Growing up, I think the lens that shaped my perspective in classrooms growing up was my naiveness. I do believe that white privilege is something that certainly affects so many people and doesn’t show itself in communities with very sparse diversity. I believe being a white male in the catholic school system really made me blind to these issues or ways of thinking when it came to being analytical in an inclusive way. It made me think everyone was getting the same support at home as I was, was able to have the same opportunities for extracurriculars as myself, and shared the same viewpoints of myself when relating to personal experiences. Not being self aware is incredibly damaging not only to oneself, but to those we interact with. Having gained this self awareness through my years, I am determined to bring this into my classrooms and address in a way to engage my students. Making them feel bad for how privileged they have been can be damaging and cause more pushback than help. Challenging a student to see, acknowledge, and interpret this difference and act accordingly can make them more insightful and critically think about their approach to education and how they can benefit from it and make a difference themselves. Naivety is one of the largest crutches i had to overcome and I want to bring my experience and insights into the classroom to help students broaden their views.

The most relevant idea of “single story” perspective was when we were separated into Christian Ethics 9 and Health 9 depending on which schools we went to. The public school kids were taught about sexual health, safe practices, etc. while the catholic students were taught about abstinence  and how these ideas were reflected on by the bible. My issue with this is growing up in the catholic system, we were taught very little about sexual education but because we were deemed catholic, we were taught with this single perspective and that this was the correct way. Being put in a seperate class in high school that was supposed to be equivalent in learning outcomes but differed because of the beliefs placed in the catholic system seemed a little unfair to me. Everyone should be learning the same information about these issues especially in our society regardless of your background. Going forward, I was able to get different perspectives on the subjects through other classes which made me once again, more self aware. By no means do I think anyones truth is right or wrong in this scenario as we are all entitled to our own beliefs, but to have unequal learning opportunities based on a school decision seemed a little ridiculous to me. We all deserve equal education on all topics, no matter what walks of life we come from because we may not always agree, but we can always try to see from one another’s perspectives.