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 would explain to the student the rationale behind incorporating black history month into the curriculum. Because African Americans were excluded from political office and denied entry to Universities for so long, they aren't represented proportionally in history books. Because the rest of the months are mainly white history months, having one month to focus on African American achievers helps to give students an understanding of what led to the current social situation of African Americans. I don't think that it is problematic to incorporate African Americans into your lessons. Every American war has involved African Americans to some degree. Every historical period also has notable African Americans that can be discussed. You should also incorporate African American history into your lessons year round. It is important that students learn about all sides of the past so that they can better understand the present.