Posted on 04/09/2011 8:26:59 AM PDT by Kaslin
NORFOLK
The principal of Sewells Point Elementary School has apologized to parents for a teacher's classroom exercise last week that cast her black and mixed-race fourth-graders as available for sale.
The apology came after the teacher separated the students from their white classmates and auctioned them, division spokeswoman Elizabeth Thiel Mather said. The exercise was part of an April 1 class on the Civil War.
In an April 6 letter sent to parents of students in the class, Principal Mary B. Wrushen wrote: "I recently became aware of a history lesson that was presented to the students in Ms. Jessica Boyle's fourth grade class. Although her actions were well intended to meet the instructional objectives, the activity presented was inappropriate for the students.
"The lesson could have been thought through more carefully, as to not offend her students or put them in an uncomfortable situation," Wrushen wrote.
Wrushen said the exercise was not supported by the school or division. "I will follow up with the classroom teacher to ensure nothing like this ever occurs again," the letter said. "In addition, the guidance counselor is available to discuss any concerns your child may still have concerning this classroom lesson."
Wrushen declined to comment Friday. Boyle, who has been with the division since 2005, did not return a call to the school. She has taught at Sewells Point for three years, and before that was at Dreamkeepers Academy, according to the division website.
Mather said the division was responding to the incident with "appropriate personnel action." She did not give details.
Wrushen became aware of the auction exercise after receiving complaints from two parents, and spoke to the class about the incident, Mather said.
"This lesson was not part of the approved curriculum," Mather said.
Chris Lee, whose daughter is in Boyle's class, was among parents picking up their children Friday at the school on Hampton Boulevard near Norfolk Naval Station. He said he'd heard no details about the exercise, though he received Wrushen's letter.
"My wife and I were trying to figure out what the letter was about, because we heard nothing about it, we just saw the letter," he said.
Told by a reporter about the auction, Lee said, "That sounds inappropriate to me. Wow. That's interesting - that's something I have to digest." He said he would ask his daughter to tell him about the incident.
The school has 590 students.
Contacted Friday by The Virginian-Pilot, School Board Chairman Kirk Houston said he had not known about the auction.
"That's very disturbing to me, extremely disturbing to me," he said. "Mock slave auctions involving children are absolutely unacceptable in a classroom. At this point this is a personnel matter, and the School Board will monitor its outcome."
Peggy Scott, treasurer of the Norfolk Council PTA, also first heard about the incident from The Pilot.
"I'm sitting here with my mouth hanging open," Scott said. "There are some things you don't do."
In a statement Friday, Superintendent Richard Bentley said: "The school district does not condone this type of lesson in any way. It was wrong. It was outside the boundaries of the curriculum and appropriate instructional practices."
Last year, a Jacox Elementary teacher who anointed students with "holy oil" in the classroom resigned after a parent complained about the teacher's religious actions. The division determined the teacher violated the school system's instructional curriculum as well as policies and laws related to the separation of church and state.
Also last year, two teachers at Norcom High School were placed on leave for using materials in the classroom that were endorsed by an anarchist group and an organization that backs legalized marijuana. Both received letters of reprimand for not receiving permission to use the materials in class and returned to their jobs.
An elementary guidance counselor who distributed 80 to 100 human fetus figurines to students last year at Oakwood Elementary resigned after being put on leave. The school's principal was removed from her post and reassigned elsewhere as an assistant principal.
I dunno what’s stupider — this, or the infamous “blue eyes brown eyes” exercises in teacher guided bullying.
On the other hand, who would have the cojones to put on a play of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”? Now that might teach some lessons.
Yuppers — the slave traders that came to Africa took advantage of inter-tribal wars and vendettas to get black people kidnapped for them. The crews were often Muslim; few Christians could stomach an operation like that.
If there is a “Liberal PC overreaction of the year” award, this would be a strong candidate for it.
FR has its share of liberals too.
Not when the subject is Virginia history. That is the history course in 4th grade in Virginia. I do believe the history course in 4th grade in other states is that particular state's history.
Your suggestion is VERY appropriate for other history classes and I fully agree with you.
Unfortunately, most of the clowns teaching in our schools these days wouldn’t want to see that lesson plan out there floating around, IMHO.
So far I've been lucky, and my daughter is learning history in all of it's ugly presentations. Communism and socialism don't work and don't belong in our form of government, slavery is always wrong, and our government was set up in such a way that the states should not have to bend to the federal government on things best left to the local level.
Yup, she attends public school, in Virginia.
Thank you.
I know.
It’s a fair guess that kids in China are studying calculus while kids in Norfolk are involved in stupidity like this.
Putting black people on a block and selling them as slaves has more impact on white people than anything. It’s not like we can say “Oh that could never happen”.
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