One group has chosen to investigate racism particularly racist bullying in schools. 
 During the practice presentation, it was found the students constantly referred to “Aboriginals”. 

How would you approach a discussion with the students about why that is inappropriate and enabling them to discover the correct terminology? 

The Ted talk by Chimamanda Adichie discusses the impact of Single Stories; that is, using a single (often negative) narrative to describe groups and people particularly those who don’t have the opportunity to tell their stories. This links to practice seen in schools of “patterns of essentialising and inferiorising of student culture and disempowerment of particular groups” (Keddie, 2011, p.14).

Integrating multiple perspectives and cultures in a meaningful way no matter the cultural build-up of the class enables all the students to have access to multiple stories and doing so helps to stop the perpetuation of stereotypes. Adichie says “we must not only seek diverse perspectives, we must also tell our own stories, ones that only we can tell about our own personal experiences.” It is this acknowledgement of the personal story that students and teachers bring to the school that can be built on to develop an inclusive class and school culture where multiple perspectives are considered through understanding and dialogue between students. This is also reaffirmed by Keddie, in that recognising the culture of students, particularly marginalised ones demands a socially critical and transformative approach which acknowledges that knowledge is socially constructed and can be altered and shared through social practice (Keddie, 2011, p.17).

“When we hear the same story over and over again, it becomes the only story we ever believe.” (Adichie, 2009)

 

Keddie, A. (2012). Chapter 2: Removing Barriers in Students’ Lives: An International Perspective on Issues of Justice and Cultural Diversity. In Educating for Diversity and
Social Justice (pp. 13–37). Taylor and Francis.