Teachers get put into some tough positions, and we’re not even talking about questions about unions or budget cuts.
They have to find ways to drive home the most important concepts in our society, and those often bypass the three R’s. How do you teach a child about slavery, a long blemish on our country’s record? How do you get them to understand such a grand scale of injustice?
Dividing your class by race and role-playing purchasing slaves probably won’t drive the point home, as Virginia fourth-grade teacher Jessica Boyle now knows.
Her April 1 lesson came under fire from angered parents. We understand the outcry, but although it seems like a stupid mistake, we feel for Boyle, too.
Kids often can’t see how something would affect them until it happens to them, as the teacher knew. However, the division by race just gives white children the wrong message: It’s not my history and not my problem.
She should have taken a different approach and categorized the children randomly. The worst road to take, however, is to gloss over the topic with a quick mention. Slavery is and will continue to be a touchy subject for our country, but we have to address it.
