Battling the Act of Slipping

As human beings we slip; it is completely natural and for the most part, unavoidable. The ways that we slip also depends on how we are raised and those in our community. Stereotypes and Microaggressions are a forms of slipping in which we buy in to unknowingly. I believe that slipping can be tamed and the person that is slipping can learn from it but, I do not believe that slipping can be eliminated completely. Eliminating slipping would be like eliminating human mistakes, which is impossible because humans are not perfect. I am not justifying the act of slipping but, there shall be a lesson to be learned from it.  

If a person was born into a conservative family, it would make sense for that person to slip and have conservative views on the world. If a person was born in a country somewhere where there aren't many people that do not look like them living there, it wouldn't be a surprise if that person slips and says something rascist. But, the classroom that the teachers created in Pratt's writing would be a space where all of the slipping would happen, and the students will learn from that act to better avoid it in the outside world. 

The teachers did not want to create a safe space but, rather a space where the students can makes mistakes, get offended, and learn from these errors. This type of space is what helps students further interact with people of different cultures. By creating a contact zone that will lead to some negative arguments and comments, the teachers are creating a pathway for themselves to step in and correct their students. This contact zone will lead to many incidences of slipping. In a diverse classroom there are going to be liberals, conservatives, whites, blacks, Asians, Latinos, and different genders/sexual orientations. When you take a group of different students that have never been around different students and you force them into a class there is going to be slipping happening all the time.  

I believe that slipping is important because it allows everyone to address the elephant in the room. What I mean by this is that students get to address things that made them feel uncomfortable, confused or things that are controversial.  A diverse group of students that is a contact zone are a perfect example of how slipping is unavoidable. As a result of getting clarifications as to why certain stereotypes and comments are just not acceptable, these students will go out into the world more mindful of these things. I use "mindful" and not say that they will go out into the world completely slip-free because, slipping sometimes happens unconsciously. Slipping is one of things where as humans we have to work on watching what we say about other people. Being in a classroom that works to improve slipping is the early stage of a person being more open-minded about different types of people. In the long run learning about slipping will better improve issues that we have in today's society like, racism, sexism, and homophobia.