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!) The first thing I would do is ask the students why? I would be interested and I'm sure other students would be interested in hearing their responses. Then I would tell them that it isn't my intention to persuade you to change, my intentionwas simply to educate you on individuals different from your own. Then I would explain to them that so often individuals who had an impact in our history are overlooked when they should not be. It's important to equally recognize important individuals in our past. I would not try to make it a big deal nor try to over analyze the situation because I never intend to make students feel embarrassed.