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The grandmother of an eighth-grade student at the middle school uploaded images of the assignment onto social media after students were instructed to write “funny” titles and captions for photos of slaves in cotton fields.
Some of the captions on the worksheets included things such as “Us black people need to get out,” or “black girls work hard or play hard.”
“My granddaughter who is in the eighth grade contacted me last night - She said her friend’s social studies teacher gave a class assignment to ‘write something funny’ about these pictures on slavery - and make it real funny because she didn’t want to be bored. My granddaughter’s friend refused to write anything ‘funny,’” Darlene McCurty posted on Facebook.
“My granddaughter was and still is very upset and she asked me how can this racist teacher be reprimanded. I told her that I would handle it. I’m asking everyone whether you have a child or children who attend John W. Dodd Middle School in Freeport, New York to contact the administration and request that the eighth-grade social studies teacher, who is white, be removed for her blatant insensitivity and racism towards teaching this lesson on slavery to our children.”
In a statement, Freeport Schools Superintendent Kishore Kuncham condemned the assignment, which has led to an investigation into the teacher. It is unclear if the teacher - who has not been officially named - will continue to work with students in the classroom during the investigation.
“I have been informed that during a recent eighth grade Reconstruction Era social studies lesson at J.W. Dodd Middle School, a faculty member is reported to have used directions to describe an assignment that were very upsetting to some students and families," Kuncham said. "The emotional and social wellness of our students is always our highest priority and we take any insensitive comments made by staff very seriously.”
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