Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, an educator, author, and Professor Emerita at The Ohio State University, introduced the well-known phrase, “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors” in her influential essay of the same name. Dr. Bishop’s work should be especially familiar to individuals immersed in multicultural education, culturally responsive teaching, children’s literature, and literacy in general.

Although the phrase mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors has circulated for decades, I only encountered it while engaging in equity work several years ago.

In education and particularly in literature, the phrase mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors helps explain how books and stories allow readers to see themselves and others, and make real-life connections. Let me explain. The mirrors‘ concept allows readers to see themselves and their experiences reflected in the text they are exposed to. For example, a student who speaks two languages and reads about a character who translates for family members might think, “That character is just like me.” The windows concept, on the other hand, lets a reader look into the lives and experiences of others analogous to looking through a window. Consider this example: a student who has never lived in a rural community reads a novel about farm life and learns what daily living can be like there; perhaps the reader reduces, if not eliminates altogether, preconceived judgments about people in rural communities. Dr. Bishop’s final concept, sliding glass doors, allows a reader to imaginatively step into another person’s world and see things from their perspective through the reading, invoking empathy for others. For instance, a teacher might have her class read a story about a family immigrating to a new country, then ask students to discuss the main character’s choices, fears, and hopes as if walking alongside them. In essence, the phrase mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors means that culturally responsive literature should help students see themselves, understand others, and build empathy by stepping into different perspectives.

After more than 31 years in education, I often see how Dr. Bishop’s idea of mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors plays out, not only in literature but on social media. Social media, which could serve as a window into others’ experiences, too often becomes a distorted mirror, reflecting only our own assumptions and biases. One post or decision can ignite a storm of online reactions, frequently without any real understanding of the person behind the screen. My own experiences, including the one that inspired my 2022 blog post titled “Don’t Be Fooled by the Yellow Dress,” have shown me how easily one can be misjudged based on a partial or misunderstood story.

The onslaught of social media attacks on random people or high-profile figures reminds me of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s renowned 2009 TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story”, which has been viewed more than 42 million times. Adichie warns of the misunderstandings and stereotypes that arise when we hear only a single, incomplete narrative about a person, place, or event. In her TED Talk, Adichie urges us to seek multiple perspectives because when we reduce someone to a single story, we risk misrepresenting their reality entirely. The same principle applies to our digital interactions. Too often, we react to a headline or a viral moment, forgetting that there is always more beneath the surface, including more stories, more context, more humanity.

This is not a theoretical concern. In education, single narratives can have very real consequences for people asked to lead through complexity. Some school superintendents have faced harassment that extends well beyond professional criticism and into personal intimidation. Some school superintendents have received threats of violence online, including messages of physical harm. In some instances, harassment has moved offline, with individuals appearing at a superintendent’s private residence. District leaders have also been targeted through cyberbullying and impersonation campaigns, including fake social media accounts created to spread defamatory, racist, or homophobic content, often requiring significant time and effort to address. In other cases, misleading or highly partisan media coverage of district decisions has fueled waves of online abuse directed not only at superintendents, but also at their spouses and children, showing how quickly misinformation can become personal intimidation.

When a superintendent’s decision is reduced to a headline, a rumor, or a single social media post, the full context often disappears and with it, the leader’s humanity. What begins as public disagreement can quickly become something far more damaging. If we are truly committed to compassion, empathy, and human decency, then I encourage all of us to pause and ask: Are we engaging with others through a healthy and thoughtful balance of mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors, or are we relying on single stories?

The danger of the single story is not only that it misrepresents people; it can also dehumanize them. In education, where decisions are constant, complex, and deeply connected to students, families, and communities, leaders deserve better. We deserve more than reactionary judgments based on limited information. We can disagree, question, and hold one another accountable while still choosing to seek context, listen deeply, and remember the humanity of those involved.

If Dr. Bishop’s mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors teach us anything, it is that understanding requires introspection: seeing ourselves honestly, looking beyond our own assumptions, and being willing to see another person’s perspective before deciding we know the whole story. More often than not, we do not.