A Massachusetts elementary school teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave following two incidents the district described as “disproportionately traumatic to black students,” including a “mock slave auction.”
Gregory Martineau, superintendent of the Southborough school district, I wrote to parents last week that the incidents occurred in a fifth-grade class in January and April.
During a lesson on the triangular slave trade, the anonymous professor impromptu asked two black students to stand at the front of the class while the class discussed their physical attributes in a “mock slave auction.”
“Holding a mock slave auction is unacceptable and violates the District’s core values,” Martineau wrote. “Simulations or role-plays when teaching about historical atrocities or traumas are not appropriate, and these teaching methods should not be used.”
In a second incident this year, the teacher used the N-word in discussions about a book even though the book itself did not contain the slur, Martineau said.
After concerned parents met with the teacher, the teacher called in a student who complained about the behavior in front of the entire class.
The teacher was placed on administrative leave early last month and an investigation is ongoing, Martineau said.
“I apologize for the events that occurred in Southborough Public Schools,” he wrote. “I recognize that there were errors in this process that further complicated the situation. Ultimately, I am responsible for ensuring students are in safe and supportive learning environments.”
The district, about a half-hour west of Boston, is 63 percent white and 3 percent black, according to the district profile.
Mom Meghan Cifuentes, whose son was in the class, told WBUR that she learned of the incidents when her son told her that the teacher said “a bad word” in class.
“I never expected the N-word to come out of his mouth,” Cifuentes said. “If you’re going to use this word with 10- and 11-year-olds, there needs to be an in-depth discussion about what the word is, why it was used, and what it means – just some background information.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
