My upbringing that I had had was through the lens of a middle-class white family in a middle class pretty much all small white town. So, for me my bubble of people that I saw everyday was white and never struggled with money. The interesting thing looking back is that when some people of different raises were brought into this very white small town that I grew up in they were even more rich than the rest of us. So, for me I never really looked at any race and had a bias because for me they were just like me. Played the same sports, got similar grades, spoke the same language, ate the same food (it was a boarding school, so we all ate the same food), and were the same financially. To me everyone was equal, and race really did not separate people. Although I think this is a blessing that I did not grow up with a horrible view of a different race because of my parents, teachers, or society around me there are also some harmful biases and lenses that I bring to the classroom that I will need to work on. First, is that because of this view I have a bias that in a way everyone is the same as me. Like white food is normal, white clothing is normal, English is normal, being middle-class is normal, etc. However, this becomes a negative because that is not the objective truth and that truth is only subjective to what is normal to me. The normal language for someone who went to a French school would be French. And for someone who grew up in the very rich end of Regina’s normal would be that everyone had a swimming pool. How I can work on this is learning about other races, cultures, and ways of living so that my normal includes other languages, financial situations, food, etc.
This video of the single story is something that I really relate to. It is interested because I totally was that college roommate. To explain, when I went to his pretty much all white boarding school there was a boy that I was friends with, and he was white as well. As we became friends, I found out that he was from South Africa. When he first told me this, I thought he was lying. And I did not believe him for the longest time. However, he told me his life story and how his dad grew up there and he met his mom on a trip to Canada and they decided to live in South Africa for a long time and then just a couple of years ago moved to Toronto. I found this so hard to believe because he did not have an accent, he was white, he spoke perfect English, and he was very wealthy back in South Africa he basically lived in a mansion. I remember watching this video and thinking back to this friend of mine and I realized that my one story of Africa was that they had dark skin, did not speak English and if they did, they had a strong accent, were poor, and lived in really small villages with huts as houses. So, when I learned that everything, I thought about Africa was not all true I was surprised. I realize now that the important truth that should be shared is the truth of everyone’s individual experience. Because if it were not for this friend of mine sharing his truth, I would still have just one story of Africa.