Just when I thought I had heard it all, something comes along that shocks the hell out of me. When I first read this article I had a puzzled dog look. How could an educator be so calloused with regard to the feelings of young people? Apparently an elementary teacher in Gwinnett County Georgia thought it proper to refer to slavery and slave beatings in the third grade math homework assignment. One question read and I quote, “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in 1 week? 2 weeks? Well of course parents were upset when they read the homework assignment and immediately contacted the principal. The principal stated that it was an attempt to combine math and social studies and in retrospect a mistake had been made. NO KIDDING!!! I can think of a hundred ways to coalesce math and social studies without lowering children’s self-esteem. “'The teachers were trying to do a cross-curricular activity,' Spokeswoman Sloan Roach explained to WSB-TV in their intended attempt to mix history with math, but the problems weren't given with any historical background confusing the students who asked their parents why someone was being beaten twice a day.” Sometimes I can be oversensitive, but this time I do not think so. What are your thoughts?
6 comments:
No, you are not being over sensitive. In no forum would questions like these be acceptable. I cant believe that the principal tried to defend this! Un-freaking-real how ignorant our teachers can be! I really feel sorry for those students and their families.
Good Lord! This is unbelievable! No, you are NOT being overly sensitive!!! I am saddened that an educator in today's schools would not see how wrong this is. No defense, it's just wrong on every level. Seems those folks are going to need some additional education and training. Let's hope they get it.
You are not being oversensitive at all. I know I have to check my sensitivity meter every now and then, but this is totally out of line.
Apparently, a degree in Education does not come with side order of reasonable common sense. Jeez Louise.
Oh.my.gosh. That is wrong on so many levels.
Slaves, cotton, beatings...and they want to know why Black parents are upset? Really? How the heck do you even explain that to an EIGHT year old?
And what if there are children who are being abused? Can you just imagine the horror they felt at the "beatings" question!
I want to "beat" whomever made up this test. Coalesce my butt. Absolutely idiotic is more like it.
Boogie: I am with you, how can you call yourself a principal and attempt to defend this? At the very least there should have been talk of disciplinary action.
Teresa: Unbelievable indeed. I could not call myself a teacher with a straight face if I could not find a better way to educate. This was reprehensible!
Shantel: I am with you, a degree in education does not equate commonsense, unfortunately :-(
Pamela D. Hart: LOL! I thought about kicking their butts too! But I digress.
No Pjazzy, you aren't being overly sensitive at all. My first reaction was "what the hell was this teacher thinking?!" Then I realized the problem was, they weren't thinking. The teacher responsible for these math lessons needs to explain to the parents and students why they thought this was OK.
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