Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

My personal experience with classism has been a lot. When I was a mom of two I was confronted with a lady whose husband made more money than my husband. Her husband also outranked my husband in the military. I found out shortly after meeting her that I was pregnant with my third child. The lady told me that I should have been more careful with getting pregnant because my husband did not make enough money to take care of three children. I was a home care provider at the time and was helping to provide income into the home. The lady did not intend to insult me with her microaggressions. She definitely demonstrated her money and made a point to define her classism with it. I took her comments personally and it really bothered me how she downgraded me and my family all because we did not have as much money as her. I never addressed her comments and never told her how she made me feel. I did not make it a point to hang out with her or to be around her. I believe if she had been cooperative rather than competitive with me then we might have been friends. I also experienced microaggessions when I first started working at Head Start. I was the only white teacher out of 8 classrooms. I was told by another teacher, “You won’t make it here, and the parents won’t accept you.” This was hard for me to understand, why was I different than them, why wouldn’t the parents accept me? I have lived in many different parts of the United States and I have experienced a lot of diversity and microaggressions. I did not realize what microaggessions were, nor did I think about the impact they could have on others. I am far more aware now after this week’s information on microaggressions. We can discriminate, use prejudice words and stereotype people unintentionally with our words. I am far more aware and knowledgeable on the impact and psychological effects of microaggressions. I know how important my communication is with others, especially the families of the children I take care of. I feel that this week’s information on micoagressions better prepares me when talking and listening to parents and children. I am far more aware of how we can discriminate, become or act prejudice and stereotype people with unintentional, verbal microaggressions.