After media outcry, charter school drops assignment asking fourth graders to justify Trail of Tears

[RandySF]

After about a week of widespread media outcry, a public charter elementary school in Georgia has finally removed a deeply offensive assignment from its curriculum. Fourth graders were prompted to “write a letter” to Andrew Jackson from the perspective of an “American settler” arguing in defense of “removing the Cherokee” to help the country “grow and prosper.” If you’re thinking: What the … ? You’re not alone! The assignment is asking young people to justify the systemic removal of Indigenous folks from their homes—genocide, in a word.

This became news after a parent in Virginia noticed the assignment had been shared in a private Facebook group by a parent whose child is enrolled in school in Georgia. Jennifer Martin, the Virginia parent who saw the assignment, told Business Insider she immediately recognized the homework prompt as what it is: “prioritizing the feelings of settlers and colonizers” instead of actual honest history. Martin told the outlet that this sort of lesson plan could easily end up in a public school if it’s happening at a charter school that has state funding. No matter what school it’s taught in, frankly, it’s completely unacceptable.

"The truth of American history,” Martin continued to the news outlet. “And what happened to indigenous peoples and enslaved Africans and other people of color, shouldn't be whitewashed."




https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/1/27/2077172/-Georgia-school-drops-assignment-asking-elementary-schoolers-to-justify-genocide-against-Natives

[Alexander Of Assyria]

1. If a student had handed in an empty sheet I would have given an A+....correct answer

to essay is…there was no justification. Well done!

Suspect this particular Jebsus loving charter school would have same student caned by a priest.

This is Uncritical Race Theory

[CrispyQ]

2. A whole bunch of white people need to pull their heads out of their asses.

[Baitball Blogger]

3. Offensive. this is the indoctrination they want to give the kids, instead

of saying the truth about history. How horrible to force kids to take the side of genocide, like they're selecting ice cream flavors.

[mwooldri]

4. Media outcry?

Bollocks to the media on this one. Where the duck are the parents here? If the purpose of the lesson is to teach "both sides" then teach "both sides" on a more appropriate topic. Asking primary school kids to "both sides" genocide... Now that is something that I would find to be a huge stretch for university level students, let alone primary school kids. If one has to "both sides" something try a scenario where a poor mother is caught stealing baby formula and diapers - arguments for the prosecution and the defence. And that would be university undergraduate grade. My brain is fried so I can't think what would be appropriate at primary school level. But both siding Trail of Tears... like both siding the Holocaust or the Rwandan genocide. Nope. Just nope.