weave.

You can always tell when there has been a girl fight. The kids recognize it instantly. "Hey was there a fight up in here?" They asked excitedly today. I told them there hadn't been. "Then what's all this weave doing on the floor?"

Sometimes strands just come out, I guess. I am not schooled in the art of black hair or "Ethnic Hair" as they label it on the aisle marker in the grocery store. I am curious about it, though, interested. I asked a student about her hair a while ago. "Why do you put lotion in your hair" I asked. There was another girl standing above her administering the process. She looked at me in the precise way I hoped she wouldn't "Because its dry." She said, just as dry.

I have always felt strongly that the notion of "everyone is the same" is a big factor into racism. Everyone is NOT the same. We are all EQUAL, but we are not the same. I don't want to pretend as though my students' lives are the same as mine. I am sure that their Thanksgiving dinner will look different from my family's. I want to know about it. I want to ask about it. I want them to ask about mine.

And I want them to tell me why their weave is on my classroom floor.