While it may be part of the curriculum, it means far more than that to me.
It means more than checking off a box on a curriculum calendar.
I grew up in a predominantly white school with very little diversity. I learned about the same historical figures every single year for less than a day each. I could recite their names, their dates, and the bullet points that would show up on a test, but once the test was over, all that information went out the window. Now looking back, I realize something: knowing a name is not the same as understanding a story.
Lately, I’ve seen TikToks where someone asks a basic historical question, something most of us learned in elementary school, and the person answers completely wrong. Last week, I watched a video where someone was asked, “Who killed Abraham Lincoln?” and the response was Martin Luther King Jr.
My mind was honestly blown.
How do we spend years teaching about important historical figures and still see that level of confusion in high school and college? Where are we going wrong?
I don’t think the issue is that we aren’t mentioning these figures. I think it’s that we’re not teaching them in a way that sticks.
Black History Month exists — and it should. But that doesn’t mean Black history belongs only in February. No student is going to remember a person who is discussed once and then never mentioned again. Learning doesn’t work that way. Understanding doesn’t work that way.
When I officially become a teacher, here’s what I want my classroom to look like:
Empathy and Understanding
History isn’t just dates and deaths. It’s people. It’s lived experiences. I want my students to understand not just what happened, but how it felt, why it mattered, and how it still affects the world they live in.
A Foundation for Critical Thinking
When students learn multiple perspectives, they learn to question, analyze, and connect. Black history provides essential context for conversations about justice, leadership, resistance, creativity, and policy. That builds thinkers, not memorizers.
Highlighting Achievement and Resilience
Black history is filled with innovation, leadership, creativity, and brilliance, not just pain. My students will know scientists, writers, activists, entrepreneurs, athletes, and creators, not just one or two “safe” names.
Diverse Cultural Narratives
Representation matters, especially in classrooms that lack visible diversity. Students deserve to see a full picture of the world. Exposure builds awareness. Awareness builds respect.
A Powerful Educational Tool
Teaching Black history strengthens literacy, discussion skills, and social-emotional learning. It invites meaningful dialogue. It prepares students for a diverse society, whether they grow up in one or not.
I didn’t always notice what was missing from my own education. But as a future teacher, I feel responsible for doing better.
Black history isn’t separate from American history. It is American history.
And in my classroom, it won’t disappear on March 1st.