In New York City, a fourth grade teacher attempted to combine what her students had been learning about in math in conjunction with their study of slavery. While the idea might seem like a unique way to get students to think, it turned into what I think a big mistake. One of the problems on the worksheet, entitled Slavery Word Problems, was, "In a slave ship, there can be 3,799 slaves. One day, the slaves took over the ship. 1,897 are dead. How many slaves are alive?" The problem may be stated in simple English, however given how sensitive the issue is, I think the teacher made the wrong decision to incorporate the two subjects. With wording such as 'alive' it makes the student consider the buying and selling of people as product and property, almost like cattle or clothing.
The desensitizing of the whole realm of slavery is most alarming to me because of the fact that slavery was outlawed almost 150 years ago. Another problem on the sheet said, "One slave got whipped five times a day. How many times did he get whipped in a month (31 days)? Another slave got whipped nine times a day. How many times did he get whipped in a month? How many times did the two slaves get whipped together in one month?" This is a grotesque example of how slavery as a Peculiar Institution has been accepted into society. 'Daily whippings' are in the same format as any other word problem like apples picked or cars washed. The given information, like in any word problem, is assumed as factual and correct. I think it is wrong that the students are forced to believe that the horrors and abuse of slavery are known and believed as a simple truth.
What do you think this proves about American society? To what extent should the teacher be punished? How widespread do you think this issue is across the country and world? What can we do in the future to get these ideas stopped without infringing on teachers' rights?
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