A Single Story

Growing up in a small town in a class of 10 kids and a small school I have not experienced much diversity. When I was going into grade 11 I moved to Weyburn. I then went from a class of 10 to a class of 150. In this bigger class I started to realize that there were other cultures but still it was not a very diverse school. I was still unsure about diversity.

In my schooling, I was taught strictly from a single view. I rarely heard stories based on the First Nations view, only from the westernized view. When the finally did get to talk about First Nations the unity was quick and done in only a few days, whereas other units would be able to last quite some time. I believe my schooling was focused on the European view because they are what makes up most of the communities and many people feel uncomfortable teaching something that they are not comfortable with or teaching something that does not support their own personal background. I see the importance in teaching from different views but unfortunately it does not happen often.

My upbringing definitely has shaped my view on the world and unfortunately it is more negative than it should be. Often times I am not proud of it and I wish I could have learned in a non bias. Sadly, I cannot change how I was brought up, but I can change how I further my education and knowledge. While growing up children want to believe that their parents and teachers have taught them everything that they need to know and to trust what they were taught was accurate information. In a lot of cases this is not true. I can admit that I view the world through a white-privileged lens. I can also admit that I have biases from growing up that will always be with me, but that doesn’t mean I have to believe them and I can work towards challenging them. Sure, it is hard to admit these things, but the only way to challenge these biases and move past them is to be accountable. Understanding the wrong biases will lead to a better understanding of what is correct. The world can be seen in many different lenses, it is up to us to decide which lenses we choose.