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I think stereotypes are always untrue. As an Asian-American I have faced some stereotypes from time to time, and it never feels good, or rings true. Like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says, people are never one story. A stereotype is a generalization that all people with the same skin color are this way, or that way. We understand human beings to be complex individuals with unique characteristics, but when we stereotype we stop seeing people as individual human beings. When we reject stereotypes, we become willing to see all people as full human beings, and I think that is the paradise Adichie was talking about.

I think Adichie's account of her stereotyped view of Fide complements the way she was stereotyped by her American college roommate because it shows all people can succumb to the danger of the single story. It also shows how stereotypes are a way to create difference between those who "hold power" and "the other," as a way to understand one's place in the world in contrast to another and to maintain caste systems. I associate the caste system with India (is this also a stereotype?!), but I think every society creates its own caste system through stereotypes. For example, Adichie's family was one wealthy enough to hire help, and their stereotype of their help is a way to create a difference in their mind between themselves and others. It is also a way to uphold and justify societal economic and power relations if we can fit entire groups of people into a neat story about why things are the way they are. On the other hand, if we reject stereotypes, it might pave the way for a richer and more equitable society.

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When Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche says that to reject the temptation of the single story is to “regain a kind of paradise,” I think what she is describing is a redeemed sense of potential. This paradise is expansive, with room to encompass contradictions as well as compassion. So often these damaging, one-dimensional stories begin as being about a place -- about Nigeria, or Mexico, or America -- but as they are repeated they shift, becoming instead the story of people. Which is treacherous, because, as Adiche says, “show a people as one thing, only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become.”

Adiche describes us as being impressionable and vulnerable when confronted with a story, because all stories come from a position of power. To name something, to confidently describe something, is to perform a kind of mastery over it. This is why it is so important for us to ask our students, again and again, to tell their own stories and see themselves as creators. I was quite struck by this repetition in Achibe’s anecdotes: the people who only had a single story -- Fide and his family, the people of Guadalajara -- were at first not allowed to be makers. It was inconceivable that they would have the creative agency to make a beautiful raffia basket or a plate of perfect, steaming tortillas. Creative self-determination is a powerful antidote to the ignorance of others.

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When Adichie says, “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete,” she is bringing up a very valid and often neglected point: single stories often make that one story the only story. It is just as important to engage with people and their experiences to fully understand what a place or culture is like. Ms. Chimamanda says that the single story definitely creates a stereotype, and robs people of dignity and I fully agree with her because you cannot make judgements or inferences about people, cultures, places that you don't know, or have not been to, without having a plethora of information relating to the topic. How can you be an expert without having done any research? How are you so sure that your stereotype is valid, or even appropriate to say out loud? How can you fully form your opinion when you've heard just one sliver of an experience? Educating people is the key to eliminating stereotypes. Sadly, not all people are on board with keeping an open mind but for the most part I think it's very effective to shed light on  certain topics for  those uninformed individuals.

Ms. Chimamanda also mentions that when we reject a single story, we regain a kind of paradise. This line is so beautifully said. What I think she means by this is to be free of arrogance and that attitude of superiority. It is almost freeing and calming to be an open minded person, being aware and accepting of not knowing EVERYTHING there is to know about everything in the world...and letting others introduce you to completely brand new things you werent aware of. The problem with the single story is that people are being painted in the same color, putting them in a box and labeling them with the same label. Having a single point of view about people and cultures, especially in relationships and literature, is a missed opportunity for people of all different races, and a missed opportunity to have gained quality knowledge is a shame. As educators, I believe it is our duty to holistically accept others as they are, and to be an open book as well. I want students to educate me on their identities and my goal is to let them know that I do not have an implicit bias already, and that I would love to learn more from them as that primary source of information.

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Ms. Adiche spoke beautifully for 30 minutes and made mutliple nuanced points. She said "a single story robs of our dignity. It focuses more on how we are different, and less on how we are similar." As someone who engages in political conversations, I have been trying to preach this to as many people as possible. I wish I had her eloquence. We have stopped listening to each others stories, and I fear the long term consequences of where this road will take us. The ones that stood out to me the most was first about the power element that a single story narrative can have. As the son of a Greek immigrant, I love history. There is a famous historical cliche that I immediately associated with her statement and that was "history is written by the victors." She illustrates this point quite beautifully when she talks about stories of Africa before colonial settlers. There will always be winners and losers in struggles, whatever form those struggles may take shape in. Maybe we need to teach the future generations how to be more gracious winners than history has taught us?

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This is one of my favorite TEDtalks. I remember watching it a couple of years ago and it still sticks with me today. Chimamanda Ngnozi Adiche expresses how crucial it is to get both sides to a story. We as human's tend to just get one story because it is easier that way. Whether it is politics or an idea of a certain country, a single story is easy to follow.
When I was teaching my students last year about Alexander the Great, I had them listen to this Tedtalk because it expresses how in history there are two sides to every story and we should listen to both to get a proper understanding of a situation. Later we did a similar exercise with the Vikings. Students then got to write about what they think happened. It was a great way for students to think about their own bias based on information they have been taught previously or seen.
In my own teaching and working with students, I try to be open-minded but sometimes even I forget that the student have something else going on a home that I might not know about. Talking and engaging with that student is a great way to get their side of the story and stay away from that "danger." It takes more work but overall it's beneficial to everyone because we they view other people as humans and can emphasis with them.

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There are several examples of power dynamics in Chimananda Ngnozi Adiche's TEDTalk. The two that stick out the most being the story about "her houseboy", Fide, and the story of her college roommate. Just as Adiche was unable to imagine Fide's family having the resources to own a beautifully crafted basket, Adeiche's American roommate was unable to fathom that a country within the continent of Africa would have English as one of its official languages. Going through your whole life off of the belief of a single story is to only have one perspective to base your opinion off of. The power dynamics within a single story will always be unequal because only one party's thoughts are being expressed; essentially silencing the other parties.

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I enjoyed the statement about regaining a paradise. It alludes directly to the exchange with Eve and the serpent, where they debate about the purpose of the forbidden fruit. How interesting it is that perceptions, misconceptions and bias have always been forces that are at play when human beings commit huge mistakes. Reconditioning the mindset and attitude about a system or concept will be conducive to making a more informed, meaningful and just reasoning. Trying to amplify and broaden an understanding, as opposed to condensing and simplifying is going to lead to reaching an audience and demographic in a more effective and engaging manner.

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 Chimananda Ngnozi Adiches's TED talk was very moving and truthful.  It is easy to forget that a story is just one side of the polygon.  There are always multiple sides to a story.   

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 Chimananda Ngnozi Adiches's TED talk was very moving and truthful.  It is easy to forget that a story is just one side of the polygon.  There are always multiple sides to a story.   

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I had the privileged of working with a group of plaintiff's from Nigeria on a human rights case. They were from the river state, which is a very rural area. They did only have access to electric in small chunks of time and water is retrieved from a community well. I had so many preconceptions of them before they arrived. Once that got here, (they were in NYC for about a month for pre-trial hearings) it was difficult for me to stop assuming things. The biggest thing for me was my assumption that they would love NYC and the US especially our conveniences. I was wrong they did not like NYC and thought it was ridiculous. I finally got to spend some real time with them and found out, they loved their lives. Yes, the did not have our conveniences but they did have their leisurely life sty le. They though us silly for all our running around and trying to make a buck, etc. Once we spent time together we both realized we only knew one side of each others stories. We had so much more in common, love of music, green or natural spaces, food (although not all agreed on some dishes) etc. Again Ms Adiches so clearly and effectively tells us is, there are many sides to every story. I also really liked how she said points out a Single story really can be dangers for limited and wrong assumptions.

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That was a very powerful video. While watching I laughed and cried. Chimamanda Ngnozi Adichwes tells a story that is really a wake up call how we should look at life in general. Many people never take  the effort to see more then "one story" during their entire lives. Even worst, they are trying to pass that limited mindset towards their children.
There are so many good examples in the story how that single story creates stereotypes that doesn't allow us to understand the full story.
The biggest takeaway for me as future special education teacher was the way the author felt growing up under the influence of the "one storied" English books that were not related to her life. Ms. Adichwes was so surprised when  she discovered African authors and realized that she also could be a character in a book.
That made me think how important are the texts and content we decide to bring in our classrooms. They must tell many different stories and represent most of the students, so they all can feel like they could be a "hero in the book".

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“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but they are incomplete.” is a truly powerful statement and I strongly agree with Ms. Adichie. I believe that every single person, every place, every community has to be looked at as a whole. Yes, some facts might be true, but these are not the only ones that define anyone or anything. Humans are imperfect by nature, and there is no place, country, or community that is perfect. Generalization is a dangerous concept which leads to the existence of “single stories” and stereotypes. I, personally, strive to approach all information from different perspectives and think critically about what I read, hear or see. Words have power and we, as responsible citizens of the world, must be careful when we read, hear or speak them.

Ms. Adichie understood why her college roommate had stereotypes about Africa and Africans because she also had her own about Fide and his family. She understood that these views had been shaped by popular media and the society her roommate grew up in and lived in. The same way her “single story” about Fide and his family had been shaped by her mother, Adichie’s honesty about Fide and her visit to Mexico should be a lesson to all on how to address and confront personal implicit biases and stereotypes. Personally, I did and most probably still have implicit biases in me, even though I was on the receiving end of stereotypes as an immigrant from a war-torn country in the 1990's. It was incomprehensible to me to grasp how people who did not know anything about me or Yugoslavia (even where it is on the globe) felt called upon to feel pity or judge me when they heard where I am from. I didn't judge them or feel hurt in any way because I knew it was a product of what they were  reading, hearing, and seeing in the news. We must realize that all people and places are diverse and have many sides and shades defining them.

As educators, we must first truly know our students well. Students cannot become a “single story” for us. We must form meaningful relationships with them, based on mutual trust and respect if we want to be able to teach them. Only then we will be granted the privilege of teaching them to think effectively and critically about what they are learning, reading, and seeing.

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While watching, Chimamanda Ngnozi Adiche’s TED Talk I could not stop nodding yes and agreeing to what was being said. We all have the habit of basing our perspective or what we only know to be the whole story. I realized I too would incorporate a single story or experience to be my whole perception. I remember growing up thinking that Africa was a whole country and that it was very poor and filled with war. It was drilled in my mind from watching all the feed the children commercials or segments on television.
This ted talk catches ones thoughts and brings you back to all the shocks of finding out that something you thought was not all true but there is a bigger picture. One statement that resonates with me is that a single story creates stereotypes, the stereotypes may be true but they are incomplete. I appreciate that connection and I believe that fits so well with "don't judge a book by its cover". - Tia Farrington

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Storytelling, as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says in “The Danger of a Single Story,” has the power to either break or repair the dignity of a people. Storytelling is a form of power because the stories we read shape our perceptions of others. Through storytelling, writers and speakers have the ability to show us how we, the audience, are like or unlike the people featured in the stories. The author or storyteller has the power to influence how an individual or perhaps an entire society views a community of people or place. Adichie names Rudyard Kipling and John Locke in her TED Talk, noting how they, among others, used the power of storytelling to shape perceptions of Africa and Africans themselves. Authors and storytellers may also do this subconsciously, not necessarily trying to portray a community in only one light, but by nature of only telling ONE story, they leave an incomplete portrayal.

When talking about power and storytelling, it’s important to note who society has given voice to for centuries. Who have been the people granted power to write stories? Who have been the people who have been granted the opportunity to teach, or to learn how to write or tell stories? For centuries, it was white men. Only in recent history have women, BIPOC, and members of the LGBTQ community been granted the same platforms and attention to tell stories. The chance to write or tell a story is the power to shape someone’s entire understanding of a concept, person, or place. It’s so important to remember this as educators, the value of incorporating more than just a “single story” through representative texts, discussions to unpack an author’s perspective, and opportunities for students to reflect on their own identities and experiences separate from that of a storyteller’s.

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When Adichie says “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete”, I believe she is arguing that stereotypes are claims which are based upon a limited perspective. I completely agree with this statement, and will support it with an example of a stereotype: “Black women are ‘rude’”. This belief is derived from an outsider’s perspective of the behavior of Black women; the foundational opinion  behind this stereotype is that Black women should behave differently, especially in reaction to the oppression acted upon their intersectional identities. I’ve heard and witnessed (and even experienced myself, as a mixed race Black woman) individuals tone police, enact micro aggressions, and outright say racist remarks, yet experience shock when called out for their behavior. If more people actually made efforts to understand the plight of Black women, they might realize this “rudeness” is actually an expression of frustration over the numerous ways we are unheard and unsupported.

Storytelling is a form of power in that it is often those who have the privilege and resources to tell stories whose stories are recorded in history. Observe the syllabus of any survey English college course and you will recognize a plethora of works from the canon; most of which were written by straight, white, able-bodied, Christian men. This is partially due to the fact that people of color, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ individuals have been socially, economically, and politically limited which has affected their stories from being recorded despite that these communities’ stories have just as much value of being taught. There have been numerous debates over the content of history classes (from primary to post secondary) regarding Critical Race Theory, for instance, which would allow for students to have a better understanding of the oppression committed against African Americans in this country (which is a crucial element of their stories). The publishing industry has recently been under fire for its lack of diversity, and thus promotion of bias in deciding whose stories are published.

This video illustrates the importance of being willing to evaluate our conceptions about other people. If we are not committed to expanding our mind, then our beliefs will never change and we won’t learn to think beyond our own upbringing, identities, etc. As teachers, it is critical that we are modeling to our students what it looks like to meaningfully explore other perspectives. It is equally important that we do not judge our students based on their backgrounds and limit them to a single story, but instead consider the potential of the whole child.

-Whitney Graham

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Many things from Ngnozi's TED Talk resonated with me. In particular, the ideas that the main problem ins't that stereotypes are untrue, but that they are incomplete. In my experience, whenever repeated and cliche conversations about stereotypes take place, any refutation has been met by "but it's true!", and any denial of this has been met with accusations of shallow political correctness. The refutation that these stereotypes are harmful because they present a single story is a refutation that I wish I had at my disposal prior to watching this video, as that makes a lot of sense. Consideration of the singe story of a people, or even individuals, makes me consider how my thinking may have been conditioned by the popular narrative, always a "single story". In addition, the single story that is being told is from one particular perspective to suit one particular purpose. Acknowledgement of this fact is paramount in understanding people from different perspectives, and is something that I will consider whenever I reflect on my own first takes, biases, and instinctual actions. 

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Many things from Ngnozi's TED Talk resonated with me. In particular, the ideas that the main problem ins't that stereotypes are untrue, but that they are incomplete. In my experience, whenever repeated and cliche conversations about stereotypes take place, any refutation has been met by "but it's true!", and any denial of this has been met with accusations of shallow political correctness. The refutation that these stereotypes are harmful because they present a single story is a refutation that I wish I had at my disposal prior to watching this video, as that makes a lot of sense. Consideration of the singe story of a people, or even individuals, makes me consider how my thinking may have been conditioned by the popular narrative, always a "single story". In addition, the single story that is being told is from one particular perspective to suit one particular purpose. Acknowledgement of this fact is paramount in understanding people from different perspectives, and is something that I will consider whenever I reflect on my own first takes, biases, and instinctual actions. 

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After watching Chimamanda Ngnozi Adiches's TED talk on "The Danger of A Single Story," it made me realize that it's something we've all experienced but never actually thought about or spoke about. This is the true definition of control of power. This is shown in the way history in taught in this country. It's a one sided story written by those in power that want to maintain power by marginalizing the rest. It's important for our youth to learn both sides of the story and determine for themselves what is the truth. Just knowing our country's history helps us decide what side of history we want to create. If the history was written by a Native Americans point of view then Columbus wouldn't even have a holiday. We probably wouldn't have as many racist groups imposing their preconceived, ignorant sense of entitlement, and superiority because history gives them that validation. This is a prime example that the literacy and information we get from and about our history, molds us to be the people we are today and helps us identify what side of the story we want to be on, moving forward. Do we want to be the voice of reason and educate others about different sides of every story? Do we want to spread our knowledge in the hopes of social change? like for example getting more culturally appropriate books in the classroom that tell the other side of the story because they aren't written by a white person but that aligns with our beliefs and not just a white perspective? Or do we just want to sit back and allow history to continue to repeat itself?

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After watching Chimamanda Ngnozi Adiches's TED talk on "The Danger of A Single Story," it made me realize that it's something we've all experienced but never actually thought about or spoke about. This is the true definition of control of power. This is shown in the way history in taught in this country. It's a one sided story written by those in power that want to maintain power by marginalizing the rest. It's important for our youth to learn both sides of the story and determine for themselves what is the truth. Just knowing our country's history helps us decide what side of history we want to create. If the history was written by a Native Americans point of view then Columbus wouldn't even have a holiday. We probably wouldn't have as many racist groups imposing their preconceived, ignorant sense of entitlement, and superiority because history gives them that validation. This is a prime example that the literacy and information we get from and about our history, molds us to be the people we are today and helps us identify what side of the story we want to be on, moving forward. Do we want to be the voice of reason and educate others about different sides of every story? Do we want to spread our knowledge in the hopes of social change? like for example getting more culturally appropriate books in the classroom that tell the other side of the story because they aren't written by a white person but that aligns with our beliefs and not just a white perspective? Or do we just want to sit back and allow history to continue to repeat itself?

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"The Power of a Single Story and Stereotypes".
After watching Chimamanda Ngnozi Adiche’s TED Talk The Danger of a Single Story, I had so many flashbacks. I too am an immigrant student and was faced with similar stereotypical moments she experienced. I migrated from Trinidad and Tobago after graduating high school and came to the United States to further my education. Thinking back, when I was a student in my home country, my writing and reading was mainly about foreigners and their stories. Even our history books focused on colonialism and the so called discoverer Christopher Columbus, who claimed to discover the West Indies and the Americas. I did not see any representation of myself in any of my readings so that had an impact on my writing where I couldn't identify myself with my culture or myself as a black Caribbean person.
When I migrated to the United States and attending college, my classmates felt like they had a need to "teach" things assuming that I don't know about certain types of music etc. My classmates were giving into stereotypical views about immigrants.
Thinking back on my experience as a learner, and the impact of not seeing myself represented in texts, I see the importance of CHRT approach and Disrupt Texts. It is important that students get to see the bigger picture and understand power structures in literature.

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This video connects to learning and teaching in many different ways. One way is in the beginning when Chimamanda Ngnozi Adiche speaks about reading at a young age most of the books being perceived as a certain type of way with certain characters and the books she was reading didn't relate to her at all. In a classroom as future educators it is our job to incorporate Cultural Responsiveness where we choose books that relate to our students to make sure they feel welcomed within the classroom learning environment. With this, I can personally relate in school we used to read books that did not relate to me at all and I used to want lighter hair, eyes and skin it wasnt until I started to read books in college were that all changed. Another thing I took away from this video and applying it to learning is making sure that my students feel welcomed were they come from. Chimamanda Ngnozi Adiche's roomate called her music tribal music which I find very unacceptable because that music is apart of her culture and her culture is apart of her as a person and needs to be respected. Becoming a future educator, it is important that we also get to know our students and take out the time to show them that we do care who they are as a person within a school. This fosters and builds trust and relationships between the teachers and students. - Skye Feinman 

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This video connects to learning and teaching in many different ways. One way is in the beginning when Chimamanda Ngnozi Adiche speaks about reading at a young age most of the books being perceived as a certain type of way with certain characters and the books she was reading didn't relate to her at all. In a classroom as future educators it is our job to incorporate Cultural Responsiveness where we choose books that relate to our students to make sure they feel welcomed within the classroom learning environment. With this, I can personally relate in school we used to read books that did not relate to me at all and I used to want lighter hair, eyes and skin it wasnt until I started to read books in college were that all changed. Another thing I took away from this video and applying it to learning is making sure that my students feel welcomed were they come from. Chimamanda Ngnozi Adiche's roomate called her music tribal music which I find very unacceptable because that music is apart of her culture and her culture is apart of her as a person and needs to be respected. Becoming a future educator, it is important that we also get to know our students and take out the time to show them that we do care who they are as a person within a school. This fosters and builds trust and relationships between the teachers and students. - Skye Feinman 

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After watching Chimamanda Ngnozi Adiche’s TED Talk “The Danger of a Single Story,” I was thinking once more about the way history is taught in the classroom. In particular, the quote “It is impossible to talk about the single story without talking about power,” reminded me of the way that storytelling in history has centered the thoughts and experiences of dominant power structures (white/euro centered/rich) and marginalized every other narrative. Growing up, I did not fully understand that a history book might not be factual. I think it is important to teach that different groups might have different experiences and perspectives on events in history class. One way we can do this is by centering the teaching of primary sources from marginalized groups in our history class.   

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After watching Chimamanda Ngnozi Adiche’s TED Talk “The Danger of a Single Story,” I was thinking once more about the way history is taught in the classroom. In particular, the quote “It is impossible to talk about the single story without talking about power,” reminded me of the way that storytelling in history has centered the thoughts and experiences of dominant power structures (white/euro centered/rich) and marginalized every other narrative. Growing up, I did not fully understand that a history book might not be factual. I think it is important to teach that different groups might have different experiences and perspectives on events in history class. One way we can do this is by centering the teaching of primary sources from marginalized groups in our history class.   

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I have always enjoyed this TED Talk for its candor, I agree with Adichie's statement “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.”  They are incomplete and driven by misconceptions and biases, biases that we are all susceptible too because of context and what we are taught but also what we choose to expose ourselves too. Unfortunately, the result is a generalization of entire families, races, societies etc. Personally, I have also encountered the "you speak English so well" scenario and honestly it made me laugh but it also made me aware of my own stereotypes of Americans thinking that they are all very individualistic and "America-centric". Connecting all of this back to teaching and learning, I think it is important for us to not just educate our students about noticing these stereotypes but also ourselves and having conversations to learn more about different cultures or simply knowing people for who they are without instinctively attaching a stereotype.

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I agree with Adichie when she says, “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.” Only hearing one perspective means that we only understand one perspective and base our opinions on that. If we don’t bother to understand and listen to multiple perspectives, we are limiting our knowledge and we are not getting the whole story. It is kind of like hearing one side of a story and not everyone else’s. It is incomplete and does not give us any overall idea.

Storytelling is a form of power because it allows us to shape the way other people view things and other people. It can strengthen or challenge our opinions and does not always have a negative impact. It sends a message to others whether that message is for the better or for the worse. Furthermore, storytelling can also inspire others to tell their own stories and to take action. Especially when the story is told eloquently and with passion, these stories can move people and make them want to make changes in the world and in themselves. Story telling is very powerful and that is why it is important the single story can be dangerous.

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I've heard of Adichie's novels but never got around to reading them - now that I have heard her speak, I definitely will! Unlike many of my classmates, I haven't seen this video before. I was really captivated by what she was saying, especially her comparison of her view of Fide and his family and her college roommate's view of her. I had a vaguely similar experience in college, but I was the ignorant roommate. I grew up in a fully white community, and she was legitimately the first Black person I had ever had a relationship with. We had an incredible friendship throughout college, but I'm sure in the beginning I had some moments similar to Adichie's roommate where I had heard a single story and assumed it was the way things were. I learned SO much from my college roommate about different perspectives and stories, and it was really interesting to hear Adichie talk about how this affects all of us. Regardless of who we are or where we come from, we are influenced by the stories that we've heard. Even if we think we are the most well-educated, open-minded person, there is always another story to hear. This is something I will absolutely keep in mind while teaching - no matter what I think I know about a subject or my students, there are always more stories that can help shape my thinking.

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I've watched this video so many times and every time I find a new part that I focus on for months on end. The idea that a single story can dispossess an entire people by creating a stereotype as the only narrative of their community/people/country because it flattens their dimension and diversity always blows my mind. When Adiche says this - my brain always goes "of course duh" but I would have never been able to formulate that into words as she has done. By having one narrative it limits the ability for non-community members to see you as multifaceted and having the ability to be more than one thing or having more than one truth simultaneously. I agree with Adiche here because if you've only ever heard or seen evidence that promotes one way of thinking of a group of people you don't see them in their entirety. Essentially what Adiche's roommate did to her (typecast and assume who she was as whole based on the stereotypes she was exposed to) is what Adiche did to Fide and his family. I think her inclusion of this experience highlighted to not just her, but to everyone who has listened to/read this transcript, that anyone can assign any person a single story/narrative. It does not just have to be someone outside of your immediate culture. A single story crosses all current (and evolving) identity borders/labels. Her inclusion of her assumptions of Mexican people and Fide humanized her to the audience - it showed that she too was on the other side and has made mistakes. She created a moment of vulnerability which establishes a bond between her and the audience - essentially making them a unified team. Storytelling is always a form a of power. When you speak something into existence you give it life - as seen in many cultures that only use oral transcription as their form of remembering their history. I think every identity experience has single narratives whether (cultural/ethnic, racial, gender, sexual orientation, belief systems). So anyone can experience being compressed into one story. I have been compressed into one narrative on all of those accounts starting from when I was really young up until recently. When a single narrative/story is rejected we are eliminating the ability to only see people as one dimension - they can regain their multifaceted identity and control their own narrative. By doing this we regain our humanity and that is what paradise is. This connects to teaching and learning because we have to create classroom spaces that all of our students are not just one single story - we must assume they are infinite stories. Our classroom must cherish, praise, and encourage the exploration of all of stories that inhibit who we are simultaneously. It is our moral, professional, and expected responsibility.

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“It is impossible to talk about the single story without talking about power.” You can see this happening all over the country right now in regards to the uproar over “CRT” and states like Texas now passing laws that forbids teachers from telling a history of America that may not portray the dominant culture in the light they wish to see themselves. You can see this in the whitewashing of so much of American history, like Adiche said, starting the story from the bows and arrows rather than the colonial invasion that preceded it. You can see it in the television shows, movies, and news stories that tell consistently one sided views of certain people, and how hard the minority has had to fight in order to not only get their own stories told, but stories that don’t always have to do with the struggles that they’ve been through, but the triumphs, and the ordinariness of their lives as well.
I’ve heard stories about myself and my culture, my people, all of my life. I learned as a teenager that I could never be the main character in a teenage movie, or the love interest, because black girls were never shown in this way in the media at that time. Like Adiche when she was younger, I consumed media that wasn't centered around Black or Spanish people (unless they were the sidekick to the main white character), so I thought that I need to look a certain way (that I would obviously never fully achieve) for people to like me. Or, the stories that I did see about Black people were of those living in urban areas, in the ghetto, doing drugs, or kids who were bad in high school (Gangster’s Paradise, etc), and that was not my experience, so I was always confused as to where I fit in to that narrative. I was afraid to walk around when I moved into my first apartment in Harlem many years ago because of all the news I had watched that portrayed urban areas in NYC as terrible places to live, full of dangerous black men. Little did I know that I would find a rich culture of people who were really no different than me. Obviously these stories are all incomplete, and the black experience does not encompass one story, but finding those other stories as a teenager and even into my early 20s was hard. I am hopeful today because so much more media with different stories of black and brown people are being made that show that our stories are just as meaningful as those of the dominant culture.
Regaining a kind of paradise to me is allowing people to regain their full humanity. The whole of who we are as human beings and all of the ways we are the same and different and that’s what makes the world we live in a beautiful place. When that single story is rejected, what takes its place is the opportunity for learning and growing and gaining a fuller understanding of others. This connects to teaching in that it is our responsibility as teachers to make sure we are offering all different perspectives and views of different cultures and people in our classrooms. Teaching one side of the story does a disservice to our students. We need to connect the stories we share with the backgrounds of our students so they see themselves represented beautifully in the world. We should always be learning what we can to break down stereotypes when we see them.

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“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.” What I believe Adichie means is that when we subscribe to single story stereotypes, we base our understanding about a particular group of people around one typecast idea. As example, Adichie reminisced of a time that she had only the single story of a boy who worked for her family named Fide. Since she only knew that Fide came from a poor family, she was surprised to find out that Fide’s brother was a talented builder. Because she only had a “single-story” view of a Fide’s family, she was surprise to find out they could be talented as well as ashamed that she wasn’t more open minded. Her Tedtalk as a whole would have had a different impact if she did not share her story or experience with Fide and his family. Her admission is evidence that even those who are historically victim’s of stereotypes can perpetuate stereotypes towards others. This video connects to teaching and learning because it highlights the importance of never falling victim to trusting the single-sided story. The children in my teaching community are predominantly underserved. If I take that single sided idea with me into the classroom, I could miss the potentially great things that my students are capable of.

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This is by far my favorite Ted Talk. Adiche is so well spoken and she keeps her audience so engaged. When she says "The single story created stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete." When she says this I think she means that a single story can create such a strong stereotype for a place, race or community. She is so willingness to her story about Fide and Mexico because it creates a connection between her and her audience. She is proving to her audience that she is guilty of this problem too. She was told that Fide was poor and had nothing, her roommate was educated to think Africa was so different from America and people from Africa are poor. Adiche came to learn that Fide's family was good at making baskets and they didn't have "nothing". She did not come to find this out until she went to Fide's house and found out for herself that the stereotype was false. The same thing happened with Adiches college roommate. Until she met Adiche and learned about her and her life back in Africa she had a strong stereotype about Africa and people from Africa. This Ted Talk was extremely interesting and engaging. This video connects to teaching and learning because it emphasizes the importance for getting to know your students for who they are and not for where they've come from.

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I think that Adichie’s talk absolutely strikes home how much power is entailed in storytelling. This is true of literature and fictional stories, as she illustrates with her opening anecdote about how her own first stories as a writer were about white characters who drank ginger beer and talked about the sun coming out because those were all the stories she had read as a child, itself a direct result of English colonialism. And it is equally, if not more, true of the stories we tell that are (supposedly) not fiction – one word for which is the subject I’ve spent years studying and now hope to teach in schools, namely history. It is absolutely one of the things that I would like students to leave any classroom of mine really deeply understanding, that even when we are dealing with facts we still must construct stories about them, that those stories are necessarily told from a certain point of view and can never encompass every possible truth, and that the telling of those stories has everything to do with power - even when the teller may be unaware. I think Adichie illustrates this perfectly by quoting Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti, that “If you want to dispossess a people, the simplest way to do it is to tell their story and start with ‘secondly’” - I feel like almost any modern history lesson could begin with this quote and an example of someone doing exactly that. I hope that through teaching with this lens, students will connect with what they are learning and feel empowered to think about and tell their own stories.

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I have seen this Ted Talk many times before for my undergraduate courses and every time I watch it I get something new out of it. When I was watching it this time, I was struck what Adiche said about the "incompleteness" of stereotypes and how a single story of a community can come to societally define it, if it is told over and over without being challenged. Moreover, these stories are informed and shaped by power, since those in power usually get to write their own stories and see themselves in a plethora of stories. Meanwhile, those who have been marginalized by society tend to get subjected to a single story, which is often not even written by a member of the community. I once had a mentor teacher advise me to "be very careful about which stories you tell about your students, because they will shape your expectations of them and how others perceive them." I have been thinking about this advice a lot while teaching summer school because, on my very first day, a veteran teacher sat us fellows down and gave us a talk about "what teaching in the South Bronx is really like." (I should note that this teacher is not from the South Bronx and does not live there.) Some of the challenges she spoke about on the first day are not necessarily false, however they perpetuated an incomplete story about our students and our school's community. For example, these stories did not highlight the close-knit, supportive neighborhood the school is located in or our kids' brilliance, empathy, hard work, and sense of humor. I think that moving forward as teachers, we need to be ultra-aware of the stories we tell about our students and how things like implicit bias, power, racism, and stereotypes impact these stories. Our students deserve teachers who see them in the fullness of who they are.

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Directions: After watching Chimamanda Ngnozi Adiche’s TED Talk The Danger of a Single Story, create a post and use the below prompts to respond in one-two paragraphs:

1. “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.” What do you think Adichie means here? Do you agree with her? Why or why not?

2. How does Adichie’s account of her stereotyped view of Fide complement the story of her college roommate’s stereotyped view of Adichie herself? Would her talk as a whole have a different impact without the story of Fide and his family?

3. How does Adichie’s willingness to share the story of Fide, and later the story of her visit to Mexico, affect her relationship with her audience—both the people in the room on the day she gave her talk and the much larger audience that would later view the video?

4. “It is impossible to talk about the single story without talking about power.” In what ways is storytelling a form of power?

5. What single stories have you heard about others? About yourself? In what way(s) are these stories incomplete?

6. What do you think Adichie means by saying, at the end, that to reject the single story is to “regain a kind of paradise”? When a single story is rejected as untrue or impossible, what takes its place?

7. How does this video connect to teaching and learning?

Comment on at least one of your classmates' responses, be sure to state your name for each comment!