As teachers, we have the opportunity, nay, the responsibility to impact our students’ lives and learning in a profound way.
This week I have the pleasure of sharing a message that can CHANGE the way students look at what influences their perceptions of the world.
“Change the way students look at what influences their perceptions of the world.”
Wow – what an awesome responsibility.
Today students watched a TED talk given by Chimamanda Adichie, a Nigerian novelist, entitled, “The Danger of a Single Story.”
Her message is that, “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”
This week students will be summarizing Adichie’s claim, analyzing the rhetorical devices she used in her TED talk, and making a connection with her message.
I am really excited to be sharing this with my students – and I know that they are up for the challenge of digging deeper, examining the single stories in their life, and opening their minds to this shift in their thinking.
For anyone interested in reading more on the topic, I encourage you to check out David Brooks’ New York Times Op-Ed on Adichie’s TED Talk – he reiterates Adichie’s message and examines the political ramifications of ‘the single story’.
(Shout-Out to my partner teacher, Mrs. Dobbs, for collaborating on this assignment with me!)
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