Slavery Homework Problem: Another Georgia Elementary School Under Fire For Math Problem Referencing Slaves (VIDEO)
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“A plantation owner had 100 slaves,” the question read. “If three-fifths of them are counted for representation, how many slaves will be counted?”
A school spokesperson said the question was meant to educate students on both social studies and math, and that the teacher would not be punished.
The incident is reminiscent of a similar controversy at another Georgia school that erupted in January. Parents were outraged after students were sent home with math word problems using explicit examples of slavery.
“Each tree had 56 oranges,” the first question starts. “If 8 slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?”
“If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in 1 week?”
Huffington Post has more.
There are many ways to teach about slavery without minimizing it.
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