Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: I Wish I Were Black! As a teacher of 5th grade students, I try to make sure that my students have a good sense of all the people and cultures that make up this country. Last couple weeks, I paid special attention to the African American people who have made significant contributions to the US. We read a book written by Walter Dean Myers. We have studied scientists, writers, and political figures. Students were very engaged and interested in the content. Yesterday something happened that puzzled me. Three of my White students told me that they wished they were Black. This was not my intention when I planned all my lessons on contributions of African Americans. How should I address this issue? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) I think that it is very important, in this instance, to talk with the students about why they would like to be black. Most likely, the students wished they were black, because they had been studying about all of the achievements by African Americans, and they have equated race with achievement. Therefore, to address this issue, I would explain that a person's race is not indicative of their potential for success or achievement. To illustrate this, I would expose them to people of different races who accomplished similarly wonderful things. I would ask them what kinds of things they would like to achieve in life, and then talk with them about how their race would have no effect on their ability to achieve those things. We would instead focus on the skills, traits, or characteristics they would need to have to accomplish their goals. We could even work together to create a "game plan" of sorts for their goals. If the students offered a different reason for wanting to be black, then I would have to reconsider my plan. However, the crux of any plan would be disassociating race with any other quality, opening the door for a discussion about how physical appearance does not affect anything a person might enjoy, dislike, or achieve in life.