Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: Why No White History Month? It is the month of February again, and I am very excited about the Black History month. As a young African American elementary school teacher, I make sure that I fully take advantage of the Black History month in my lessons with my 5th graders. Yesterday, we were talking about important African American political figures, who made life better for all Americans. During this lesson, one of my students raised her hand and asked why there was no "White History month?" "Were White Americans not as important?" I did not have a good answer to her question. I must be doing something wrong to have a student feel this way. How would you answer this question? Do you think it is problematic to integrate African Americans to all my lessons during February? How can I fix this? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) I can see how black and white students might be confused by the idea of using one month to study the contributions of African Americans. I think that important contributions of all Americans should be recognized throughout the year. You can look to the civics portion of your social studies curriculum to help you do this. In fifth grade, we study the Bill of Rights and the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. In particular, we talk about due process of law and how each and every one of us deserve the same amount of recognition and respect. Another strategy would be to show how many white Americans felt that race should not be an issue long before the Civil Rights Movement called for equality. You could discuss the roles of white and black abolitionists before and during the Civil War. You could talk about the role of white and black people in the Civil Rights Movement. If you concentrate on Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, he talks about white and black children joining hands. The inclusion of all colors (white, black, yellow, red) during February should not be viewed as an attempt to minimize the contributions of African Americans, but an opportunity to show our children that everyone is important.