Buffalo and Bull
In one of my classes we're reading Swiss Family Robinson. There is a part of the story where the family, on their way to get bamboo, come across a group of buffalo (this must be a very large island... weird that there is buffalo on an island). Well, the book said "buffaloes", and I'm picturing western United States-Native American-Dances-With-Wolves type of buffalo. We had a discussion about buffalo that went like this.me: do you know what buffalo are?
simon: horse!
me: no, but a large animal like a horse
sam: like cow
me: Kind of... ohhh look on page 7! There's a drawing of a buffalo!
(the kids ooh and ahh and talk amongst themselves)
me: Do you have buffalo in South Korea?
simon: Yes!!
betty (looking at Simon condescendingly): noo.... nooooo.
me: I don't think you do. Where do buffalo live?
jason: magazine!
me: very funny, jason.
betty: America.
me: right. maybe you have seen buffalo on tv or in a movie.
betty: do people america eat buffalo?
me: well.... i don't. maybe some people. I think it is expensive. I don't eat it, and I don't know people who do.
betty: why expensive?
me: there are not very many buffalo.
And so on and so forth. Then we come to a picture in the text that does NOT look like buffalo. In fact, they look like bulls. Leila points this out and says, while pointing both of her hands out to her left and waving them, "Red!! Teacher... red!! red!!"
me: yes, I understand, Leila. I'm not sure. I do not think these are buffalo in the picture. I will find a picture online.
It has now become common practice for me to find pictures of items I cannot describe, or that they don't understand, by looking up the item up on google images. I did this when we first talked about what a treehouse is (to which one of my students said "my cousin live america. she has treehouse").
So I found this wonderful picture on the internet:
I showed the kids, half of whom were incredibly excited about it, saying it looked so strange. Leila asked what that was on its back, and I told her it was its hair. She said "why teacher?" and I said "I don't know, Leila".Of course, then at break time I mentioned it to some of the other teachers and they informed me that the buffaloes in the story were water buffaloes. Thanks a lot, scholastic reader.
posted by Meghan @ 7:26 PM
5 Comments:
1.) You're my hero. Teaching children outside North America about buffalo is God's work. Seriously. It's the greatest thing imaginable. You are doing the most important work in the world. Totally, totally awesome. You really need to work HARD to convey how absolutely AWESOME buffalo are.
2. I eat buffalo! It's more expensive than beef but not too expensive, and it's infinitely healthier and slightly sweeter. They let buffalo graze, so they're quite lean.
Boy oh boy buffalo are awesome.
Freaking midwest, east coast, occasionally Portland, now Korea...Studer is everywhere. I can't get away.
Remember our trip through Yellowstone? Somewhere we have pictures (maybe video) of buffalo up close - they were right next to us on the road. Anyway, those are American buffalo (bison) as opposed to water buffalo found in other parts of the world. Maybe Korea has some of those?
Mom
veggie tales has a silly song about a water buffalo. you should watch it and get educated.
Yes, I'm sure that is a picture from Yellowstone. I'm thinking that when we went to Crow Agency Meghan was in like....first grade?
Anyway, lotsa buffalo.. Hello Friends.
Dennis Miller here
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