Tales From the Loft - Avoiding Single Stories
- Patricia Hatch
- 7 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Dear Readers,
With the start of the new year, it was also time to start a new history unit, and as preparation, we had a discussion on single stories. Single stories are the stories our culture supports - our stereotypes, media exposure, and surface assumptions we all tend to make without even realizing we've done such a thing. While single stories are often infused with a thread of truth, they do not tell a complete story, and unfortunately they often leave out the humanity in their telling. A favorite author of mine, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, gave a TED Talk in 2009 that still resonates with students today. I invite you to listen to her wise words.
We have entered the difficult conversation of World War Two and the Holocaust. When we hear such devastating numbers - 6 million - and we hear people divided into categories - German, Nazi, Jew, refugee - we unconsciously fall back on our previous knowledge and assumptions. In order to give credence to the many, many voices we will meet in these few weeks, I first started with Adichie's speech. Students named out loud the single stories of Adichie's experiences. We took inventory of our previous knowledge and assumptions of those involved in the Holocaust and WW2. Then, we asked questions. So many questions.
STUDENT COMMENTS
STUDENT QUESTIONS
This is such a heavy unit study, and yet, what an important one. The multitude of voices offer complexity, courage, cruelty, kindness, etc. They also offer not just the images of perpetrator and victim, but of humanity even in the most inhumane conditions, of resistance, and of survival. Please ask your students about the voices that stand out to them.
Peace,
Ms. Patricia