I have done a lot of reflecting on this incident and wonder if I could have done things differently. Ever since this incident, I have been very careful to be aware of and sensitive to the cultural needs of my students. I now send home questionnaires with the parents and ask them specific things about their child and family life in an effort to get to know the families better.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Microagressions
This incident is one I had shared in my reflective journal for this week, but is one that stays with me, so I would like to share it here as well. My very first year of teaching, I was on the receiving end of a microassault. I had just moved from Michigan to Las Vegas and began teaching at a school in a low-income, mainly African American populated school. I was team teaching in a first grade room with another first year teacher who was white, like me. We had a few behavior issues, but, overall, we had a great class. One of our little girls, who was African American, began being defiant and disrespectful. I pulled her over one day to speak to her and try to figure out how I could motivate her again. I asked her what wrong, she looked at me and told me, “My momma told me I don’t have to listen to you white teachers so I’m not going to listen to you.” I did not know what to say, this poor little girl was just trying to do what her mother told her to do. I calmly said, “I apologize you mother feels that way and I will speak to her. For now, I would like for you to sit down and finish your work.” We scheduled a conference with the mother, who admitted she has told her daughter that. The mother said she did not trust us as teachers because we were too young and could not understand where “her people” were coming from. We assured her we wanted what was best for her daughter and would be open-minded with all of our students. The little girl began to participate more and listen better after a while, but it was a struggle all year. This incident is something I will never forget. I was shocked and hurt by the mother’s words to her daughter.
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Leigh,
ReplyDeleteFrom everything you've said, I think you handled the situation beautifully. You were willing to take the risk of speaking with the parent about something you knew would be sensitive!
Leigh,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Teri. You could have easily ignored the child's response as to why she was lot listening and following directions. You could have treated her differently than the rest of the children too. Instead, you did the right thing. You reached out to the parent to try to resolve the problem. Although there was not a true resolution, you had peace of mind I'm sure that you did what you could to make an impact.
I experienced a microassault this week where I was described as "too young" as well. It was hurtful because I have spent a lot of time on my education and the woman who assaulted me was not complimentary with her remark. She basically insinuated that I was not experienced enough to be an effective teacher.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Caitlyn