The “slavery math problems” assigned to 8-year-olds in Norcross has left the entire country in disbelief. I am perturbed by the fact that these questions were posed by a school system that prides itself on valuing “the important role education plays in building a thriving, global community” and having “the finest teachers in the profession.”
The homework assignment was part of a longer narrative that led to specific homework questions such as, “Each tree had 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?” and “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?”
Gwinnett spokeswoman Sloan Roach said the questions were an attempt by the teacher to “incorporate social studies lessons into the math problems.” She then mentioned that the problem was that the assignment “lacked an appropriate historical context.” Unfortunately, that assessment of the situation barely scratches the surface of the complexity of the issue.
There are five messages that we can take away from this case to arm ourselves to address the larger issue of race and education in schools across the country.
● Connect issues of race: Parents must recognize that this story is not an anomaly. These issues may only emerge in national media in cases like this one — in which an alert parent paid attention. However, for every scenario in which a race-based education issue emerges in the form of a youth arrest in school, nooses being hung on cartoon characters in school newsletters or a scenario such as this one, there are many others that never see the light of the mainstream news. It is important for us to be able to link seemingly separate incidents related to race, class and gender, and connect them for the school and the public so that they can be addressed.
● Address racial history: The school spokeswoman’s use of the district’s effort to incorporate social studies into math lessons as a way to justify or explain the slavery references in math problems is problematic. Furthermore, it is an example of how the language of teaching and buzzwords in education simply serve as a way to explain away poor teaching and offensive practices.
In this case and in many others cases, teaching across subject areas, using vivid examples in teaching and even using imagery in constructing questions, simply masks larger issues in the school that are not being addressed. Parents and the public must be aware of this fact and push for more focus on the causes for race issues in classrooms.
● Get to the root of the problem: In this case, the school district agreed to shred the assignment and offered an apology for its insensitivity. For many people, this is sufficient. I argue that the shredding of the assignment is inconsequential if the reason why a teacher finds it appropriate to pose such questions to begin with has not been addressed. There must be a push to shred the root of the problem and not just the assignment.
● Review your child’s schoolwork for hidden agenda: The most powerful thing about this case are the vigilant parents who saw the math problems as they were going over homework with their children. In particular, two African-American fathers discovered the questions and contacted the school district. These parents serve as an example and provide us all with an additional reason to be involved with what our children are learning in school, what assignments they are bringing home and what messages they may be receiving from their assignments.
● Demand cultural sensitivity in teacher training: The teacher who gave this assignment is touted by the district as being part of the “finest in the profession” but may not be aware of the implications of racial ignorance on students. Teacher hiring focuses solely on the degrees teachers have earned, their GPAs and their knowledge of their content areas, but does not evaluate or prepare them on race, class and urban issues. In many cases, these teachers lack ongoing professional development on race, class and gender issues in schools.
To be the “finest teacher in the profession,” one must have ongoing training beyond math, science or subject area. Schools, parents and the public must demand more from the people who teach our children.
Christopher Emdin teaches at Teachers College, Columbia University, and writes the “Emdin Five Series” for the Huffington Post where this essay originally appeared.
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