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My single story on "Finding where home is..."
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I'm in awe with Chimamanda Adichie and her talk. Not only was her speech amazingly articulate, she had a strong persona that I can't put my finger on. She has done an amazing job relaying the importance of how a "single story" is never enough to paint a whole picture. She explains that it is created when people are shown "as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again; and that is what they become." In relation we can imagine the creation of stereotypes, which are more "incomplete" than untrue. Adichie further explains that the consequence of the single story "robs people of dignity" and "it emphasizes how we [as people] are different rather than how we are similar." We don't need to discriminate what we fully do not understand.
Education plays an enormous role in presenting these stories. Through history, even through my own education, we are given a certain perspective, especially when it comes to textbooks. We only see what we are given. When the new age of abundant information is available at our finger tips, we must utilize it to its full potential, access is easy. After seeing this video, I can truly understand how reaching beyond our own comforts can change the world, one perspective at a time, adding up all the diversified stories, balancing out what we thought we knew. We need to be responsible for the information we receive, open to more, and learn to filter through them.
For years and years before, television and radios were our only access to what is "happening." I remember watching TV as a child and never seeing Asians on the screen, it was mostly white people. I also remember thinking how this must be because only white people in North America are good enough for television. I didn't give up looking, and when I started seeing more and more black people and Asians on the screen, I thought, FINALLY. Finally, we matter. We are limited to what they show us.
With all social media, it is still the same. A single story told a certain way. For example, Facebook and Instagram, images and little snippets of someone's personal connection are posted. How it is interpreted can vary if there is no caption, and even then we only know so much. However, we now have links and connections that span beyond what we are given or shown. Therefore, it is so important that as professionals, we are just as articulate in our social media as we are in the classrooms, leading by example. It is critical on how we interact with others across the web, while knowing the importance to share your own story to increase the numbers out there. Finally, we need to teach how life is more than a "single story," and how we must make the effort to look for them.
References:
Adichie, Chimamanda. (2009, October 7). The Danger of a Single Story | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | TED Talks. TED. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg&feature=youtu.be&list=PLbRLdW37G3oMquOaC-HeUIt6CWk-FzaGp
Education plays an enormous role in presenting these stories. Through history, even through my own education, we are given a certain perspective, especially when it comes to textbooks. We only see what we are given. When the new age of abundant information is available at our finger tips, we must utilize it to its full potential, access is easy. After seeing this video, I can truly understand how reaching beyond our own comforts can change the world, one perspective at a time, adding up all the diversified stories, balancing out what we thought we knew. We need to be responsible for the information we receive, open to more, and learn to filter through them.
For years and years before, television and radios were our only access to what is "happening." I remember watching TV as a child and never seeing Asians on the screen, it was mostly white people. I also remember thinking how this must be because only white people in North America are good enough for television. I didn't give up looking, and when I started seeing more and more black people and Asians on the screen, I thought, FINALLY. Finally, we matter. We are limited to what they show us.
With all social media, it is still the same. A single story told a certain way. For example, Facebook and Instagram, images and little snippets of someone's personal connection are posted. How it is interpreted can vary if there is no caption, and even then we only know so much. However, we now have links and connections that span beyond what we are given or shown. Therefore, it is so important that as professionals, we are just as articulate in our social media as we are in the classrooms, leading by example. It is critical on how we interact with others across the web, while knowing the importance to share your own story to increase the numbers out there. Finally, we need to teach how life is more than a "single story," and how we must make the effort to look for them.
References:
Adichie, Chimamanda. (2009, October 7). The Danger of a Single Story | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | TED Talks. TED. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg&feature=youtu.be&list=PLbRLdW37G3oMquOaC-HeUIt6CWk-FzaGp