| |
|
|
| |
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!)
Talk with your class. Tell them that your lesson plans had unintentional consequences, and for that you apologize. You can inform your class that it was not the purpose of your lesson plan to make one ethnic group of people seem more important than the next. Explain to your class that ALL ethnicities of people have contributed to making America a great nation. You can then name people of different ethnicities and how they contributed to America's history. Reiterate to the class that you apologize if the lesson/discussions made it appear that one ethnicity was more important than another. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
|
| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
|
| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
|
| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
|
| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
|
| Comments: I don't think the teacher should apologize. I can see the point that you are making about how the teacher may take them wanting to black as negative feedback, but to me, I would take it as positive feedback-- maybe the students see African Americans in a new light that they didn't see before. Maybe they have a more profound respect for them and the contributions to American History… just food for thought! |
| Rated On: June 1, 2014 2:07 am |
| Rated By: Haley Moore |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
No
|
| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
|
| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
No
|
| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
No
|
| The suggested solution is original |
No
|
| Comments: I agree that all students should feel proud of who they are, but I don't think the teacher should apologize. He should instead use it to go deeper into thought and conversation. It shouldn't be treated like a mistake. |
| Rated On: March 2, 2015 4:22 am |
| Rated By: SeRuru |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
