The Prologue of Black Ants and Buddhists is what I am going to focus on in my first blog

post. The prologue focuses on how different cultures respond to the killing of ants. When the
black ants were seen in the classroom, everyone's immediate response was to kill them, until
student, Som Jet, interjected with his opinion. Som Jet breathed in. "They are black ants. They
are living things. Black ants clean up mess. They do not bite people." (Cowhey, 2). From the
beginning of the book, we see a difference in the students' decisions on how to deal with the
ants. In American culture, it is normal for people to kill ants, but when Som Jet stood up
addressing his opinion from his Buddhism culture, you can see the shift in the other American
cultured students thinking. I believe the key point to take out of their ant discussion, was the
lesson that the teacher taught the students from it. As a teacher, you need to be aware of the
fact that every student has different backgrounds, cultures and experiences and find the best
way to mold everyone together. This was used as a teachable moment and allowed students to
open up to other’s thoughts and choices in their different cultures. She also went as far as
having the students each take a job in cleaning the classroom, and expanded this discussion
into their everyday lives, making it easier for the students to relate to one another. These
differing ideas occured in my high school as well. I grew up in a very diverse community in my
high school where many students were Arabic and believe in Allah, while others were of
American culture. Even walking through the halls, I noticed how diverse our school was, and
how each student was their own person with their own beliefs. My teachers did an amazing job
integrating their students and helping each student understand that we all come from different
backgrounds. Even more so, coming to Arizona State has opened my own eyes to the various
cultures and backgrounds of the students in my classroom, through campus, and even in my
own apartment. At the end of the prologue, Cowhey states “The black ants helped us explore a
variety of perspectives and helped us to learn, then compare and contrast, the rules of a variety
of spiritual traditions. The ants helped us look at ants and the world and ourselves as Americans
through others' eyes. Not bad, for some black ants at snacktime” (Cowhey,13). If Som Jet did
not voice his opinion regarding the black ants, that lesson would not be taught and all the ants
would have been killed. All it takes is one student, one person, one voice, to make a difference
and change other people’s perspective to learn from others and open up their eyes to the world
around them.

References
Cowhey, Mary. (2006) Black ants and buddhists :thinking critically and teaching differently in
the primary grades Portland, Me. : Stenhouse Publishers,