Growing up, we were told to remember that there are two sides to every story. We were told to listen first, and make our judgment second. But, as an Asian attending a predominantly white high school, I began to question if people were truly willing to listen to both sides of the story.
The situation into which I was born allowed me, or forced me, to learn the importance of acceptance and tolerance of other cultures. I grew up in a Japanese culture within my household and an American culture outside of my home. Basically, I have been switching between chopsticks and forks all of my life.
Due to this split life, before high school, I struggled with my own identity. I found parts of me that were so obviously "Japanese", yet other parts were so "American". Finding a balance between my two worlds, and finding my own place within these two worlds, was a never-ending task for me. I began to reject my Japanese heritage, thinking that this was the only way for me to truly fit into the American culture that surrounded me. Although I viewed my international background as a burden as a young girl, I came to realize that it was the opposite - I was lucky. Finally, I was able to understand that my background is what has taught me to hold a global perspective. Realizing the importance of this global perspective, I became an advocate for international education.
In my junior year US History class, the illusion that my education was an embodiment of the "There are two sides to every story" lesson, was shattered. It was when we studied the US involvement in World War II; we discussed the cruelty of Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor. We analyzed Japan’s inability to realize its inevitable loss in the war. But we didn’t discuss the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We didn’t analyze Japan’s bravery with which they refused to back down.
And there I sat: in the third row, as my teachers and classmates continued to review the malicious attacks by the Japanese. In that moment, I truly understood the applicability of the saying “There are always two sides to every story.” I wanted the other side to be heard as well, but fearful of the potential reaction, I refrained from opening my mouth.
I should have said something.
Maybe before anyone had even noticed this change, the US schooling system had transitioned to training its teachers to explain history from a singular point of view, or at least in my public high school. This certain topic in the curriculum stood out to me because of its connection to my cultural background. But, I believe that I am not the only one who has been put in this kind of an uncomfortable situation. Perhaps there are more than even two sides to every story. My loyalty is split between two great nations. But others may have found a home in more than two countries. Those people would want all the sides of the story heard.
It is not a matter of what is being taught but rather, how it is being taught. Events such as these are important for students to be exposed to because they are contributing factors to the country that is now America. But they are not just events that happened in the US. These are universal events. Therefore, shouldn’t we be studying these events from a universal point of view?
I want everyone to hear all of those sides; I want everyone to be given the opportunity to develop their own opinions based on the facts. From my experience, high school did not prepare us for real-world experiences; it prepared us for real-American experiences.
But, shouldn’t we be learning to become students of the world, not just students of America?
