The sanity of whom ever created the math worksheet in question should be inspected.
They are far too insular in their own world to fail to see the response that their "word problems" would create to a sane person.
It should be noted that the Gwinnett County Georgia School System is a popular destination for "Black Flight Progressives". Many Black parents have vacated neighboring Dekalb County (in particular), City Of Atlanta, and Clayton County, primarily driven by the quality of the schools.
In 2010 Gwinnett County Schools were awarded the "Broad Prize For Urban Education", recognizing their ability to provide quality education to a diverse student body in an urban setting.
From The Article:
A math worksheet for third graders that used examples of slavery in word problems has angered some parents at a Norcross elementary school, Channel 2 Action News reports.
One word problem stated, "Each tree had 56 oranges. If 8 slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?" Another said, "If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in 1 week?”
Such questions can evoke bitter memories in Georgia, where African Americans were enslaved for generations until the Civil War and the elimination of slavery.
"It kind of blew me away,” Christopher Braxton, a parent of a child at Beaver Ridge Elementary School, told Channel 2. "I was furious. … Something like this shouldn't be embedded into a kid of the third, fourth, fifth, any grade."
Another Beaver Ridge parent, Terrance Barnett, said, "I’m having to explain to my 8-year-old why slavery or slave or beatings is in a math problem. So that hurts.”
Gwinnett County School District officials said teachers were attempting to incorporate history into math lessons.
“Teachers were trying to do a cross-curricular activity,” district spokeswoman Sloan Roach told Channel 2.
Roach acknowledged the questions gave no context for the issues they raised.
"We understand that there are concerns about these questions, and we agree that these questions were not appropriate,” she said.
Parents told Channel 2 that the school’s principal was collecting the assignments and would shred them so they wouldn’t be circulated.
Officials said that under district policy, the worksheet should have been reviewed before being handed out to students, but that process was not followed in this situation. They said they would work with math teachers to come up with more appropriate questions.
5 comments:
Something needs to be done about this. I can't believe that this teacher has not been fired. This is unexcusable!!
The school system just tried to justify this ridicules act with an implausible explanation.
"Something needs to be done about this"
With all due respect Lercin -
You need to place this all into the context of the painful truth about education for Black children in metro Atlanta.
You are merely looking at a TRANSACTION.
While I find the exercise ignorant I am certain that the administration will "check it" so this never happens again.
The "WHY HAVEN'T THEY BEEN FIRED" moment should have been applied to the school systems that these Black parents were compelled to vacate from. The abuse of Black children's educational potential is happening far more acutely in Dekalb, Atlanta and Clayton County than what is the case in Gwinnett.
Unfortunately Black people are more attuned into rising up to demand a dismissal of authorities that offend our "racial sensibilities" in such a manner as this than many of us are prone to show leadership in operating these other majority Black school systems who's product is "less offensive" because of the favorable people running them.
I will NOT run a "Counter Protest" against any NAACP-type operative who sees this and demands punishment. I will, however, note the SILENCE that transpires in the cases of the more comprehensive "insults" upon the Black community's educational pursuits as it proves where some people's interests reside.
I am a Black parent who moved to Gwinnett County but I do not consider myself to be a Progressive. I worked in DeKalb County for 3 years and I witnessed enough incompetence and buffoonery from administrators and teachers to know it was time to go. If anyone has followed the drama behind selecting a new superintendent in DeKalb County, then you can infer as to why a lot of parents leave that area
But back to the matter at hand: Gwinnett has these incidents and they manage to sweep a lot of them under the rug because Alvin Wilbanks is connected. What's more sad is that the few token Blacks in leadership positions perpetuate the happy slave image by saying that their boss is not racist, has Black friends, etc., etc., etc.
As a former educator, I cannot not image the thought process behind choosing to use such a worksheet to teach Math, or any subject for that matter. From a historical context, it doesn't even teach about slavery-it just mentions beatings. WTH? Only an idiot or racist, or both, would think this constitutes a cross-curricular lesson.
Monise:
Please understand my argument.
I AGREE - the worksheet was ignorant and whomever was responsible for publishing it face at least some amount of sensitivity training. I believe this can be ADMINISTRATIVELY CHECKED.
As you point out with respect to Dekalb County - there is an active outflow of Black families (regardless of ideological bent) from certain "Mission Accomplished" School Districts.
My personal problem with the "NAACP Consciousness" is that they are attuned to:
* Trying to run the superintend of Gwinnett County Schools out of office because he says "Idaho doesn't have enough Black people for them to even be a 'behavioral problem' " (paraphrased). This despite the fact that Gwinnett is more proficient at educating Black children than their neighbors
* Filing a lawsuit against Fayette County Schools for having an all At-Large school board voting process. This DESPITE the fact that Fayette graduates 92% of all of its Black students
As I watch this consciousness it is clear that the best way to inspect them is to note what THEY ARE NOT OFFENDED BY - the incompetence that you mention.
Earlier this year when I saw students from "MLK Jr High" in Dekalb break into the bus yard and spray paint 'MLK' on the buses from their football rival "Stephenson High" this was emblematic of the problem with the CONSCIOUSNESS of the mass of people there. "MLK" used as vandalism between one black school against another. Truly we have lost something.
Redan High - 25 years ago was a top performing school. Today it is yet another problem plagued school.
My argument is that it is too EASY for Black people to have our "Eyes Taken Off Of The Prize". With our new found demand for RESPECT - the pursuit of it should be measured in the important things that are abandoned as a result.
I no longer believe in the argument "These two things are NOT mutually exclusive".
When an operative who is otherwise incompetent gets power - they EXPLOIT the fact that Black people are sensitive to "racial insults" and won't call the mis-leaders out.
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