December 14 - Week 2

The Danger of a Single Story

In my classes I talk a fair amount about the whys and hows to avoid procrastination. Students leave so much to the last minute and often end up doing a less-than-beautiful job on their assignments. Sadly, I'm no more immune to procrastination than my students. I just like to think I have better excuses. 

I started the year with a fairly realistic reading goal of 24 books. I just finished #19 this morning. The good news is that I'm half way through 3 additional books, so that leaves two more "new" books to bust through by the end of December. It's only December 14; I've got plenty of time, right?

Of the 19 books I have read this far, half were written by white men. To be honest, it probably wasn't until last year that I even started thinking more critically about who the writer's of my pleasure reading were. It all started with my local library (yes, libraries are still important!) system's Summer Bingo reading. On their Bingo sheet were categories like: 1) Read a book written by a person born in another country, 2) Read a book written by a woman. As I looked at my reading list, it was clear I would have to be thoughtful in choosing books that actually fit within these categories. In some cases, I had to go out of my way to find the book. 

What we read matters. Who writes what we read also matters. Part of responsible readership is knowing who is writing the story and how that changes the story itself. I'm probably not going to go a whole year without reading anything written by a white male like Annie, but I would love to think more thoughtfully about who is telling the story I'm reading. Hearing diverse stories from diverse people matters.

And in case you're not convinced about that, I recommend watching "The Danger of a Single Story". I can't say it any better than Chimamanda Ngozi.