As a parent... what would you do if your kids comes home and tells you the their teacher binded thier hands and feet then put them under the table... as a way of teaching the class about slavery?... would you just shrug it off... or go to the school the following day and complain to the principal...
I definitely have mixed feeling about this news article... since i was once a history teacher... and thought that the strategy of the teacher is a good one... but then... i think she lacked the processing part in which she should have made the students understand that it was just a demonstration to make them understand how people especially the slave felt during those times...
I would really like to know your opinion about this...
Here is ithe link...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28075402/
[question posted by aseretdd]
responses and comments:
Although most of my teaching was at the college level, when I did teach younger students, there was always a strict rule that teachers were in no way supposed to touch students. In my view the most serious issue in that story was the touching. Beyond that, the teach should have known better. It is not a teacher's job to indoctrinate, but rather to empower the students with tools for learning and forming their own opinions. Teachers should teach facts and skills. They should not touch students. That is my view. Beyond that, the teacher showed egregious insensitivity. [drannhh]
Yes, I understand that in some societies more touching is allowed. I am sure you are a very good teacher and that you act appropriately in your own milieu. In New York, however, and I think anywhere in the USA, that teacher should have been fired, however. As for your question as to what I would do if I were a parent and this happened, I would remove my children from that school and also file a civil action demanding that the school establish a written rule prohibiting any such thing from ever happening again. Some here say that the color of the children makes no difference, but I disagree, maintaining that no child of any color should ever be bound and made to crawl under Furniture on the floor in front of her classmates and teacher, but for a white teacher to treat a Black child this way in the United States is especially inexcusable. [drannhh]
it obviously went wrong as the girl in question became upset.i think it made the lesson less boring,more innovative but the teacher should not have chosen the black girls especially the one who was upset.she might have taken it as a rasist comment. [riyasam]
Well, i guess the teacher was not able to process the lesson very well... since she was not able to let the two girls understand that using them was a racist thing... and that if they got upset... then they were able to feel what their ancestors felt when they were forcibly taken away from their lands and turned into slaves... A good teacher would have used the emotions they felt in making the lesson more real to the students... Thanks for the response... [aseretdd]
As a teacher, first of all, we should respect the students, don't touch the students though they maybe do something wrong, we don't have the right. Then, we should lead them to realize their mistakes,thus they may know how to do it well. [sunny7758521]
I totally agree with you... we should indeed respect our students... aside for letting them realize their mistakes... it is also a good thing for us to accept our own mistakes... and be humble about it... Thanks for the response... welcome to mylot and i hope you enjoy every minute of your stay here... [aseretdd]
Well; In such a case ; I feel that the Teacher should take the full class into confidence . Then ; 4 or 5 students should volunteer to be "Dummy Slaves" . These should then be tied in the way as you have described. Also, these students should not propagate this thing too much as it could lead to doubt among the minds of the people who should listen to them . Regards -Sweety_81 [sweety_81]
The teacher definite made a mistake in not processing the lesson well... so the students she used got upset... and the parents took action... i just hope that this will serve as a lesson to her... Thanks for the response... [aseretdd]
I think the teacher used poor judgment why didn't she tie up a white person also? The article did not say how long the students where left under the desk. I do not know if the teacher should be fired I think she should be disciplined but I am not sure she should lose her job over it. I wish she would not have tied up any of the children I feel it was in bad judgment. [teapotmommommerced]
Well... i think she was trying to be a little realistic since it is common fact that the black race was the popular slaves in the past... but i guess she really did make poor judgement... and did not process the lesson very well... Thanks for the response... [aseretdd]
Hello aseretdd, If I heard it from my son, I think I will shrug my shoulder and think hard why the teacher taught them that way. I won't complain direct to the principal but maybe, I will ask my son more questions and see how it helped him to understand the lesson. If he can take it, it is alright with me. But if he feels negative about the way of teaching, I will see the teacher personally and get her opinion on doing this. Maybe, while discussing with her, I can get a better idea to help her teaches the students! [gr8life]
That is a very positive way of handling the situation... i myself wouldn't go directly to the principal... but talk to the teacher first... being a teacher in the past... i do understand that there is a need to be creative... or to use situations that will make students understand the lessons more... Thanks for the response... [aseretdd]
hi aseret! i dunno the whole story of what really happened. but i think giving the students an experiential lesson is a nice thing. as long as they were not physically hurt. it is like role playing. acting. i don't think i have a problem with that. but after tying them and putting them under the table for illustration purposes, they have to be taken out immediately and made to return to their seats. if they had been there for a prolonged period of time and were physically hurt then that is a different story. take care and God bless you! [spoiled311]
I think the teacher failed in that aspect... she did not process the activity very well... that is why the children became upset... but in my opinion... the activity was a good one... Thanks for the response... [aseretdd]
I would have complained as well. First, this teacher should have sent something home with the children stating she wanted to teach the kids with this demonstration. Also, the teacher could have asked for volunteers instead of picking these two children out. This is going to be a mess, I see from the story that the teacher wasn't being racist, she was trying to teach the kids by example. But there is a right way and wrong way to go about it. This was definitely the wrong way if the students cried about it afterward. [drknlvly6781]
Well, the teacher was not able to process the lesson very well because the children became upset... but like you said... she was not racist here... and something just went wrong... but i thing all parties need to learn from this sort of mistake... Thanks for the response... [aseretdd]
I think that if the teacher warned the students of the lesson at hand and that they were all willing to be bound for a while then I think that the demonstration was actually well thought. I never thought about that but I think I'd actually suggest that if a teacher friend of mine brought it up :) Thanks for the response on my discussion! [oyenkai]
Well, the teacher certainly did not process the lesson at the start and end very well... because the two students ended up feeling upset... i just hope that this will be a lesson to all parties... but i don't think the teacher was racist in this matter... Thanks for the response... [aseretdd]