Photo credit: Creative Commons.
I recently watched a speech on-line by Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who spoke at TEDGlobal in London in 2009 about “The Danger of a Single Story.” (please take 18 minutes to watch the inspiring talk below).
Ms. Adichie spoke about how impressionable people, especially children, are when hearing a story. The invaluable lesson is that, by only hearing a fraction of the truth (whether in the media, in school, or in popular culture), we are creating damaging misrepresentations.
Show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again and that is what they become.
We have all experienced this, and might even be unaware of the line between what we believe to be true and what is actually authentic. As educated adults it is sometimes difficult (but not impossible) to get our news from various sources and perspectives. We can seek out stories on-line, speak with people from both sides, analyze issues using various sources to try to gain understanding of the many angles that compose a subject. But what about children? What is our responsibility as parents and teachers, to assure that we are not developing stereotypes as we teach our kids about the world?
She talks in detail about her home, and how she perceives it and how it is perceived outside of Nigeria. She asks: how are we portraying the continent of Africa to children? [Just as an aside, Ms Adichie briefly mentions her irritation that “Africa” is frequently referred to as if it were a country. How can we minimize and ignore the immense diversity of languages, cultures, and people in 54 different nations– and package them into one single label?] Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie eloquently tell us
“If I had not grown up in Nigeria and if all I knew about Africa were from popular images, I too would think: that Africa was a place of beautiful landscapes, beautiful animals, and incomprehensible people fighting senseless wars, dying of poverty and AIDS, unable to speak for themselves, and waiting to be saved by a kind, white foreigner.”
How many of us hold the same definitions and images as our story of “Africa?” Are these the sole images and lessons that we are giving our children about Africa? As Ms. Adichie articulates so well, the problem with focusing on pitying the catastrophes is that we have “no possibility of a connection as human equals.”
Children need to hear different stories- not just about Africa, but Latin America, and Asia. Search out literature that identifies individual stories from specific countries (instead of attempting to represent an entire continent). Talk about the differences between rural and urban areas, the existence of rich, poor and middle classes around the world, and the diversity within countries. Watch movies from other countries to see how they portray aspects of their culture. Talk to kids about stereotypes presented in Hollywood movies (see this great video on Hollywood films’ misrepresentation of African males). Reach out to neighbors from other countries, or kids who are new to the school and unfamiliar with the community. Vary the experiences your kids get from different culture, some days focusing on unique celebrations or recipes or where people live. Other times, talk about commonalities that their peers around the world enjoy: love from their family, playing with friends, music, games. By making sure our kids hear different stories and perspectives about other countries and cultures, we are shaping their view and not limiting them to a single stereotype. As Ms. Adichie said,
“Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of the people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.”
What are more ways we can expose our children to many different perspectives and stories? How can we show them that there are many pieces that come together to form a national identity? What can parents and teachers to do avoid cultural stereotypes? Join in the conversation- leave a comment and share with others tips and suggestions.
* Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria in 1977, and grew up in a university town called Nsukka. She graduated summa cum laude from Eastern Connecticut State in the US with a degree in Communication and Political Science. She also has a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from John Hopkins and a Master’s degree in African Studies from Yale.
Such an important post. Thank you for sharing it. I love your ideas. Another great way to expose kids to a wider story is to participate in international school to school exchanges. Growing up we were often a host family for international students and those experiences really widened my world view. I also had the opportunity to travel to Mexico when I was eleven as part of an exchange and live with a host family for three weeks. That was when I was bitten by the travel bug! Even if traveling abroad isn’t an option, becoming a host family for few weeks can offer countless opportunities to learn about another culture and make that human connection.
I love that idea! We are currently hosting an exchange student for the academic year- she leaves in a couple of weeks. We were doubly lucky because she is both Ethiopian AND Norwegian, her family having immigrated from ET to Norway. So we get to eat Norwegian pancakes in the morning and injera with wot for dinner;).
PS- I would love for my kids to go an exchange- how cool that you went when you were 11!? That’s awesome! I didn’t know they had programs for kids that young!
Lovely post. I know that they are not acurate either, but I enjoy watching travel shows to get a “sunnier” look at other cultures. They don’t typically go very deep into the complexities of different places but they do tend to show that all peoples have exciting and interesting things to share with the world. For example, if you only watched the news you would only ever get a narrow vision of the Middle East as a violent place with a punished and punishing people. But if you watch a travel documentary at least you get a look at the people working, cooking, building, and creating. You can identify some commonalities. It’s not a whole picture but it does give a richer view.
Maria- that’s a great idea- demonstrating that the people are happy and productive, and the country is beautiful- instead of pigeon-holing it to a “war-torn” or other negatively slanted category. I love this:) and will use it with my own kids.
Terrific post and I’m so glad to have found you through multicultural kids blogs! We are Americans living in Western Kenya so my kids are growing up without the negative or one-dimensional views at least of this part of the world. But I love this reminder to expose people (and not just children) to the full narrative of every place in the world.
Thank you so much! I’m sure your children will have incredible perspectives; I love to learn from families raising their children in a culture that is not the same as their own. Maybe I can get you to write a guest post:)?
I know this post if from many years ago but I hope it’s still active, I just found it! I’m a preschool teacher and want to take my kids “around the world” this year. I want to hit several countries from the larger continents, one- or two from the smaller throughout the next year. I was so happy to see your post-most of the things I am finding are definitely based completely on stereotypes. I’m looking for some good books for ages 2-4, do you have any wuggestions?
YAy!!!! I am so excited you are doing this with your kids!!!! Definitely check out the “literature” tab for tons of excellent suggestions! 🙂
Thank you!!!
One of my favourite ways to present varied narratives is by looking for books written by authors from diverse backgrounds, or failing that, books with positive reviews from reviewers with similar backgrounds to the characters (eg, books about Deaf people that Deaf reviewers liked). It’s not a perfect strategy, since as Chimamanda said, authors from different backgrounds can get sucked into the single narrative, but it does help.
Now, if only I could find a kid’s book about a gender-nonconforming boy that isn’t about him getting teased for being gender-nonconforming. Or a kid’s book about about a trans kid that isn’t about them discovering their gender identity. Any recommendations?
Let me ask around to see about a book for you! 🙂
OK- one friend got back to me and I am waiting for one more! Here is a book she recommended: http://blog.leeandlow.com/2017/06/15/sparkle-boy-by-leslea-newman/?fref=gc&dti=385828031489730
Someone also shared these: Max by Rachel Isadora
Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tomie de Paoloa
Sparkle Boy by Leslea Newman
and said there is a Clive book here about a little boy who loves all things sparkly: http://alldonemonkey.com/2017/02/17/books-encourage-creativity/?fref=gc&dti=385828031489730