Why overlook microaffirmations?

A bright light can help you see, but it can also blind you. When I walk around classrooms today, I am more aware than ever of microaggressions. Research and public debate are now shining a light on everyday small slights, snubs, and insults — often unintentional — that target people based solely on group membership, such as their ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. According to psychiatrist Chester Pierce, who coined the term microaggressions, these can be verbal, nonverbal, or even environmental.

But that same research also made me sensitive to what is far less often researched and discussed — namely microaffirmations. These are just as present and potentially just as influential. Instead of narrowly focusing on slights and insults, we should be looking at the whole spectrum of microbehaviors and finding ways to promote the ones that can help us best educate diverse K-12 students.