Bizarre math lessons in Gwinnett schools (insurance, how much, public school)

[arjay57]

What's up with this? The Gwinnett school system says all 9 third grade teachers reviewed these math questions based on slavery before they went out to students.

"If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in 1 week? 2 weeks?"

"Each tree had 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?"

And this is in a school that's majority minority? "Records show Beaver Ridge's population is nearly 60 percent are Hispanic; 28 percent, African-American; 5.3 percent, Asian; and 4 percent, white."

Education leaders: Slave math lesson should not end careers *| ajc.com

[northwinds]

Just part of the dumbing down of the public school systems.......math now has to have some sort of "minority component" so "minorities" will be "interested" in learning math........e.g. "If Que'quesia had two apples", etc.......the third grader gets stuck on "what the heck is a "Que'quesia" instead of learning what's two plus two....happens all the time now.

[DTL3000]

Unbelievably stupid.

It almost seems like it may have been part of a sick joke that made it much farther than the originators intended. I just can't believe anyone can be so completely oblivious to not realize how inappropriate this stuff is(featuring "beatings" in a word problem, much less slavery). Of course there's never been a shortage of stories about teachers doing ignorant and plain stupid things.

[gt6974a]

Well, according to the news, they were trying to incorporate social studies and math into the same lesson plan. Getting the full story would be nice

[RoslynHolcomb]

Oh for the love of Pete. This had to be sabotage. Surely nobody is this stupid. Slavery was an economic system that formed the foundation of this country and this is the best they could do in a MATH class?!? Why not ask a question like this: An insurance company insures five slave ships for $100 each. If three sank how much would they have to pay out? This type question takes the issue to a macro level and shows that slavery was an institution that permeated the economics of the entire country. This type question would give you a chance to explain what insurance is. If you wanted to you could bring in current events and talk about things like blood diamonds or child labor to show how sometimes companies do things that are wrong in order to make a profit. This could've been a powerful lesson that would stay in kids minds. Instead thy took the intellectually lazy route. It really is sad. More and more I'm leaning toward home-schooling my kid. I want him to be exposed to a curriculum that inspires critical thinking and analysis, not rote memorization and test-taking.

[RoslynHolcomb]

Originally Posted by gt6974a

Well, according to the news, they were trying to incorporate social studies and math into the same lesson plan. Getting the full story would be nice

Yeah, I knew that and cross-curriculum learning can be powerful, but it requires more than the run of the mill "time to make the doughnuts" thought process.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

Oh for the love of Pete. This had to be sabotage. Surely nobody is this stupid.

WSB news is reporting that all 9 third grade teachers saw the questions before they went out to students.

[Box]

Originally Posted by northwinds

Just part of the dumbing down of the public school systems.......math now has to have some sort of "minority component" so "minorities" will be "interested" in learning math........e.g. "If Que'quesia had two apples", etc.......the third grader gets stuck on "what the heck is a "Que'quesia" instead of learning what's two plus two....happens all the time now.

I say good sir you have a good point?!?!? Where are the questions about regattas and croquet?!?!!?

[SW30303]

I thought the lesson was inappropriate and in poor taste.

(EOM)

[ATLTJL]

WSB news is reporting that all 9 third grade teachers saw the questions before they went out to students.

Maybe so, but if you believe that any of the teachers read the questions before assigning them....well, then you have more faith in teachers than I do.