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!) You most have really had your students engaged and thinking during this unit of study! I think it's wonderful that you had students excited about the accomplishments of past African Americans and that the students were gaining knowledge about their own culture. I would talk to the students who stated that they wished they were black and tell them that people of all races and nationalities have made contributions for people today to be proud of. To carry through into reading/ELA, students could conduct a research project on different American Figures that have positively contributed to what America knows and loves today. This way students can learn about more people and also be exposed to a wide range of minority contributions that impacted the entire world.