assembly

Today our school sponsored an African Dance and Drumming assembly in the afternoon. There was a troupe of four brothers from Senegal that were energetic, entertaining, and engaging. They danced, teachers danced, and students danced. We all had a great time. (And yes, I was one of the teachers pulled to dance.)

Dancing Duel

Getting the teachers to jump (I'm the one in teal).

After the assembly came to a close, I seized the opportunity to answer my students questions about Senegal and Africa. Then they did a journal writing entry about what they saw. At the end of the day the conversation turned to a more serious note when one of my students told me that she liked the dancing but she didn't like the Africans. When I asked her why she told be because they were black. I asked why it mattered and she wasn't sure. I asked her if she would like me if I was purple and she said of course. I said good, because I would still be the same person. Our skin color doesn't matter, it is who we are and how we act that matters. We were on our way out for parent pick up at that point and her mom got her right away, so we couldn't talk for long. Hopefully a seed of equality was planted though.