Ms. Chimamanda Adichie, Nigerian woman talks about growing up middle class. Her father was a professor, her mother was an administrator. Ms. Adichie grew up consuming American and British literature. When she wrote stories, she wrote them mirroring the stories she read.
Seeing people as a “single story” makes us unable to see people as multi-faceted. A single story causes us to lump a group people in a negative way only, which makes us unable to connect with them. It is stereotyping at its worst. Ms. Adichie sums this up as incomplete: “They make one story become the only story.” My connection to someone’s single story happened this past school year, when I subbed for one week. We were having a discussion about how San Diego is multi-cultural, after I had already shared my bi-racial (Filipino/White) heritage. I off-handedly mentioned that my husband was Black and out of the corner of my eye watched a student’s jaw drop down. When I made eye contact with her she asked, “Why?” in a tone which drew my attention. She followed up with, “but … you’re so pretty.” I froze for a moment to digest what she had just said, then took note of the classroom climate. Every other student in the classroom looked appalled, but nobody said a word. Because she was of a different culture and a senior citizen, I was able to move my feelings aside. We had a dialogue. “What is most important when you eat a candy bar?” They understood my analogy and said the wrapper is not important, but what’s inside is. I knew that people’s ideas about race were not as simple as my candy bar analogy, but it did the trick. Other students talked of the importance of love. They understood what I was trying to communicate. Now, I didn’t have enough time to dig deeper. But, I knew from my own experience that racism and colorism are engrained in many cultures. In the Philippines, light skin is an advantage that can help you get the better jobs and marry well. Like in other Asian countries, the more European look is considered beautiful. On the other hand, darker skin is a disadvantage. Ms. Adichie made me more cognizant of the media’s influence. The only way to not have a single story about people is to seek out the other stories. Sadly, these stories don’t often make it to the 10:00 news. Resource Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story | TED ... (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2015.
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From www.twentytwowords.com, we get a hypothetical picture (pardon the pun) of how famous authors would use Instagram if they were living today. It showed how effective pictures, along with hashtags, are in communicating. Comments from other authors added humor to the article.
How can an educator leverage Instragram’s effectiveness? Using technology, such as Instagram, is a way to connect me with educators outside of my city and country. As a teacher I can get resources to improve and share best practices with others. When one connects with other educators/leaders through social media to share best practices curriculum can be transformed. Changing ideas leads to changed practices. As a leader, encouraging teachers to maintain PLNs is a great way for them to get Professional Development and I will need Professional Development myself. Additionally, as some of us are looking at influencing school policy, it’s another way to find out how another teacher somewhere in the U.S. did it. Why reinvent the wheel? There is not a prescribed way to “do” Instagram. You can personalize the pictures to your group of students. A student asks a question in class, you don’t have time to address? After class, find something related to the question and shoot a picture. Want to reinforce an idea, your class seemed to have trouble with? Shoot a picture and attach a catchy phrase. Resource
How does Instagram work as a teaching tool? I am a visual learner and using visuals is critical in teaching beginning ESL students. If I want students to use Instagram for learning, I’d have to model it for them first. Most of us like to see pictures of what is important to us, so I think that this could be a great tool to involve students who are nervous about their English speaking skills. I also can see putting groups together on Instagram projects, like our 7 day project.
Using technology, such as Instagram, is a way to connect me with educators outside of my area. As a teacher I can get resources to improve and share best practices with others. As a leader, encouraging teachers to maintain PLNs is a great way for them to get Professional Development and I will need Professional Development myself. When one connects with other educators/leaders through social media to share best practices curriculum can be transformed. Changing ideas leads to changed practices. Additionally, as some of us are looking at influencing school policy, it is another way to find out how another teacher somewhere in the U.S. did it. Why reinvent the wheel? Since Instagram does not come with a manual, you can personalize the pictures to your group of students. A student asks a question in class, you don’t have time to address? After class, find something related to the question and shoot a picture. Want to reinforce an idea, your class seemed to have trouble with? Shoot a picture and attach a catchy phrase. I'm looking forward to incorporating this social media platform into my teaching this fall. Resource YouTube (Oct. 2, 2012). Instagram I love you. Casey Neistat. Retrieved Aug. 6, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GacoqdKjVyE |