this topic it is important to remember that we are not working toward creating division but unity. We want to explore experiences, observations, and the ideas that we need to challenge or change.
Dr. Sue when exploring and defining microaggressions created three categories.
1. Microassaults
2. Microinsults
3. Microinvalidation
The above link is a great discussion with college students regarding microaggressions. The instructor reviews the three types and talks with the students regarding their own experiences.
Unfortunately most in a marginalized group will at one time experience a microaggression.
Taking time to educate on what they are can help us overcome our implicit bias and help us notice any microaggressions we have used.
Examples of Microaggressions are:
*Failing to learn how to pronounce someone's name after they have corrected several times
*Assuming a gender
*Using sexist language
*Expecting a single person to represent an entire group of people
*Using inappropriate humor toward: woman, people of color, based on gender identify, or sexual orientation.
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