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In her TED talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngoze Adichie presents a powerful argument for diversity in literature. She begins by relating a story from her own childhood, in which the first books she read were by English and American authors and featured the stories of English and American children, so she assumed that all books must be about English and American children. It was not until she read books by African authors that she realized that books could be about African children, as well.
As Adichie notes, readers are at the mercy of the library to which they have access. They are “impressionable and vulnerable,” and if they are presented with only a single story, they are likely to believe that this is the only story. So, the unintended consequence of any book may be that it forms a reader’s only knowledge and reference point about the topics in that book. When a reader’s viewpoint is limited in this way, there is no possibility of understanding the real complexity and diversity that makes up the world. Thus, for readers who know nothing about Africa beyond the stories told in Western literature and on Western television, they are presented only with the negative image of Africa that the West sees and presents. They do not see the side of Africa that Adichie presents in her talk: the middle class Africa with educated citizens and normal families. Single stories create stereotypes, which may be true, but are incomplete. Based upon this analysis, Adichie argues that, as readers/viewers, we must be careful to read and view stories from all sides. This is the only way to avoid the danger of buying into a single story and failing to obtain a three-dimensional picture of the world around us. Adichie also notes the power dynamics that are inherent in the decisions about which stories are told, which books get published, whose words are heard. Those in power get to make these decisions; and those whose stories are never told or heard are left powerless. In Achidie’s words, “stories matter.” In addition to Adichie’s call to be better consumers of literature and media, her argument also raises another argument, one that she does not explicitly address, but that is the logical corollary of what she does say. If we want to avoid stereotypes in our world and encourage true understandings of others, we must provide diverse libraries and we must encourage everyone to delve into the stories of the others who share our planet. In this way, we can destroy the insidious power of stereotypes and begin to build empathy for those of other countries and other cultures. Thomas Markham's essay on Redefining Teachers with a 21st Century Education Story was an insightful article on the past story of education and the possible future story. He argues that teachers have a "story" about what they doing and why they're doing it. And, he advocates for a change from past stories to a new story that fits our modern age.
Along the way, Markham gives one of the best descriptions I've found of the reasons people teach: "If you're a teacher, you have placed yourself in the most enviable, challenging, fulfilling role possible in the 21st century: You are responsible for co-creating a future that no one can imagine, and helping an untested generation of youth navigate unknown waters." This description resonated with me because these are exactly the reasons I've chosen to change careers and become a teacher. Non-teachers seem perplexed by my decision. They don't understand why I've chosen to move to a job that, in their eyes, has less status, lower pay, and worse working conditions. I have had little success convincing such people that this is change that I'm excited and happy about. Paradoxically, I also have difficulty explaining my decision to other teachers, sometimes. They see the negative aspects of their job and wonder why someone would choose to move into the teaching profession if they had other options. Of course, there are also teachers who understand exactly why I am choosing to make this move. They understand that the rewards of the profession may not be monetary or status-based, but that they are real and true, nevertheless. Even with this group, however, I find that we have difficulty articulating the reasons we teach and the rewards that we find in the classroom. So, Markham's straightforward statement that the teaching profession is "the most enviable, challenging, fulfilling role possible" was refreshing and encouraging. With this statement, he articulates exactly the intuitive reasons behind my decision to become a teacher. It is an enviable, challenging, and fulfilling job for me. I love the time I spend in the classroom, and often find myself smiling when I think about it. I treasure the time I spend with students, the times they turn to me for an explanation and listen to what I say, the questions that show they are thinking, and the progress I see over a semester. I look forward to creating relationships with students that help them learn, and am already dreading saying good-bye to my current classes. I want to stay with them and find out how the story ends! Most importantly, I hope that in my new profession, I can help generate the kind of curious and thoughtful students that the world needs. And, I know that my job as a teacher will be an enviable, challenging, and fulfilling job because of all the possibilities my students bring with them. In Grant Wiggins' blog dated October 10, 2014, he set out the thoughts of an anonymous high school teacher who shadowed two high school students for two days. The teacher's thoughts about this experience are valuable reflections for everyone in education. The teacher detailed three "take-away" ideas from the experience: 1) students sit all day, which is exhausting; 2) students sit and passively listen 90% of the time; and 3) teachers often make students feel like a nuisance.
None of these facts should really be surprising to a teacher. After all, we're the ones who engineer the classrooms that look like this. However, it is easy to lose sight of these facts in the daily press to get content into student heads. We start out with good intentions and then realize we've just spent 20 minutes talking to students who completely lost interest after the first 2 minutes. For this reason, I liked the teacher's focus on creating systems that help teachers to modify the bad habits we fall into. Holding herself accountable with a timer, building in breaks, and having the students hold her accountable for sarcastic remarks are all excellent strategies for making change happen. One of the aspects of the article that I found most valuable was the teacher's realization that being a student is harder than we realize. She's correct that just sitting still and listening all day are difficult tasks. I find it torturous to sit through a full day of professional development seminars, and I can't imagine having to do that five days a week for an entire school year. The final part of her "take-aways" was eye-opening, as well. Many teachers adopt a sarcastic, confrontational, or even angry, persona in the classroom; and this is directly at odds with everything research has told us about the need to build relationships with students and make students feel that they are a valuable member of the school community. We must remember that students are people with feelings, and treat them accordingly. It seems to me that our students deserve to see our "best side": the side we sometimes reserve for people we care about or for other adults, the side we show when we are on our best behavior and trying to establish healthy relationships, instead of the side that is trying to establish dominance and power and that engages in manipulative relationships. But, too often, this is not the side that we show in the classroom. We fear losing control and/or we view students (and their advocates) as adversaries, and we create a confrontational, lose-lose atmosphere, in which neither the teacher nor the students can be successful. How much better to create a truly collaborative atmosphere, in which the teacher and students are working together to create a learning experience. |
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