(EDUC-6164 Diversity) Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Microaggressions, what are they? Many people like me may not have heard of the term microaggressions, but may be more familiar with what lurks behind the word. Microaggressions refers to, “The times when verbal behaviors create feelings of uncertainty, inferiority or marginalization even though no offense was consciously intended” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Now that you have a meaning behind the word, you might remember a time where you might have observed a microaggression or realized that you have been impacted by one. My growing knowledge of microaggressions made me realize, that I too have been directly impacted by these verbal behaviors. My understanding of what microaggressions are enabled me to remember a time just recently when I witnessed one occurring.

The college that I teach at is very diverse. We have many International students who come to our program to study early childhood education. A big population of our International students come from different countries in Asia such as; China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. During the first few weeks of classes, many of our International students sit together as they share the commonality of coming from another country to study. A few weeks ago just before class was about to begin, a student was talking to this group of students and said, “How are you liking being in Canada? Are you missing your family?” The student responded, “Yes.” Then she said, “Well at least you all speak Chinese, so you can communicate with each other. That must make you feel better.” The student responded, “We all don’t speak Chinese. I am the only one from China, so I am the only one who speaks Chinese.” She then explained that the other students were from other parts of Asia. The student said, “I just thought that you all spoke the same language.” This incident shows how that even though no malice or insult was intended, you could see by the other students’ nonverbal communication that they felt uncomfortable by the hidden message that was, “Every Asian student must be from China and speak Chinese.” From what I know about this student, I know that she would never intentionally or deliberately harm the other students, but the hidden message made these students feel uncomfortable. Listening to this also made me feel uncomfortable as I could sense how this hidden message made these students feel. You could sense their frustration as maybe this was not their first time being impacted by this type of microaggression.

This experience that I shared goes to show that even though people are well intended that stereotypes still do exist. This student may not have even realized that she was basing her information on a stereotype, but reality it was. This student could have also been clouded by her lack of knowledge about Asia and the stereotypes she has learned. She made an assumption about a group of people that could have been based on a generalization based on an assumption regarding a race. We have to be so cognizant of the assumptions that we make that may stem from stereotypes….what we come to realize is that these generalizations are usually incorrect.

Reference

Laureate Education, In., 2011. Microaggressons in everyday life. Retrieved from https://class.walden edu