Thoughts on a Single Story

 

 Danger of a Single Story by Ngozi Chimamanda :

https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story
     

                In Chimamanda Ngozi’s Ted Talk, she talks about her struggle as a writer and an African author, and the different perceptions that people have based on the story they s see. I think as a college student, one thing that I can take from Ngozi’s speech is that we tend to have only one perception of someone or something, and to look beyond that perception and realize that there are more stories than just the one we see. Often when we watch the news we only get one story.  Ngozi described how her first American college roommate’s perception of her was based on the things she had seen about Africa, Africa as a poor, third world country. Which was not how Ngozi grew up at all. By knowing the whole story, and ALL the stories we are able to have a better understanding of not only ourselves but others.
           As a teacher, I think this means to look at our students as individuals, and understand that the way they might act in the classroom is not the only definition of who they are. As a teacher it is our responsibility to not only teach but open up our eyes to the struggles that our students are facing not only inside of the classroom but outside of the classroom too. There’s always something more to it than just what we see, and being aware and open to everyone's stories is a way of helping our students, but also benefitting ourselves. Not to look down on them and pity if they are struggling, but instead we should say, “How can I help you?”and accept some of the humility. Chimamanda reflected on the fact that she only saw the young boy who worked for her family as poor and she could not see his abilities. Let me be a teacher who sees ability in my students and not the things that are holding them back.