The
course entitled “Perspective Diversity and Equity” has been very enlightening
and instructive to me.
Prior to this
course, I knew nothing about Microaggressions and was not even aware of half of
the –isms that exist. When I reflect I realise
that my lack of knowledge could be due to the fact that I am part of the dominant
culture in the country that I live in – Jamaica. Therefore, I never had a reason to personally
be exposed to racism, classism or ableisim.
To a lesser degree I have been subject to sexism, but most of my
knowledge in these matters is derived from textbooks or what I may have watched
on the media. Now that I am equipped
with the necessary knowledge, I can and should be more vigilant to ensure that
where prejudice, bias or stereotypes rear their ugly heads, then I can
demonstrate equity and fairness.
One
hope that I have is to live out the words of the song “Heal the World”
but I
would alter the words a little as follows:
Heal
The World
Make
It A Better Place
For
You And For Me
And
The Entire Human Race
There
Are People Dying inside
Because
of the wounds
They have received from the words of others
If
You Care Enough
For
The Living
Make
A Better Place
For
You And For Me
(Michael Jackson, Heal the World)
One
goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field would be for the
formulation and development of short training courses for teachers/educators related
to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice. I believe that a number of teachers in
Jamaica are not exposed to these issues in a fulsome manner in their training programs. Therefore, if short training courses are
offered, which would open their eyes and minds to the curriculum and literature
in existence which is available, it would go a long way in combating the injustices
that exist in classrooms.
When teachers
unwittingly utter racial and gender microaggressions in the presence of young
children, the effects can be long term and damaging. There is a genuine and pressing need to bring
greater awareness and understanding to the manner in which microaggressions
operate, how they manifest themselves, and the available educational strategies
which can be utilised to eliminate them.
No one is immune from being either a perpetrator or a victim of
microaggressions, and at both sides we have to work on eliminating the
microaggressions and healing the victims.
After
a long break, it was great to be back in my online classroom. I would like to thank Professor Tammy Shephard
for her invaluable support and many pointers and comments. Also, I am thanking my classmates especially
those in Group 3 for participating and providing such a wealth of knowledge and
different points of view from which I can learn from.
Have
a wonderful Holiday season
and I hope to “see” you again in the New Year.
Hi Sheryl,
ReplyDeleteYour blog was always so beautiful and well written! I learned from your wisdom and experiences that you shared with us.
I too think that the section on microaggressions was very powerful and life changing. It helped me to assess what I was saying and doing, and make sure this did not occur in the classroom or workplace.
Best wishes and I hope to "see" you in another class!
Kristi
Sheryl
ReplyDeleteI too learned a lot in this class. I was unaware of
Microaggressions and was surprise how others view isms. It is always a pleasure reading your blog.