Do I have the full picture?

  I believe that in order to truly have the full picture, we must be exposed to other cultures and communities. Growing up, I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by many different ethnic groups at home and in my town. My stepmom and her family shared their food, music and culture with me. Since my step family is from Belize, I was able to experience a different culture than my own. From an early age, I understood the importance of  learning about other ethnic groups and cultures. As a child my parents always taught me to embrace and accept those who are different from me. Because of this, I grew up around a diverse group of friends.  

    I enjoyed participating in the "face test". This exercise made me realize that although I have grown up around people from different ethnic groups than myself, I still have a lot to learn. I believe that our public education system plays a vital role in our knowledge and understanding of other ethnic groups. As a child, I was surrounded by diversity outside of the classroom, not inside of the classroom. 

    Until now, I have never thought about how the history that I learned, was limited in many ways. The current public school system teaches an often one-sided version of history. The Tik Tok video, "I didn't learn this in school" made me think about what I learned about historical events such as, Thanksgiving, The Civil Rights Movement, and other historical events was only half of the story. The way we are taught history here in the U.S. , lacks representation and diversity. I related to the video because it made me think about how I too learned about the civil rights movement and ruby bridges, but I didn't actually hear her sorry. Our textbooks often filter out the voices and experiences of POC. This is a disappointment as a future educator, and is why I will ensure that I provide my students with the "Full Picture".