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 would take this comment made by these three students and address the entire class about it without drawing attention specifically to the three students. In my opinion, one of the points of lessons like this is to highlight contributions made by minorities to help engage students that are also minorities. In a broader sense, it is also to show that anyone can accomplish something great. I think a good capstone for lessons such as these is to remind students that people are great and do great things regardless of what culture they come from or what race they are. People do bad things regardless of what race or culture they come from. These students can't change their race, but they should respect all races, because people of all races can make the planet better, just as people of all races can make the planet worse. They can be proud of what they are, and also proud of what others have done. One does not and should not exclude the other.