Washington mother upset her daughter was asked to pick cotton in class

upi ^ | April 30, 2014 | Evan Bleier

[JoeProBono]

REDMOND , Wash. A mother in Washington is upset after a teacher at her daughter’s middle school allegedly gave students an assignment that required them to pick cotton so that they could "see what it was like to be a slave."

Carolyn Walker called Redmond Middle School to inform them that her daughter would not be doing the assignment and later found out the teacher gave her daughter an F.

"My daughter is African American and for her to pick cotton when her grandparents were raised on a plantation to pick cotton, is not OK, it's not OK at all," Walker told KIRO 7. "It's not just about my daughter, all races should not have to participate in this. It's wrong, it's absolutely wrong."

According to the Lake Washington School District, the lesson was about “the impact that the invention of the cotton gin had on the Industrial Revolution."

Walker has scheduled a meeting with the teacher and the principal where she will request that the cotton lesson be dropped from the school’s curriculum.

[Black Agnes]

Both of my (mostly white) parents picked cotton as kids. My dad’s family were sharecroppers. He’s pestering me to find and order some cotton seeds so my kids can see what it was like to chop cotton and pick cotton.

This lady and her kid sound like losers.

[jeffc]

A conservative teacher should hold a class to show what it’s like for Christians to live in a mooselimb country. Wonder how the Lefties would take that.....

[JoeProBono]

[GeronL]

my dad picked cotton as a child in the 30’s - they had to eat

[cidrasm]

"My daughter is African American and for her to pick cotton when her grandparents were raised on a plantation to pick cotton, is not OK, it's not OK at all,"

This is 2014. Maybe I'm just terribly misinformed, but I call BS on this statement. Somehow I missed blacks raised on a plantation in the 70s or 80s (or 90s)

[defconw]

Agreed!

[NorthMountain]

Her grandparents were raised on a plantation?

The truth doesn't matter ... only how she feels about it.

[JoeProBono]

[defconw]

We are so screwed!

[yarddog]

I still remember the most I ever picked in one day. 94 pounds. I was around 10.

My Aunt Ruby who owned the land and cotton would always pick over 200. All her children also picked but now that I think about it, Uncle Buck never did any picking.

[Flash Bazbeaux]

When I was 12 I had a summer job hoeing

Must ... resist ... urge ... to ... be ... a ... smart@$$.

[Mark17]

Her grandparents were raised on a plantation? I am 50 years old and my great grandmother was born in 1881, for crying out loud! But this child’s grandparents are over 150 years old? LOL

I wondered if I was the only one doing the math. What a bunch of lying skanks.

[JoeProBono]

[piroque]

I for one ,Plenty of white folks picked cotton., and a good trade to know. Also know how to chop cotton , comes in handy with the garden chores . ;)

[petitfour]

Maybe this woman needs more Prozac.

Is she ignorant or what? Does she wear clothes? Does she have towels and sheets?

[moviefan8]

Well, this is a good example of why this country is in trouble. Americans these days do not like to work.

[Popman]

Overall a pretty dumb idea....

I suggest they do a reenactment of the end of Spartacus....

Romans knew how to deal with slaves.....

[JoeProBono]

[Wonder Warthog]

Where in heck in Redmond did they find any cotton to "pick"??

Cotton don't grow in WA, and down in my home state of Louisiana where it "does" grow (and yes,I've both picked and hoed it), it doesn't reach "pickable" stage until late August or early September.

I would guess that this is drug store cotton balls stuck onto some bush.

[ansel12]

A photo that shows some of my mother’s and her family’s life as fruit and cotton pickers, and share croppers.