Emancipatory Education Now is a student-led initiative at the SJSU Lurie College of Education that examines what emancipatory education – the critical evaluation of the systems and structures of oppression that maintain the status quo in our educational institutions – looks like in today’s society and advocates for the expansion of emancipatory education research, policies, and practices.
Our co-hosts for the Spring 2021 semester are:
- Abby Almerido – Graduate student, Educational Leadership
- Aminah Sheikh – Undergraduate student, Communicative Disorders & Sciences
- Ana Isabel Hahs – Graduate and credential student, Teacher Education
- Vaishnavi Sunkari – Undergraduate student, Child & Adolescent Development, Public Health
- Victor Calvillo Chavez – Graduate student, Counselor Education
In this episode, Abby leads a dialogue around stereotype threat. The co-hosts shared their insights framed by questions such as:
- What resonated with you about this TEDTalk? Did anything surprise you or challenge your previous ways of thinking?
- We started today’s sharing some of our layers of our identity. As you consumed Adichie’s talk on Single Stories, what single stories were coming up for you about yourself?
- In the TEDTalk, Adichie references an Igbo word: nkali (9:37) – “to be greater than another.” She goes on to say that single stories exist because there are those who have the power to write the definitive stories of a person or group of people. Our media have the power of telling the story of people. What single stories do you see in the media?
- Why is it important to understand the single stories of ourselves and others? Why is it important for those in education to identify when single stories exist?
- We also read an article on some ways to address stereotype threat in the classroom. What are your thoughts on those suggestions? Is it enough? What else could be done?
after watching “The danger of a single story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and reading “How Teachers Can Reduce Stereotype Threat in the Classroom.”
This episode’s call to action: How are you purposefully providing opportunities for those you influence and who influence you to give you a more complete story of who they are? Let’s all build bridges across differences one story at a time.
All of the recordings for this series are available at sjsu.edu/education/emancipatory-education-now. Join us for our final episode on Friday, May 14, at 5:15pm at the Lurie College Learning Showcase. More information coming soon at sjsu.edu/education/showcase.