Slavery Math Protesters
A Georgia teacher who used slaved-themed questions to teach math to third-graders has resigned, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Among the questions that the unidentified teacher at Beaver Ridge Elementary used in the lessons:
- “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?”
- “Each tree has 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?”
Schools officials in the suburban Atlanta school in Lawrenceville say one teacher created the slave-themed questions, which were used in four classrooms.
The questions referred to beatings and picking cotton to link a history lesson about Frederick Douglass to solving math problems, the newspaper says.
The newspaper says a Gwinnett County school official confirmed that the teacher had resigned but, along with three others, is still under a personal investigation.
The Journal-Constitution notes that the incident is particularly perplexing in a school in which 88% of the students are either black or Hispanic and half the staff is non-white.
After the assignment was handed out Jan. 4, several parents and the NAACP gathered outside the school to protest, WXIA TV reports.
Please see: Melanian News Editor Commentary on this story.
