Texas charter school apologizes for asking students to list positive aspects of slavery

[Judi Lynn]

Source: The Hill


BY MAX GREENWOOD - 04/20/18 10:23 PM EDT

A charter school in Texas apologized on Friday after students were asked to write a list of the positive aspects of slavery.

In a Facebook post, Aaron Kindel, the superintendent of the Great Hearts academies in Texas, apologized for the eighth-grade history class assignment, saying that the incident was limited to just one teacher at one particular school.

"In the 8th grade American History class students were asked to reflect on the differing sides of slavery," the Facebook post reads. "To be clear, there is no debate about slavery. It is immoral and a crime against humanity."

Kindel said that Great Hearts academies was taking the incident seriously, and had placed the teacher responsible for the assignment on leave.

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/finance/384126-report-ships-carrying-sorghum-from-us-turn-around-after-china-imposes-tariffs

[MyOwnPeace]

1. I'd be inclined to think.............

it was a lesson plan that came from Secretary DeVos's book on how to give wonderful lessons to those seeking "choice" for their little bigots.

Oh, and by the way, why is "choice" good for students and their parents - but not women?

[dawg day]

6. You can "choose" to focus on the positive aspects of slavery and forced childbirth!

Who said there was no choice?

[christx30]

14. My first thought:

<sweats, adjusts collar> “Certainly makes career day easy for some people.”
In an administration that seems to have a competition of bad ideas, this is certainly a decent entry into that contest.

[flibbitygiblets]

2. AYFKM? Holy shit.

I am just speechless.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. "Great Hearts" lost sight of their own name. Completely and utterly. . . . nt

[BigmanPigman]

16. My exact thought when I read their name too.

[IronLionZion]

4. The only lesson learned from these situations

[trixie2]

8. What an asshole

He seems very proud of that shirt.

[turbinetree]

9. What a fucking racist asshole

[rusty quoin]

5. Historically in public schools the evils of slavery were taught.

This makes me hate charter schools more. There seems to be no standards.

[Crash2Parties]

17. One reason why the GOP & DeVoss are pushing so hard for them

[juxtaposed]

7. This could be a course that makes young adults think a little harder

Creative thinking, Looking at a period that divided this country down the middle and killed hundreds of thousands of ppl. This teacher could be doing a great job having students examen both sides in depth and roll play their sides reasoning. Seems like it could be a good exercise for creative thinking. I know we all know and including the students that slavery was bad.

[trixie2]

10. Exchange slavery for Holocaust

Do you still think it OK? Any minor child should not have to do an assignment like this. College maybe, not children. At least in college you can decide against taking the class. Children are subjected to shit like this and it makes me crazy.

[juxtaposed]

11. I don't have a full understanding of what the teacher did or the teachers lesson plan

but I can reflect back when I was a kid in school and had teachers that had us look at things that were hard and bad try to come up with understandings of why.

[Merlot]

19. Big difference between "understanding of why" and

"list the good things about slavery."

Any lesson plan that starts with "list the good things about slavery" is deeply flawed.

[malthaussen]

29. However, the extracted material does not agree with the headline...

... and the link is broken.

According to what is shown, the teacher required his students to examine all sides, not to "list the positive aspects of slavery" as the headline claims. Alas, the link is to a report on sorghum tariffs, would appear at first blush to have nothing to do with the question.

-- Mal

[Merlot]

31. That's exactly what "examine all sides" means - find something good

It's the same as "fair and balanced" news. No such thing.

[malthaussen]

33. Only if you stipulate that a "good" side exists.

Which does not follow in logic, wherein an argument is neither good nor evil, but in keeping with the rules of logic or not.

-- Mal

[trixie2]

34. the assignment was to write the positive aspects of slavery

[malthaussen]

35. See reply above.

The synopsis of the assignment does not say "list good aspects of slavery," but "examine all sides." "All sides" does not imply a "good" side.

-- Mal

[trixie2]

37. I find your argument to be baseless

See this link to see the actual assignment.

[janterry]

26. I agree

I think the fact that these things getting debated online - with simple blurbs - is nonsense. We don't know the whole story - and something out of context is - (often)
just another half truth.

Had my daughter been given an assignment that I didn't understand or thought was racist - I'd ask to see the complete assignment or talk to the teacher. My daughter came home with a tale about seeing the 'jumpers' on a 9/11 video when she was in 4th or 5th grade. As it turns out - she did NOT. She did see a video that showed - briefly - a tower burning, but the other kids kept talking up the violence (not during class - on the playyard). She didn't mean to lie, so much - but to express some of her horror. But, as it turns out, what she reported was false and needed better processing.

Talking to the teacher is always a good place to start .

[Behind the Aegis]

21. ...

Last edited Sat Apr 21, 2018, 05:55 AM - Edit history (1)

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[Squinch]

27. Lol. Um. No.

[world wide wally]

32. No excuse whatsoever.

If this was the intention, the question should have been phrased differently. Such as "list the justifications slave owners used to keep their slaves, and where did their logic fail"

[patricia92243]

12. There are no positive aspects to slavery - not one. n/t

[Merlot]

20. Unless you're a slave owner

Which is why that question was so insidious - teaching children to think like slave owners is dispicable.

[Ukrainian Yankee]

13. This is a Joke, right?

RIGHT??

[SunSeeker]

15. So there were "very fine people on both sides"?!

I shouldn't be shocked, considering who is in the White House.

[Solly Mack]

18. Damn

[briv1016]

22. Well I remember having a debate in class about which was worse, Slavery or Indentured Servitude.

When studying the history of evil acts it is often informative to look into why they thought they where justified. If you simply write it off as "they where evil fucks," you miss the underlying psychology of the event.

[keithbvadu2]

23. List the 'positive' aspects of evangelists and priests molesting children.

List the 'positive' aspects of evangelists and priests molesting children.

Sarcasm thingie goes here.

[Dave Starsky]

24. One positive thing you can say about child molesters...

Is that they always slow down in school zones.

[Lucky Luciano]

25. .

[malthaussen]

28. Not a bad way to teach debating techniques...

... if that was their intention. As it happens, I took the "pro" side in a second grade debate about slavery (perverse little bugger that I was). Hasn't made me think any less that it was an abomination and a crime against humanity.

If we cannot hold in our minds untrue or contrary thoughts about a subject, how are we supposed to get at the truth?

-- Mal

[LanternWaste]

36. Hence, the teacher was suspended for presenting a good way to teach debating techniques..

Hence, the teacher was suspended for presenting a good way to teach debating techniques... if that was their intention?

Does denial of a positive aspect of a thing (e.g., the holocaust) deny our ability to hold contrary thought? I think not... your logical fallacy (a non sequitur or "it does not necessarily follow&quot notwithstanding.

[gopiscrap]

30. that's what Charter Schools are like