Monday, June 4, 2012

Microaggression this week

This week, I witnessed two instances of prejudice from my supervisor.  Because I have just gotten a new job, my supervisor and I were talking about the applications that were turned in for my old job.  After looking over the resumes, my supervisor shook her head and said, its a shame really, out here in the outlying areas we really have to take the best of the worst.  One of the applicants had their bachelors in child development and another had and AA.  Both had previous early childhood experience.  There was nothing worst about either one of the candidates..  I was insulted for them and for myself, I had worked here in this outlying area for 21 years.  As we looked over another application, I said that the applicant had a B.S. in Human Resources.  My supervisor replied," Yeah, but she did it all online.  You just don't get the same education as you would with other students in a classroom." 
First off, there is nothing deficient or lacking from online universities.  Secondly, when you live 100  miles from the nearest city your educational opportunities are limited as far as classroom options,
In one conversation my supervisor made derogatory comments about the people who live away from cities and people who choose to go to school online. 

Both of which apply to me. 

I felt very marginalized as though I was some how lacking from the people who lived in the city and attended a classroom type university. 
What would have changed this situation is if my supervisor had realized how stereotypical her comments were.  She has never lived in an outlying area, nor has she taken on line classes yet she had made biased ideas about the people who have.

I did not feel that I had the power to correct her, as she is the supervisor and can be very punitive if you go against her.  In a perfect world I would have called her on these comments by informing her that she was describing me in both situations and very negatively at that.

1 comment:

DeWana said...

Stacie,
I have heard people talk about how they don't think that online classes are equal. I have been both on campus and online and both are tough. I also think that both appeal to different people. It is frustrating for people to make assumptions regarding things that they have never experienced and don't want to learn more about.