I think everyone has said something to someone that would be considered a microaggression. 95% of those microaggressions are unintended, while 5% intended. I think the more exposure one has to diverse populations the less frequently one has an accidental slip. It usually comes from a lack of background knowledge about a particular segment of the population.
For middle and high school students, spending a lot of time around their peers can be rough. Some kids have no filter when it comes to microaggressions. How many times have you had to take a student aside and explain to them why they shouldn't have said what they did. It can even be more disturbing when they intended it!
I found those students, who are not deemed attractive by peers or are considered nerds or not fashionable, to be the most frequent targets. Valuing targeted students for their contributions and affording them opportunities to socialize with their favored peers is very important so they won't feel isolated.
Adults need to model behaviors that value all so that our students can see what appropriate interactions look and sound like. In order to do this, we must be sure to think before we speak.
For middle and high school students, spending a lot of time around their peers can be rough. Some kids have no filter when it comes to microaggressions. How many times have you had to take a student aside and explain to them why they shouldn't have said what they did. It can even be more disturbing when they intended it!
I found those students, who are not deemed attractive by peers or are considered nerds or not fashionable, to be the most frequent targets. Valuing targeted students for their contributions and affording them opportunities to socialize with their favored peers is very important so they won't feel isolated.
Adults need to model behaviors that value all so that our students can see what appropriate interactions look and sound like. In order to do this, we must be sure to think before we speak.