Resource 1: TedTalk: “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie

 

I was quite pleased when I watched the Ted talk “The danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie. She talked about her many life experiences as an immigrant that held lots of value towards me. She elaborated on how many American’s have a perceived misconception of the life of individuals from other countries. How many Americans believe that all Africans live in forests, wear ripped clothes and are dying from AIDS and starvation. This is not entirely the fault of these Americans because the media only allows us to see the perspective from a stance where they are considered superior than others. The media only shows perspectives from a single story which only creates stereotypes. This in turn makes one story become the only story which shouldn’t be the case since that’s incomplete. For example, I have had an instance at work where a customer of mine asked me where I was from and I had responded that I’m from The Fraser Valley of British Columbia. He thought I misunderstood the question so he asked me again where I’m “actually” to which I responded that I’m from here, British Columbia. This customer had a single story where he perceived that Indo-Canadians have to migrate from India and didn’t realize that we can be born here. He had a misconception that all Indo-Canadians are immigrants and that the “normal” Canadian can’t be of any other colour other than white. Chimamanda’s story had much significance to me because I can relate to her story from experience and find value from her statement that a single story can be potentially dangerous by creating false perceptions of others. As an educator, this resource has made me understand that I must present diverse and accurate information to all my learners. I want to present them with numerous resources that are from the perspectives of diverse writers so they don’t perceive a single story. I strive to diversify my students’ worldview and my own so that there aren’t any perceived misconceptions about others.

Resource 2: TedTalk: “The Language of Being Human Being” by Poet Ali

This TedTalk really made me challenge the way that I think now. Poet Ali talked about how there is more to a language than just communicating through speaking or writing. He elaborated on how a language can also be defined as a system of communication used by a community. What does this mean you may ask? He shares that language is much more than the ones we speak but can be the actions we share as individuals such as laughter. A language can be experiences, emotions or connections we share together. Speaking of connection, the most influential language of all can be love which we all know so well. Poet Ali really opened by eyes by teaching me that there is much more than we think when it comes to language. As a teacher, I must be able to show much more than the traditional language of English when it comes to my students. I need to be able to connect with my students by getting to know them in order to create a comfortable learning environment. I need to able to teach with the right emotions in place to create a safe learning experience. I have to be open minded and willing to explore all these other communication methods rather than just speaking the English language with my students.