In an amazing story in The Huffington Post the other day, Laura Hibbard reported that fourth graders at the James A. Jackson Elementary School in Jonesboro GA were assigned a math problem referencing slavery. “A plantation owner had 100 slaves,” the question read, according to the station. “If three-fifths of them are counted for representation, how many slaves will be counted?” Reports Hibbard, “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.”
What’s astonishing is that in January, students at Beaver Ridge Elementary School in Norcross GA were assigned word problems referencing slavery.
“Each tree had 56 oranges,” one question read. “If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?”
A second question read “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?”
Georgia’s Schools: Preparing today’s youth for the challenges of tomorrow.