A fifth-grade teacher in Massachusetts has been placed on paid leave after a series of incidents including holding a mock slave auction, using a racial slur, and calling out the student who reported the slur, a school official said.
Officials did not name the teacher at the Margaret A. Neary Elementary School in Southborough, a town about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Boston.
District Superintendent Gregory Martineau told parents in a statement this week that he first learned about the incidents from parents in April.
He said the first incident — a mock slave auction — took place in January during a history lesson on the economy of the Southern colonies.
“The educator asked two children sitting in front of the room, who were of color, to stand, and the educator and class discussed physical attributes (i.e., teeth and strength),” Martineau wrote.
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In the second incident, in April, the teacher was reading aloud from a book and used a slur, which the district later discovered does not appear in the book, officials said. Martineau told parents in his statement that dehumanizing words such as slurs should not be spoken by employees or students.
Well that would require parents to hold their government accountable to educating. Taxes would have to go up and spending on programs that don’t directly benefit “you” as well.
Also, social norms for your times will be questioned. It will be uncomfortable but open dialogue will make it easier. This will also lead into uncovering some horrible things in our past or communities. You’re not responsible, hopefully? Lol But it will help understand how some people are oppressed and our system may need to be reviewed. That will include looking at our judicial system. No one wants to get rid of it but instead make it work for everyone, the same way.
Once we understand all this, then other groups of people may underatand why POC fear interacting with sociaty.
Also, we are teachers not sub-parents. We need to work together to guide young people in a better future for everyone.
I was thinking just letting them know about it in general, not telling it to them. I’m just remember when a black friend of mine told me about that and it really blew my young mind. No one had made it clear to me that Officer Friendly wasn’t Officer Friendly to him or why that was.
Me, I made it clear to my daughter that the cops are no one’s friends, but being white, they’ll be more lenient on us and why that is racist and wrong.