Lessons on racism are an important part of elementary education, particularly when many kids are being taught the opposite at home. But what is happening in the minds of some of these teachers when they are coming up with lesson plans? From placing nooses around little girls necks to assigning crossword puzzles with the word “nigger” in them, I think it’s time for elementary school teachers to go back to school.
A parent, Clifford Branan, said his son’s teacher assigned the homework Friday, as a supplement to “Sounder,” a book his class is reading. The book is commonly used in classrooms nationwide to illustrate racial bigotry and sharecropping hardships through the eyes of a young black boy.
Branan said he could not believe the puzzle with words like cabin, smokehouse and lantern also included the N-word along with its clue, “17 across: An insulting way to label a black person.”
He said the word crosses the line between history and hate. “It’s not something you want to teach,” Branan said.
If the goal is to do more harm than good, give this teacher a presidential medal!
[ via RR]
Reason number 493 that I home school my child.
Can I tie my womb in a knot?
stacy, that’d just create other issues.
If I can afford it, my kids are going to Ecole International de Boston from pre-K because this crap is not cute. I don’t like it now, but I would raise hell if that were my kid.
What’s next? A Holocaust word search?
“Dirty greedy Jews have big noses because the ___ is free.” The ADL would have a field day.”
I wish someone would. Haven’t heard from the ADL in a minute.
P.S.: Jews are neither dirty nor greedy.
Daria-
I don’t know if you are saying homeschooling creates issues or not, but my son is one VERY well rounded child. He has friends of many races, religions, social classes, etc. Is involved in many activities including our local PFLAG group, Citizens for Civil Rights and Lafayette Peace. And he is only 11. We have been homeschooling since 2nd grade when they suggested I medicate my child because he shouldn’t question a teacher.
Stacy, I worked in early childhood education for a while and it disgusts me how quick folks are to medicate a child they just don’t feel like dealing with. Ugh!
I would guess one difficulty would be “socializing” a home-schooled child, but it sounds like you have that completely covered.
The kids I went to college with who were home-schooled were very off. One of them had beliefs that
Also, I don’t think that the vast majority of parents have the patience and knowledge necessary to do it right. Many parents do it wrong. If you’ve seen Jesus Camp, there’s a scene in which the “home schooling” mother is essentially brainwashing her kids as she is working in the kitchen and they are reading some literature on how the heathens are trying to say science is real. To me, that’s brainwashing and I consider that some form of child abuse because every kid should have certain skill sets and knowledge before becoming an adult. Obviously, there’s no right fit for everyone. I probably would send my kid to a Montessori school. Medication is used to treat undesirable traits in people. I have “ADD” and was diagnosed as an adult. Now that I’ve graduated and not getting extensions, etc., it’s very difficult to thrive. Ihave 64 tabs open in Firefox right now while also reading a magazine and watching TV. I’m going on medication because diet isn’t doing anything for me. If your kid’s teacher is asking you to give your kid ADHD meds because he asks questions, she should be reprimanded by administrators. Asking questions is not a symptom of ADHD. Common sense tells you that if a kid is asking questions, he’s paying attention.
It sounds as if you had a rather negative experience with the “fundie” type of homeschooler. Unfortunately there are a lot of those out there. If you research though, you will find that homeschooling has moved from just being a religious decision to being one that many families make for the best interest of the child.
There is no way in hell that my child will ever go to a public school full time (he does go to the public school to participate in marching band) again. He is bipolar, and questioning whether or not he is gay, and I don’t think he is going to get a fair shake by administrators in small town Indiana. JMO