I was the target of a microaggression about 15 years ago when I had first began my career as a research chemist. I was happily settling into my new surroundings and my new office when one of the scientists who was in the next office came over to say hello. I was so excited to meet all of these wonderful, intelligent individuals that I had read so many research papers from. The conversation started out really well. He told me about his work and what his ultimate goals were career wise, it was so interesting, I just wanted hear more. When he was finished talking about himself, he turned the conversation to me and just as I was about tell him about my education, work experience, and what I had hoped to accomplish career wise, he said "whose wife or daughter are you that got you this job?" I thought he was kidding. It got worse. The next comment was , " well your a pretty girl and you don't really fit in with the other chemists here so I just assumed someone must have gotten you the job." At this point, I was a little upset but just tried to look at it not in a bad way, he just didn't know and I was hired to work with a group of all men geochemists. So I assured him that I had a ton of work experience and the education to be qualified for this job and was really excited that I had to a chance to work for such a prominent research institution, it had been my dream as a child. He smiled and told me not to take it the wrong way but being a pretty female, no one was ever going to take my work seriously.....
Well I spent twelve years there, lots of publications, famous studies, and even was part of a documentary that aired on the discovery channel but was always a little intimidated that no matter my contribution to science, there would be those individuals who would judge me based on the fact I was a female in an all men's group. I can't say this was the only time this happened to me during my career as a chemist. Many times when people would meet me they would assume I was the secretary of the scientist I worked for and not actually the person who had developed the scientific method they were there to learn about. I think what was even more uncomfortable was that when this type of situation arose, in many cases that person was there to work in one of the three trace metal laboratories that I managed and when they would meet me through my boss and were told that I was their boss, there was always this little doubt in my mind that certain individuals weren't going to take what I had to teach them seriously and because we worked with dangerous, corrosive chemicals in all of our work, them being safe was my number one priority. And I have to say that on at least two different occassions, we almost had a disasterous situation because someone didn't take me completely seriously and felt that they did not need to follow my safety protocols. I always tried to not let situations like this one bother me but it was a little sad to think that no matter how much work you do, what your accomplishments are, or your education is, certain individuals are going to judge you based on your surface characteristics and not your abilities.
The observation experiences this week enlightened me in regards to how even that certain individuals can be very well intentioned, sometimes what they are not saying or doing is the most damaging. The negative effects of discrimination, predjudice, and stereotypes on the self esteem of the person on the receiving end can be so powerful and long lasting. The sad part is that even the most well intentioned individual without the proper knowledge, professional development, and awareness of culture and diversity can have powerful, damaging effects on an individual without even realizing it. It just reaffirms the notion that continual professional development, education, and awareness in early education is essential.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Perspectives on Diversity and Culture
For this particular assignment, I had the opportunity to ask others what their definition of culture and diversity is and how they feel it is reflected in their everyday lives here in the United States and if there is any aspect of their heritage that they feel cannot be fully expressed here. The first person I chose is actually a good friend of mine named Sally, who is a nurse an is originally from Trinadad, which is a small island off of the coast of South America in the Atlantic Ocean.
She tells me it was beautiful growing up there and their culture was represented in everything they did. For instance what was really exicting to me was that she grew up in what would be considered a palace here with 14 bedrooms! She said she was a nurse by trade, that was very common for women in her culture and along with her sisters and mom made wonderful fiests every night, sewed their own clothes and made purses as well. Everything was about family, the music, the food, religion, and placement in the family. Her dad and brothers did all of the manual labor and women did what she referred to as women's duties and they wore these beautiful outfits with beautiful decoratory jewels on their faces and hair. Diversity is reflected in the different colored jewels and bracelets worn by the different families. Here in the United States, she feels so disconnected from her heritage and looks so forward to her trips to Trinidad every year where as she elaborates, "she feels complete." It made me reflect on our lessons this week on being truly bicultural and feeling like you fit everywhere. This is a much harder task to accomplish then one would think.
The second person I asked is one of the cheering moms, Kathy. She is originally from Puerto Rico and moved here with her husband after they were married. She said that she grew up near the
near the coast of San Juan. When she reflected on her culture and diversity growing up, she said the music is what she missed the most. There were festivals in the streets and muscians randomly happily singing and dancing. I wondered, why are we not so care free here? How magical and uplifting! Her views of culture were much like Sally's in the roles of the members of the family members and how religion and faith played a vital role in their everyday lives where as here in the United States, many American famillies practice religion more on a weekly basis,not all of course but practices such as saying "Grace" while everyone sits together at a meal doesn't happen daily. But she still has to make a full meal at night for her husband and family regardless of all of the activities. That is one aspect of her culture and upbringing she will never lose. She also disclosed some disconnection between her life here and how she was raised and even though her life has many opportunites that were not once available to her and her children, there is still aspects of culture here that she misses. Culture is family and diversity is in you being the most unique individual that you can be in her eyes.
The last person spoke to was one of grandmother's best friends, Vi. My grandmother passed away two years ago and I think about her everyday. Vi reminds me of her in so many ways, the way she dresses, speaks, holds your hand when you talk to her. These are all part of hers and my grandmother's culture from the Azores in Portugal.
The culture where they grew up was very different before they came with their families to the United States. They both lived in small fishing villages and everyone had a garden and grew their own fresh food. The men fished and the women worked in the gardens and cared for the children. Religion was part of everything they did. My grandmother would pray every morning and Vi said she still does too. Culture to her was who you were as a person. It was not just represented in what you looked like but how you cared for people. Embraced others no matter who they were. Being accepting of people and always being willing to lend a hand was part of culture, beliefs that all people deserve generosity, understanding and love was also part of who she was and her diversity she says has come about in adapting to life in the United States. For instance, women who have lost their husbands from where she is from are still expected to wear black all the time and many of her friends, still do but she decided not to after many years. Another difference was many women like my grandmother would never learn to drive, she was an exception. Her diversity was reflected in the ways she lives her life now, which she feels were neccessary in our environment.
She tells me it was beautiful growing up there and their culture was represented in everything they did. For instance what was really exicting to me was that she grew up in what would be considered a palace here with 14 bedrooms! She said she was a nurse by trade, that was very common for women in her culture and along with her sisters and mom made wonderful fiests every night, sewed their own clothes and made purses as well. Everything was about family, the music, the food, religion, and placement in the family. Her dad and brothers did all of the manual labor and women did what she referred to as women's duties and they wore these beautiful outfits with beautiful decoratory jewels on their faces and hair. Diversity is reflected in the different colored jewels and bracelets worn by the different families. Here in the United States, she feels so disconnected from her heritage and looks so forward to her trips to Trinidad every year where as she elaborates, "she feels complete." It made me reflect on our lessons this week on being truly bicultural and feeling like you fit everywhere. This is a much harder task to accomplish then one would think.
The second person I asked is one of the cheering moms, Kathy. She is originally from Puerto Rico and moved here with her husband after they were married. She said that she grew up near the
near the coast of San Juan. When she reflected on her culture and diversity growing up, she said the music is what she missed the most. There were festivals in the streets and muscians randomly happily singing and dancing. I wondered, why are we not so care free here? How magical and uplifting! Her views of culture were much like Sally's in the roles of the members of the family members and how religion and faith played a vital role in their everyday lives where as here in the United States, many American famillies practice religion more on a weekly basis,not all of course but practices such as saying "Grace" while everyone sits together at a meal doesn't happen daily. But she still has to make a full meal at night for her husband and family regardless of all of the activities. That is one aspect of her culture and upbringing she will never lose. She also disclosed some disconnection between her life here and how she was raised and even though her life has many opportunites that were not once available to her and her children, there is still aspects of culture here that she misses. Culture is family and diversity is in you being the most unique individual that you can be in her eyes.
The last person spoke to was one of grandmother's best friends, Vi. My grandmother passed away two years ago and I think about her everyday. Vi reminds me of her in so many ways, the way she dresses, speaks, holds your hand when you talk to her. These are all part of hers and my grandmother's culture from the Azores in Portugal.
The culture where they grew up was very different before they came with their families to the United States. They both lived in small fishing villages and everyone had a garden and grew their own fresh food. The men fished and the women worked in the gardens and cared for the children. Religion was part of everything they did. My grandmother would pray every morning and Vi said she still does too. Culture to her was who you were as a person. It was not just represented in what you looked like but how you cared for people. Embraced others no matter who they were. Being accepting of people and always being willing to lend a hand was part of culture, beliefs that all people deserve generosity, understanding and love was also part of who she was and her diversity she says has come about in adapting to life in the United States. For instance, women who have lost their husbands from where she is from are still expected to wear black all the time and many of her friends, still do but she decided not to after many years. Another difference was many women like my grandmother would never learn to drive, she was an exception. Her diversity was reflected in the ways she lives her life now, which she feels were neccessary in our environment.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
My Family Culture
If I was ever faced with a situation where I could take only minimal items with me representing my family culture, it would be a really tough decision to make. The first item that I would take is my folder containing all of my children's birth certificates and our marriage license. This would signify their heritage and where my children came from if we were ever separated. Another item that I would want to keep with me is the photo album from our wedding that have many family pictures of members of both of our families that are still alive today along with added pictures of our ancestors and the days that all four of our children were born. And the last item that I would take would be my wedding ring and family ring, it may not be a direct representation of my culture but it is a significant heirloom that I hope is passed on to my children the way my grandmother's ring was passed on to me.
I would begin by telling people about the place of my children's births and how each of their names was derived from one of our ancestors. Our oldest, Ashley Nicole, has a name derived from my godchild, the second Abigail Louise, is a name after one of my husband's ancestors, the third Tyler Augustus, is named after my dad whose middle name is also Augustus, his name was especially important because he is the only boy in my family and since the children all carry down my husband's family name of Atwood, it was important that he carried down a part of my dad's family too. And the youngest Allyson Marina was named after my mom representing my Portuguese heritage, which is not easily seen through our last name. The marriage license would represent names and marriages of the ancestors we came from and who we were before we became a family. The family album would give a visual representation of our ancestors that we could share with individuals we meet. And the family ring and wedding ring would serve this purpose as well and give others a glimpse of what it is like to be married in the United States.
If I had to give up any of these items, I would feel an overwhelming sadness about leaving some part of our past and memories behind. I would feel almost disconnected from my own roots even that I know they would be always be in my heart, I would have trouble not having this valuable information not only for myself but for my children not to lose sight of where they came from and who they are.
This exercise has made me realize that even though we think in life that we need so many material items to survive, the reality is that in order not to loose our identities there is is a definitely a few significant items that could be used to tell our story. What I have also realized is that living in a country where there are so many opportunities that in many cases aren't available to individuals in other countries, we are very fortunate. For my ancestors coming here from the Azores, it was for employment, a new way of life, a new beginning, but with all the advantages, the loss they must have suffered from leaving their heritage and roots must have brought forth and overwhelming uncertainty, fear, and sadness.
I would begin by telling people about the place of my children's births and how each of their names was derived from one of our ancestors. Our oldest, Ashley Nicole, has a name derived from my godchild, the second Abigail Louise, is a name after one of my husband's ancestors, the third Tyler Augustus, is named after my dad whose middle name is also Augustus, his name was especially important because he is the only boy in my family and since the children all carry down my husband's family name of Atwood, it was important that he carried down a part of my dad's family too. And the youngest Allyson Marina was named after my mom representing my Portuguese heritage, which is not easily seen through our last name. The marriage license would represent names and marriages of the ancestors we came from and who we were before we became a family. The family album would give a visual representation of our ancestors that we could share with individuals we meet. And the family ring and wedding ring would serve this purpose as well and give others a glimpse of what it is like to be married in the United States.
If I had to give up any of these items, I would feel an overwhelming sadness about leaving some part of our past and memories behind. I would feel almost disconnected from my own roots even that I know they would be always be in my heart, I would have trouble not having this valuable information not only for myself but for my children not to lose sight of where they came from and who they are.
This exercise has made me realize that even though we think in life that we need so many material items to survive, the reality is that in order not to loose our identities there is is a definitely a few significant items that could be used to tell our story. What I have also realized is that living in a country where there are so many opportunities that in many cases aren't available to individuals in other countries, we are very fortunate. For my ancestors coming here from the Azores, it was for employment, a new way of life, a new beginning, but with all the advantages, the loss they must have suffered from leaving their heritage and roots must have brought forth and overwhelming uncertainty, fear, and sadness.
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