Whether because of implicit bias or the lack of cultural competence, neither educators nor students are exempt from what Dr. Robyn Jackson refers to as “micro-aggressions.”

Every time a child is told that she is “pretty for a dark-skinned girl,” or that “he speaks English well for an immigrant” or that he is “talkative for an Asian kid”; any time a student of color is asked if he plays ball, or is encouraged to rap, or is assumed to be from poverty or a single-parent home; any time a student’s culture is reduced to their food (“You’re from Ethiopia? Oooh, I love Ethiopian food!”) or a stereotype (“I bet your hair is really pretty underneath that head scarf. It’s a shame you never get to show it.”); they are being marginalized.”

Listen to Dr. Robyn Jackson address the relationship between boundaries and microaggressions.

Dr. Jackson says that the very culture of a school can be improved if staff and students alike consider how they might be unintentionally committing daily micro-aggressions.

Author of “Never Work Harder than Your Students” and Founder of Mindsteps Inc., Dr. Robyn Jackson will deliver a plenary session at the School Climate & Culture Forum Las Vegas – click here to Register Now!