Slavery-math questions cause uproar at NYC school
NEW YORK (AP) - A school principal said she's "appalled" by a homework assignment that used scenarios about killing and whipping slaves to teach math.
Adele Schroeter has ordered sensitivity training for the entire staff of Public School 59 in Manhattan following last month's assignment, the Daily News reported Friday.
A teacher had asked fourth-graders to write homework questions that blended math and social studies, education officials said. The teacher then used the students' questions, including the slave-related ones, as homework for the class.
One question stated the number of slaves who died while taking over a ship. It asked how many slaves were still alive. The other said a slave was whipped five times a day and asked students to calculate how many times a month he was whipped.
A student-teacher said she was shocked by the wording and later refused to hand out the worksheet in another class.
"I looked at the questions and was like, 'Wow! This is kind of inappropriate,'" Aziza Harding told the New York Post, saying the questions contained "desensitized" violence.
"I just found it alarming that this would happen in a state that you would think was more liberal," said Harding.
The Department of Education said the situation was "obviously unacceptable." It said "appropriate disciplinary action" would be taken.
Adele Schroeter has ordered sensitivity training for the entire staff of Public School 59 in Manhattan following last month's assignment, the Daily News reported Friday.
A teacher had asked fourth-graders to write homework questions that blended math and social studies, education officials said. The teacher then used the students' questions, including the slave-related ones, as homework for the class.
One question stated the number of slaves who died while taking over a ship. It asked how many slaves were still alive. The other said a slave was whipped five times a day and asked students to calculate how many times a month he was whipped.
A student-teacher said she was shocked by the wording and later refused to hand out the worksheet in another class.
"I looked at the questions and was like, 'Wow! This is kind of inappropriate,'" Aziza Harding told the New York Post, saying the questions contained "desensitized" violence.
"I just found it alarming that this would happen in a state that you would think was more liberal," said Harding.
The Department of Education said the situation was "obviously unacceptable." It said "appropriate disciplinary action" would be taken.
It would of been alright if republican was used instead of slave
I guess it's not right to teach kids the truth. Â Just cover up or sugar coat everything that has been negative over the years. Â It's the in thing to keep dumbing down our kids, and it's working. Â What good is Black History month, if the teachers are not allowed to teach the truth? Â It's no wonder that more and more people are becoming racist again. Â
Very pathetic if you can see whats wrong with this issue !
@Shadow Why wouldn't teachers teach about all the great things that the black community has done?
Is there anyone who does not know that the US had slavery? Don't the schools teach about the civil war, or the emancipation proclamation? Don't kids know that it was the first Republican President who stopped slavery.
@Shadow No one is suggesting that kids shouldn't learn about slavery, in history class. But to use this particular example for a math question is simply insensitive to black students. It's callous. Would you want to be reminded of a painful period in your history every time you did a math problem? Would you be ok if such math problems were based on, e.g., the number of people who starved to death in German concentration camps, vs. the number of people who were gassed??? All in the interests of "teaching the truth", as you put it???
Stupid teacher.
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@Festivus I'm going to go cut the lumber and get the nails as soon as I finish smirking.
(My wife taught school for 12 years in South Central LA, and she laughed out loud at your post, followed by the comment "More true then he knows.")
@ShallowEnder @Festivus I first saw this back in the rec.humor.funny days of the nascent internet, and I always remembered it.  There's a version for English teachers too, I think.
katu deleted it ???
Slavery happened over a century ago. Time for blacks to give it a rest and get over it. They are still using slavery for all the political gain they can and I am tired if their whining.
@RalphCramden ......somehow Ralph, black Americans find it easier and more self-serving to be victims. It gets more government programs and assistance withou having to contribute .
This is what harry told lloyd......you know, dumb & dumber.....you lloyd ?
Just when I thought you couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totally redeem yourself!
I understand that it's sensitive because it's Black History Month...but black people weren't the only slaves. It could've been any race of slaves. Just saying...and this question is just wrong in itself - what happened to the age-old "timmy has 4 apples, he takes 2 away then adds one, how many apples does he have?"
Slavery in other cultures was in no way comparable to what we put our slaves through.
@Sarbar These were questions put forth by 4th graders, they weren't thinking of all those other people who were slaves throughout history.
I'm going to guess since it's Black History Month, that the social studies class has been focusing on the exploitation of blacks, instead of highlighting their contributions as the original "Negro History Week" was intended. What did they expect from these kids who have probably heard nothing except how horrible the conditions were in certain situations over 200 years ago?
Perhaps if the schools instead focused on the positive contributions or the overwhelming situations where blacks were treated well, they might have gotten different math problems.
Overwhelming situations where blacks were treated well? Over 200 years ago? Take your head out of where you seem to keep it and use it to gain a little understanding. The actors who made "Roots" couldn't stay in some hotels while they were filming. LAST YEAR, there were systematic attempts to make it difficult to impossible for people, largely in the south and black, from voting. You are being deliberately obtuse.
@MechanicAnd you obviously have no knowledge of life 200 years ago except for what the public school told you.
If your last sentence refers to someone proving they have a right to vote, why is it that you think blacks wouldn't be able to do that? Are you so blinded that you honestly think they are not able to apply for an ID? So hapless that they can't find work?
My understanding of history is evidently a lot broader than yours. How many blacks, for a buck, sold their friends and families into slavery? How is it that you can only refer to Roots, a dramatic movie and not actual history? How many former slaves who upon given the chance, succeeded in life? How many proud black families have been torn apart by our welfare system?
How many black kids today pay no attention in school and can't read at a 6th grade level? Their ancestors risked being killed in order to learn how to read because even as slaves, they knew the power of education!
@sargerator You do know that's a lie, right?
@Owt_Raged @Mechanic Roots was supposed to be non-fiction and later found to be a blend of family history and history and that was ok. Around the same time Clifford Irving fake a howard hughes biography and went to jail
You do know the platforms of both parties have switched since then ?? You do know the southern states are overwhelmingly republiCON ?? Seems some of your facts are vague !
@Emi-Lynn I could have sworn we were talking about "Negro History Week"Â You know, where the accomplishments and contributions of blacks is discussed and celebrated?
And yes, I was aware that Mississippi never filed their paperwork. You are speaking of a government agency, remember? Â
The entire US is NOT the same as a few spots in the south that are still filled with racist, hateful democrats that never got over the civil war. The rest of us moved on about 100 years ago.
You are absolutley right I have a sister that lives in the south and racism is not only alive and well they have their own form of segregation going on, just without the signs.
@Owt_Raged @Mechanic Here's a few more facts that your vastly superior education seems to have missed.  Birth certificates weren't even an option for blacks born in the South before the late 1920's  1927 is the first year it became an option in most states.
Guess when Mississippi got around to ratifying the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery. Â Anybody? Â Try two weeks ago. Â Yep, they actually voted on it finally in 1995 - note that is NOT 1895, but 1995. Â However, they never turned the finished paperwork over to the proper authorities until earlier this month.
Racism is alive and well, especially in the deep South. Â Â