The inappropriate fifth-grade assignment went viral when a student’s relative posted it online
The South Carolinian teacher that asked her students to imagine they were members of the Ku Klux Klan has been suspended.
The news comes after an assignment by the fifth grade teacher at Oak Pointe Elementary School went viral on Thursday after it was posted by a relative of one of her students.
“How can she ask a 5th grader to justify the actions of the KKK,” Tremaine Cooper wrote of his nephew, according to WIS-TV in Columbia.
The assignment asked: “You are a member of the KKK. Why do you think your treatment of African Americans is justified?”
Another question asked: “You are a freedman. Are you satisfied with your new life? Why or why not?”
“School District Five is taking this matter very seriously,” Lexington-Richland School District 5 said in a statement. “We took immediate action to investigate once the concerns over the assignment were brought to our attention, and the teacher has been placed on administrative leave as part of our standard personnel investigation procedures. We have been in communication and will continue to be in communication with families to let them know our actions and next steps.”
It added: “We understand the seriousness of this matter particularly in light of the events taking place in our country at this time. We want to ensure that our students, parents, staff and community know that we are giving this matter our full attention.”
The teacher remains unnamed.
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