Travel Log: 1/30/14

During teaching today I overheard a student say "all of you are from Africa because your Black".  I stopped and asked her why are you saying that because the students she was pointing to were very offended by her remark.  The student said it again, "all of you are from Africa because your Black".  I asked the students to tell me where are you from?  One student responded "I'm from Dominican Republic" the other student stated "I was born in Florida."  I stated to them there is nothing wrong if you were born in Africa but there is something wrong when you state that all people who are Black are from Africa.  The student who made the remark  apologized but, as a teacher I felt it was important to perceive conflicts as opportunities to learn and develop. (Milner, H.R., 2012).  I asked the class if a person was White did that mean they were born in America?  All of them responded No.  I continued to say, "That means that a person's color has nothing to do with the place of their birth correct?".  Students thought about this and started to raise their hand and tell me where they were from.  I believe if I would have ignored or reprimanded the first student who started all this I would have lost a perfect opportunity to have my students reflect on the statement made by one of their classmates and make connections.