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!) First of all, I have to point out how valuable I find things like Black History Month are to me as a parent. I am thankful that my own children have not been exposed to the high doses of backwards thinking that I was. I remember hearing ugly, racist rhetoric in my elementary school from other students, at the homes of relatives, and in other situations. Of course, I could not shelter my kids forever. Eventually, they were exposed to somebody saying awful things about people based on their skin color or heritage. I did my best to help my young children make sense of the world that we live in and how far we have come. Since that time, my children have moved up to 2nd and 4th grade. Their teachers have led brilliant lessons and discussions about segregation, slavery, and the jaded history of race relations in the United States. I am thankful that their teachers have been so skilled in helping my children understand. Black history month is an important aspect of the process. It is important that all students realize the amazing contributions of African Americans in the context of our struggles as to be a colorblind society and for the merit of the individual accomplishments. Our identity is forever tied with our history, and it is important to learn about it. So why not have "white history month?" I am sure that question comes from sincere curiosity in some and is steeped in resentment for others. I always respond to the question. Every month is black history month and white history month. However, I think February gives us a chance to not only celebrate the accomplishment of our fellow citizens, but we can also reflect on our progress as a nation. Celebrating Black History Month is celebrating how, in the face of unimaginable atrocities, we have become one unified people. We do not celebrate black history month because white history is unimportant. We celebrate because black history is a part of all of our history. I have found integrating Black History Month into the curriculum to be easy. I will give an example. I am a math teacher and we are always looking for a hook to connect students to the mathematics. I love to tie problems in with real data. Our city was the home of one of the first African American female gold medalist. When I make a word problem based on her data, I can give some wonderful background information to go with it. I have found that local history is a great springboard to including other information in the lessons.