Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

This week, we were asked to keep an eye out for any instances of microaggression that we might happen to encounter. When I was covering in the classroom this week, one of the staff members went to a student's diaper bag to look for a change of clothes for the student. This particular student keeps a bag full of clothes at the center so that their clothes can be changed if they become messy after meal or other activities. The bag goes home on the weekend so that the dirty clothes can be washed and refilled with clean clothes for the next week. As the teacher was searching for a clean outfit, the teacher noticed that the clothes that were sent home last week to be washed were still sitting in the bag without being cleaned. The teacher looked at another teacher in the classroom and they both rolled their eyes. There have been previous comments made by the teachers about this particular parent because of the parent's seemingly lack of effort to care for the child. This parent is married and both parents work outside of the home. The student has a twin at home who used to be a student in the classroom, but due to health issues, had to be withdrawn from our program. Whenever I have spoken to the parents, they always seem to have the best intentions in mind for their children. When the teachers commented about the child's clothes not being washed, they gave a microinsult toward the family, resulting in the lack of compassion for what the family is going through having to care for twins and work outside of the home to provide for the needs of the family. I try to help my staff recognize the struggles and circumstances that our families are experiencing, but there are times that the staff's actions are reflective of their unconscious beliefs. These actions can be hurtful to our families and result in conflict among our staff and families. I hope that as I continue through this course, I can pass my newly learned knowledge on to my staff so that they can work to become aware of their views and use caution when interacting with our families in order to ensure that they are respectful of our families' cultures.