Racial slur in 8th grade homework assignment angers California mom. It’s now revoked
A California school district has rescinded an eighth-grade assignment containing a racial slur after a parent filed a complaint.
Melissa Cheek told McClatchy News that her son, who attends Shasta Elementary School in Manteca, showed her a social studies assignment from April 12 that used the n-word twice. Cheek says she didn’t think the homework or website students were directed to were age-approriate.
“I’m not denying we have a history and I feel it should be remembered and talked about, but there are other ways to approach that,” Cheek said.
The assignment directed students to visit the website for Ferris State University Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia and assigned a reading of the history of the racial slur. The article that students were instructed to read included the word in its title. They were then asked to respond to the question: “What are your thoughts about the use of the word [slur] then?”
After Cheek filed a complaint with Manteca Unified School District and the superintendent’s office, the assignment was rescinded, the district told McClatchy news.
The district said in a statement to McClatchy News:
“In April, we were made aware of an eighth-grade social science assignment that derived some concern. School and District administration responded immediately to the concerns by enacting an investigation and speaking to the student, parent, and teacher affiliated with said concern. After a fair and thorough investigation, administration and teacher agreed that the assignment presented to students neither aligned to state grade-level standards nor was age appropriate and thus, the assigned was rescinded and grades were not impacted.
”Standards aligned grade level appropriate assignments allow teachers to guide students through critical thinking discourse creating an opportunity for conversation in an inclusive learning environment such as this one. Supporting age-appropriate assignments is critical for meaningful discussion.”
Cheek said after she complained, her son was placed in a different classroom to complete his assignments.
“Nothing happened to the teacher, nothing. My student was removed from his class and sent to a different class to complete alternate assignments. That was their course of action,” Cheek said.
The school district said it couldn’t comment on the teacher or student involved due to privacy laws.
This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Racial slur in 8th grade homework assignment angers California mom. It’s now revoked."