The slave trade is a painful chapter in US history. A teacher wanted to teach the topic through role play – and was suspended.
A racist incident at an elementary school in the US state of Massachusetts has caused a stir across the country. A teacher had a fifth-grade class reenact a slave auction and used the N-word. The person has since been suspended from duty, as reported by the news portal CNN, among others.
The teacher, whose name and gender were not disclosed by the authorities, was supposed to teach the topic “Slave trade in the Atlantic Triangle”. In order to convey the historical facts to the fifth-graders, the specialist chose a disturbing approach: she held a “spontaneous mock slave auction” during class in January.
According to Gregory Martineau, the school's inspector, the teacher asked two black students to stand up and discussed their physical characteristics, such as teeth and strength, in front of the class.
“Such behavior is unacceptable,” Martineau wrote in a letter to parents. Such role-playing methods in teaching historical atrocities have harmful effects and could trigger trauma in students of other races.
The teacher had previously attracted negative attention due to a related incident. In April, she read a book that was not part of the usual fifth-grade material. The N-word was used. According to Martineau, however, the word did not appear in the book at all. The incident only became known later when a student reported the use of the racist term.
The school called a meeting with the teacher and the parents to discuss both incidents. The next day, the teacher found out which student had reported the misconduct. She was outraged and spoke to the student directly about it. The school then took action and sent the teacher on vacation. It is still unclear whether she will be allowed to return to school. The headmaster was also suspended for ten days.
“I recognize that there were errors in this process that further complicated the situation,” Martineau said. He took responsibility for what happened and promised to improve “cultural competency” within the school district.
