Connections Quarterly Summer 2020 - Dialogues Across Difference | Page 15

I NT ER R U PTI N G M I C R OAGGRE S S I O N S students responded that she understood why her friend would be upset because the comment implied that these two students were interchangeable and could easily be replaced. As we shared these incidents, my students began to reflect on the moment in the classroom, and on other moments in their lives, moments during which they had both experienced a microaggression or delivered one impacting another person. They made connections, and in doing so, developed a deeper understanding of the world and a more meaningful connection to each other. have about having conversations with children about race (and about any social identifiers): if you name it, it will exist. And, her note, as a person of color, had added dimension to this concern due to the real impact these conversations would have on her child of color and her discomfort with the labels placed on people of color in gen- eral. It was not simply about her child being uncomfortable, but about her child being safe. I was grateful for the note and the trust she had in me to communicate her concerns, and responded by offering more details about the context of the conversation and why, in naming this moment, my goal was to support all of the students, and in particular, the students of color. I shared a number of thoughts, including the following: “I love this community, not because hurtful things don’t happen, but because the teach- ers create intentional spaces to talk about the way the world is and what it can be when we work to fix it.” Throughout the year we have explored what it means to be from a particular racial group. The United States chooses to add racial labels to talk about people who have a shared history. It is not that I agree or disagree about wheth- er it is right, but that I acknowledge it exists. If students are not taught about this history, then they will not be prepared to deal with its implications. For white children, it is important to learn this history, not because they should feel shame, but because it can empower them to be advocates against prejudice just as ___ was for ___ and ___. I love this community, not because hurtful things don’t happen, but because the teachers create intentional spaces to talk about the way the world is and what it can be when we work to fix it. A few days later, in response to the note I wrote to the parents about our conversa- tions regarding microaggressions, the mom of the Asian American student who initially shared his feelings about being misnamed wrote about her concerns regarding our conversations about race, worrying that in naming racism, we would negatively im- pact the classroom community. Her note highlighted a concern that many adults CSEE Connections Continues on page 14 Summer 2020 Page 13