Looking back at my own schooling experience, I realize that it taught me to “read the world” with a Eurocentric view. As a privileged, white person I didn’t see the problem in this learning. However, now I realize and understand the impact this would have had on the students who were maybe not as privileged or who were not the dominant race. Many of the books I read in school were centred around the perspectives of “old, stale, white, men” as Katia would say. We also failed to learn about or even showcase different diversities such as culture, gender, abilities, etc. If we happened to view or learn things in different lenses, it was often for a short period of time or not at all. This type of learning silenced any other perspective of individuals who were deemed as “different” or “not dominant”; it also gave the students the idea that those of “minority” were unimportant and not worth learning about. Learning this way for many years has instilled many biases and lenses in which I view the world as well as may bring into the classroom. In order to work against these biases, as a future educator, I need to understand that the students that walk into my classroom may also have their own biases and perspectives on how they “read the world.” It will be a long, hard journey to remove these views, but as an educator I can try and make it possible through inclusive pedagogy.

After viewing Chimamanda’s Adichie’s TED talk, I realized that I was blind to the “single stories” around me. While in school, I did not notice these instances because I was privileged and did not know any better. However, as I am learning about the dangers of single stories now, I can understand why they are harmful to individuals and groups. One example that I can think of is assuming that ALL students in far way countries were very poor and uneducated. I believed this single story because throughout my schooling experience, we would always raise money for those who were “less fortunate” than us. I carried this picture in my mind that all in other countries were extremely poor and had no desks, no textbooks, no writing supplies, nothing, because of the information we were given for the fundraisers. Of course, this is not the case. However, the narrative that was given to me and the way it was presented made me think otherwise. The truth of white privilege was present and therefore, no other truth or perspective was important or shared. As Chimamanda stated, “the consequence of a single story is this: it robs people of dignity.” This becomes immensely true because if we as individuals immediately believe every single story we hear, the truth becomes lost, and people are seen as lesser than or unequal.