Stretching Our Thinking

I think this is the third time I have watched this and each time I pick up something new.  I love her reference to reading "American Psycho" and it's too bad Americans are like that.  I also love how she explains that simply turning a story from a different perspective, gives a completely different story - ex: immigration etc. My children are going to Africa in February and I sent them this video.  They will be staying in Cape Town, not Nigeria but such a great video to help them keep things in perspective.  I 

I watched the video "Danger of a Single Story" and there were many pieces that resonated with me, I think the most being: "I've always felt that it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all of the stories of that place and that person. The consequence of a single story is this: it robs people of dignity. It makes out recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similiar." As someone else mentioned, as teachers, we hear many single stories. It is our job to learn more andunderstand more. I love how someone called it "a starting point to have a better understanding." 

The video dives into the profound impact of storytelling on our perceptions of the world and each other.  Drawing from her own experiences growing up in Nigeria and later studying in the United States, Adichie reflects on how she was exposed to Western literature and media that often presented a singular, monolithic view of Africa as a place of poverty, war, and struggle.  These limited narratives not only shaped how others saw her and her homeland but also influenced her own understanding of herself and her identity. 

Adichie recounts instances where she was expected to conform to these narrow stereotypes, such as when her American college roommate expressed surprise at her ability to speak English fluently or when a professor assumed she must have had a difficult upbringing because she was African.  Through these anecdotes, Adichie highlights the danger of reducing complex individuals and cultures to a single story, emphasizing that it leads to misunderstanding, marginalization, and dehumanization. 'She argues that embracing diverse narratives is essential for fostering empathy, understanding, and genuine connection across cultural and societal divides. Ultimately, Adichie calls for a more nuanced and inclusive approach to storytelling, one that acknowledges the multiplicity of human experiences and celebrates the richness of our collective narratives.

I found it fascinating how relevant the message that Chimamanda Adichie sends in this video is to the teaching profession. As I watched this video, I began to think about different types of assumptions I have made about a person that I just met or even a place that I just visited. These assumptions are so unfair, as there is so much more to a person or place then what you might see at the surface. As a teacher, it is so easy to make assumptions about a student based on only one or two things that you know about them. What is difficult is considering all of the different aspects of a student's identity and how they impact their learning environment. This is even harder if the background of the student is one that is unfamiliar to you. Student's background, culture, and identities play a major role in how they act, behave, and learn in the classroom, which is why it is so important as a teacher to make an effort to learn about your student's lives. Asking questions and making an effort to learn about a student's identity not only can mean a lot to them, but also helps you see the bigger picture and adapt your teaching strategies based on each individual's specific needs.

I chose to watch the Ted Talk The Danger of a Single Story. It resonated with me how many single stories I have encountered in my life and how many single stories I have seen others assume are true. Towards the middle of the talk she mentioned how single stories create stereotypes, and that these stereotypes and not necessarily untrue, but they are incomplete. When we take a single story and generalize it to a whole place, person or population it can be so easy to think that we know everything about that place, person or population. I like to think of the single story as a starting place for new learning. Knowing a single story is a starting point to having a better understanding, but it is not enough in learning about a place, person or population. At the end Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says that stories can be used to empower, humanize, and repair, but that stories can also be used to break. The more stories you expose yourself to, the more likely you have to humanize and empower, rather than break. 

I watched The Danger of a Single Story. This story is one that I have watched in the past and each time I watch it I gain an additional perspective that perhaps challenges my thinking based on where I am in my DEI journey. The idea behind us assuming one person's story is every one of that culture's stories is something I am guilty of and overgeneralizing. I think she did a great job of using American Psycho as an analogy. It is so true, we need to remember that literature isn't the full picture and neither is one's story everyone's. 

I chose to watch The Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This resonated with me for a number of reasons. First, it made me consider how many single stories I am experiencing in my own life and that might be portrayed in my classroom. The word that stood out to me the most was authenticity. My thinking has been stretched, and I have begun considering is the experience in my classroom authentic for all students? Are all students represented equally through the elimination of single stories? A quote that really stood out was "Single stories rob people of dignity." Lastly, being a visual learner I really enjoyed the pictures representing what equality looks like. 

I chose The Ted Talk, "The Danger of a Single Story".  This heavily resonated with me throughout her speech.  I think as teachers we hear single stories all the time.  We hear how one teacher had difficulty with a particular student and then we form an opinion on that student without even knowing them or giving them a chance.  I have been guilty of this myself a times during my career.  I think the biggest takeaway is making sure that you form your own opinion by doing your own research.  Don't gauge your thoughts or opinions on what you've read or heard.

I chose to watch The Danger of a Single Story.  I think back to what I have read, watched, and been exposed to when it comes to learning about a new place and it usually has been a single story.  In literature once you have read a story, that one story makes an impression and paints a picture in your brain of how things are.  In reality, there are so many different sides and several different stories for every place in this world.  We need to open our eyes to new people, new experiences, and new places to get the full picture.  As a parent, I would like to be more aware and expose my children to all kinds of literature.  We read so many books already, but I see little diversity in what we read.  Many, many stories are powerful and matter, not just hearing one single story.  

I watched “The Danger of a Single Story.”  In this ted talk Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie discusses the importance of not stereotyping.  She says when you use stereotypes you are not representing all people and they are incomplete stories of individuals.  When someone reads a novel, or children’s book, or even watches the news, we are often given one view of a story and we assume all the people of that nationality are the same based on what we have read or watched.  When we are shown people as one thing over and over, that is what they become.  What resonated with me the most is the beginning of the video she tells her story about writing a book that matched the books she read as a child.  Children need to be exposed to various types of stories where characters are diverse so that we do not give them misconceptions. There are many more opportunities for this now.  There are many stories that teachers can read where their characters can provide the learning opportunity for inclusion and various points of view.  I will now have this in the back of my mind when choosing books to read to my children.