Sometimes it takes on a broader meaning as it did when The Angry Black Woman wrote "Get Them While They're Young: An Idea Toward Creating An Anti-Prejudice Future". She proposed a curriculum to give people, starting at the elementary school level, the tools to combat prejudice, bias, and bigotry or, at least, work toward that change on an individual level.
She wrote the proposal in response to an event over a year ago in Prescott, AZ, where an artist who depicted children in a multi-racial mural on the side of an elementary school was ordered to change their skin color to white. Ultimately, sanity prevailed, and with apologies from the school principal and the school superintendent, the mural remains unchanged.
But designing and implementing the kind of anti-prejudicial curriculum The Angry Black Woman proposed carries with it the moral imperative to avoid promoting racial stereotypes.
A Gwinnett County, GA third grade teacher who tried to teach math using racial stereotypes under the guise of social studies learned that the hard way.
He included "math questions" involving slaves, beatings and cotton picking.
The teacher has resigned and is deeply apologetic, saying he "cannot apologize enough." True. "You ain't just whistling 'Dixie'!"
2 comments:
Great post! Did you forget the Birmingham math teacher who used the assassination of President Obama as a teaching tool?
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/05/jefferson_county_geometry_teac.html
Or the refusal of some public schools to air President Obama's back to school address?
Teaching hate
http://www.leftinalabama.com/diary/4708/teaching-hate
Speaking of President Obama, I have to share a great little comment by dcostello on the Washington Post blog.
"To those that think Newt's marriage problems should be off limits to the press corps I only ask one question. If O'Bama had had three wives, was accused by one of them of asking for an open marriage, and was now married to his mistress of 6+ years, would you think the same thing? I am amazed there has not been more scrutiny of this issue. If elected, Calistra will make a wonderful role model to children and the rest of the world. If she does move into the White House, is she still be the First Lady or will she be known as the Third Lady?"
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