Reference no: EM133195159

Assignment Instructions:

Write a peer response to Diane’s discussion post, Moriah’s discussion post, and Suzie’s discussion post. That is a total of 3 peer responses that you have to write. Make sure each peer response is at least 5 sentences long.

By Diane:

I thoroughly enjoyed the Ted Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on the Danger of a Single Story. Growing up, I was surrounded by the single stories my parents and extended family had about others who were not white, middle-class, blue-collar people. All the students at my schools had parents who were white and working class except for three or four whose parents were teachers. My high school graduating class sent one hundred students into the world, a few of whom attended college and beyond. My husband’s family relates the following anecdote that typifies how a single-story approach can be demeaning to the receiver. Hosting an exchange student from Brazil in 1976, my mother-in-law showed the student how to flush a toilet assuming the student lived in a home without plumbing. The student was embarrassed and related to my mother-inlaw that her family was wealthy, and they had five full bathrooms in their home! Oops

I left that world in my early twenties, attending school in a small city and then graduate school in a large metropolitan area. Suddenly, I was exposed to different people from diverse backgrounds and ideas that challenged the single stories I knew. I thought I had changed but, I was still using the single stories to filter my experiences. I finished nursing school in my mid-thirties. We talked about cultural competence, approaching patients from different ethnicities as a homogeneous whole with the same behaviors and beliefs. I found in practice that this was not the case and that individuals from different ethnicities were individuals. In retrospect, the semester on cultural competency during my training as a clinical psychologist amounted to assigning characteristics to each ethnicity, a singlestory approach, rather than understanding a single story is not the whole story

Growing older has been a blessing to me. I have become more accepting and less judgmental. As we say, it would have been nice to know then what I know now. This is not to say that I am finished with my cultural competence journey and in my sixties, my journey in cultural competence continues. Ms. Adichie highlighted the relationship between power and the single story. It is those who are in power who create the single story about others who are different and who are not in power. This cannot be truer today for what is occurring in our nation is a struggle, sometime violent, to maintain one story and power over others who differ from this story. As school psychologists, “a personal awareness and a knowledge base of cultures are essential” to practice (Miranda, 2008, p. 1743).

By Moriah:

Japan was my first country that I ever traveled outside of the United States. When I was there in 2016, I was amazed how so many of the people there spoke English and would do their best to guide my family and I into the right direction. By receiving this amazing hospitality, I wanted to do the same when I got back to the United States. The more I talk to people from other countries I am amazed again that they also speak English. I would ask them, “Where did you learn English?”, majority of the time they respond with “it is a requirement to learn English and other languages in their schools”. My single story was that I assumed that foreigners cannot speak English because I am not fluent in any other language besides English. I also assumed that since it is not a requirement for schools in the United States to learn other languages it would be the same for the other countries. These experiences made me realize how important it is to learn other languages and cultures.

I like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s comment “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 the only story”. She made a good point how important it is to represent both the good and bad when portraying different cultures in the media, books, and other resources. This will allow others to form multiple stories and not just a single story about an individual, race, culture, religion, etc. When I become a school psychologist, I will need to make sure that I display pictures, posters, and other materials that reflect the culture and ethnic backgrounds of children and families served by my program or agency. I will also need to attempt to learn and use key words in their language so that I am better able to communicate with them during assessment, treatment, or other interventions. I will also need to make sure I use visual aids, gestures, and physical prompts in my interactions with children who have limited English Proficiency. I will need to learn about other cultures and understand that their cultural beliefs might influence their decisions.

I am still learning about different cultures and ethnic minority groups so that I do not have stereotypes about those groups. To help me with this I can watch documentaries, read nonfiction literature, and I can immerse myself in cultural experiences. I can also participate in events like Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+, etc. Since it is important to learn from one another, do you have any other ideas or events that I can attend that will help me learn about different cultures and minority groups

By Suzie:

I am a white woman in a helping profession. There are millions of us; true believers out there trying to make the world a better place. I think about population diversity, all of the time. I was twenty four when I moved to an isolated part of the Navajo reservation to take a teaching position. There were only three other white people living in the community of two thousand native people, steeped in ancient tradition and whose first language was Navajo. The other three white people were also female elementary school teachers.

Prior to my arrival, I spent time reading up on the history of the place. I was especially intrigued by the influence of Presbyterian women missionaries in the early twentieth century. These white women felt called to teach Navajo children and in so doing, bring western sensibilities and civilization to the native people. They believed themselves to be saviors when in truth, they contributed to the devastation of ancient tradition, culture, family, and clan life. I was young and didn’t know very much at the time, but that history helped me understand that I needed to approach my new adventure quietly and with an open mind. It continues influence my frame of reference when working with people who are different from me.

Hard statistical data can be alarming. The fact that in 2008, 37% of African American males who dropped out of high school ended up in prison; and that in 2000 17% of the student population was African American but represented 34% of the students on out of school suspension, is more than I know what to do with.

Honestly, once I get past feeling overwhelmed by alarming statistics, all that’s left is a sense of helplessness. My middle class, white woman bubble does not include African American males who drop out of high school. The problem is systemic and way too big for me, so I’m forced to either ignore the issue entirely or refocus and think about how I might make a very small difference. This is what I can do. I am a compassionate person who believes in the power of a free and equitable public education. As a dedicated professional educator who has some influence in my schools, I help nurture and sustain a safe learning environment that encourages healthy growth and development. As the mental health professional in my building, I support a system of discipline, ensuring that unwanted behaviors have fair, consistent and logical consequences. In doing so, I help students learn to trust that the behavior of adults at school will always be safe and predictable. I also support a trauma informed environment that holds students accountable but allows for compassion while recognizing issues that might arise from significant and troubling events. I can do my best to make sure that, even when the rest of the world is in chaos, school is a good place to be. Positive and enthusiastic participation in school is a learned behavior. I can help teach that.

The Danger of a Single Story really resonated with me. When I was much younger, I would have absolutely been the Nigerian woman’s first roommate, mindlessly complimenting her English while ignorantly ignoring the fact that her tri-lingual skills are far superior to my own non-existent ability to communicate on multiple continents. Before my time on the Navajo reservation, I had a preconceived notion of poverty. Upon arrival, my young white, entitled, middle class, Southern Baptist self-saw small dusty slapped together houses, some with dirt floors, surrounded by sheep and goats and thought, ’these poor people, this is generational poverty.’ After living there for a while, my perspective changed entirely. Yes, there were elements of poverty, substance abuse and violence, but beyond the stereo-type, I saw a tight community focused on maintaining strong clan and family ties while living out a mysterious ancestral religion as they kept ancient traditions alive.

Our world is small, our differences enormous. The complexity of systemic problems in society - staggering. It’s hard to make much difference outside of our own little bubble, but we have to engage. My professional experience has taught me that diversity isn’t really an issue if you’re committed to encountering every student and every parent as a unique individual, engaging respectfully, with compassion and in a way that dignifies. It’s also taught me to simply listen. I can’t stress it enough. I genuinely want to know your story. If we really listen to each other, we’ll find at least a small degree of commonality and from there, learn to trust each other.