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Mom Says Math Homework is Racist
Filed under: In The News, Weird But True
A middle-school math teacher is in the hot seat for including an image of a toothless black man on a homework sheet, and at least one parent is calling the illustration racist.
The Courier Times in Bucks County, Pa., reports that the African-American parent of an eighth-grader at Lenape Middle School was so distressed over the image of a black, toothless man on her son's math homework that she kept the boy home from school the following day.
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"I couldn't understand what I was looking at," says the woman, whose identity was not revealed by the newspaper. The work sheet, titled "Solving Equations using Multiplication and Division!," featured a photo of a black man in a straw hat and a shirt and suspenders, his mostly toothless mouth agape. Underneath the picture is the grammatically incorrect phrase, "NO WAI!!!"
School district spokeswoman Karen Smith says that teacher Matthew Curran often uses photos and cartoons on his worksheets, and sent an e-mail to the Courier including a statement from Curran."I chose it because it said 'no way,' which is a comment my students make when I require them to show each calculation," he writes in an e-mail. "I had no idea that I might offend anyone. I am very sorry for any distress that this has caused my students and the community." Curran claims that he found the image through a Google search for "multiply and divide."
The student's mother was not only distressed by the image, but also by reports of what happened to her son when his classmates saw the work sheet. The boy is the only African-American student in the pre-algebra class, and he says he was teased by other students.
"One of the kids in the classroom turned around and said, 'Is that your father?,' " she tells the Courier. "We are highly insulted and offended. We sent him to school to learn pre-algebra. He should be protected from this stuff, not have it thrown in his face ... He gets enough (racial slurs) and negativity from the kids. To have the teacher encourage it?"
The boy's family met with NAACP Bucks County President John Jordan, and released a written statement about the incident, the Courier reports.
"It brings into question whether all of our children are being provided a safe and fair environment in which to learn. What happened here is unacceptable, and we will take steps to make sure it never happens again," the statement reads.
According to the NAACP, several other students expressed their concerns about the picture, but the teacher told the kids to keep working, says the boy's mom. She did, however, ask her own son why he didn't leave the classroom. "He said, 'Mommy, I'm in school.' He knows the rules. He has to follow the rules," she tells the Courier. "He's trying to get on the honor roll right now."
Nick Chubb, Lenape Middle School principal, declined to comment but did tell the newspaper that administrators are investigating the matter. In the meantime, the boy's mother is keeping her child home until the situation is resolved.
"Racism is usually so subtle. To have it so blatant is what is so shocking," she says. "Hopefully, we can all learn from this and move forward in a positive way -- for everyone, not just the black kids or the Hispanic kids or the Jewish kids or the other subgroups ... We need some peace and understanding. I don't want hate."
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ReaderComments (Page 4 of 25)
11-19-2009 @ 7:13PM
paige said...Did the mother even consider looking at his HOMEWORK to make sure it was CORRECT, or did she just blow up over nothing and rip the sheet from his hands and start screaming?
11-19-2009 @ 9:06PM
LS said...clearly insensitive? Welcome to life, Jas. Weren't you ever a kid? Kids insult each other. It's what they do. They can also be incredibly compassionate and friendly. It's called interaction, childhood, growing up, learning boundaries.
Just because someone turns around and says, "is that your father?" doesn't mean it's racist. Stupid? yes. And there is nothing in the world that says that the black kid couldn't have shot back with, "nope, I actually think it's your mother!" And it probably would have ended right there.
Or the teacher should have ended it, since any kind of trash talk in the classroom should not be allowed.
Further, how do you know the kids wouldn't have asked if a clean-cut black man was this kid's father? And if they had, would you say THAT was racist, too? Or is that just a kid making a connection, seeing black skin, and understanding that black skin begets black skin.
Honestly, sometimes things are just stupid. This picture was stupid. It was intended to make kids laugh. The comment was stupid. It was normal teasing between kids. The NAACP should have laughed that woman out of their office, rather than making a federal case about it. And unfortunately, it appears that it's going to be a federal case. Or at least a state one. Pitiful waste of money and resources.
Racism is being denied a job because you're black. Racism is being denied medical care because you look Chinese. Racism is NOT "yo mamma" jokes thrown between a couple of kids. This is political correctness allowed to run amok.
11-21-2009 @ 9:40PM
Judy Scott said...The one thing people commenting seem not to be considering, and that is probably because they don't KNOW to consider it, is the era this woman probably grew up in. And the fact that those types of photos are the types of photos that WERE used to negatively depict black people in the past. If she grew up in that era, and knows that, she would certainly have reason to find it offensive. Anybody who hasn't experienced that, or had that knowledge, would be unaware of it. But it's a fact of life about what occurred in American history in the past. And no, nobody would make an issue of a white toothless person, because it doesn't carry the same historical negative connotation.
11-20-2009 @ 11:05AM
mcurtis2962 said...Oh, shut up!!! It would have been all fine had it been a caucasian redneck.
I am so sick of races making a big deal out of absolutely nothing.
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11-21-2009 @ 10:29PM
bobbie said...If it had been a toothless redneck, the most unpopular white kid in the class probably would have been asked the same question. Has anyone ever seen the picture of the old white guy with no teeth, and his mouth is all puckered up underneath his nose (which is quite sizeable)? There's also one like that of a toothless white woman. Is that racist? I don't think so.
11-21-2009 @ 8:08PM
Valerie said...I don't see how we're supposed to move forward in this country when you have people playing the race card left and right. Sure, the picture was in bad taste, but the boy's mother is blowing this WAY out of proportion. If she is that worried about the education her child is getting, she ought to pull him out of public school and put him into private school. If a little schoolyard teasing is the worst thing that happens to this kid, then I'd say he's pretty damn lucky.
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11-21-2009 @ 8:08PM
savagemouse said...Over reaction syndrome strikes again. Was not intended to be racist, teacher apologized, story over. It sounds like this mother has been waiting for an excuse to cry racism for a long time. As the only black student in a white class, if this is the first time anyone has ever said anything about race, then her kid is in a good school and she should let it go as a misunderstanding. She's traumatizing her kid more than the stupid picture.
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11-21-2009 @ 8:11PM
LasVegasX said...I saw nothing racist about it. I'm a minority, not because of my dad being from Mexico, but because I am of mixed ethnicity. My mother is white, just to steer clear of future comments. But I did not see anything wrong with that picture. Some people just see things that way to get attention.
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11-21-2009 @ 9:00PM
ed said...You're an idiot which makes you less than an animal.
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11-21-2009 @ 9:01PM
mrgmorgan56 said...into228...You're an idiot which makes you less than an animal.
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11-21-2009 @ 8:14PM
PEPPA said...CALLING AL SHARPTON ....
CALLING AL SHARPTON.....
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW ???
JESSE JACKSON WHERE IS YOU ?
NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF CRY BABY RACISTS THEMSELVES.
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11-21-2009 @ 8:19PM
Carl said...It absolutely IS racist, and so are you if you think this type of obscenity is acceptable.
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11-21-2009 @ 8:22PM
popswuzrite said...And if it were a white toothless image, she would whine because her son was excluded. Remember the Wal-Mart bitcch.
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11-22-2009 @ 8:25AM
Not OK said...This teacher used very poor judgement. This Mom was not out of line. She should've called the school on this. That was unkind and unsensitive.
You can't have it both ways. If you don't want people to be a drain on society, help them learn. If you want them to learn, create a safe, welcoming, fair learning environment. It's that simple. That is in EVERYBODY'S emotional AND FINANCIAL best interest.
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11-21-2009 @ 10:11PM
whyaskwhy said...did you mean insensitive...see thats the problem. You cannot even reply with an english word. You had to make one up. Guess you werent on the honor roll in middle school
11-21-2009 @ 8:33PM
SONNY said...A lot of times people find trouble because they're LOOKING FOR TROUBLE. Racism will always be here b/c blacks are the biggest racists and they're not going to let it die. They know they can make trouble over just about anything and most of them DO!!!
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11-21-2009 @ 8:21PM
Carl said...It's nothing but the worst kind of filth, on the same level with pornography. If that's your cup of tea, and you think it is just fine, you are saying more about yourself than anything else.
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11-21-2009 @ 8:24PM
Gary said...It's pretty obvious that this lady is setting the stage for a massive lawsuit. Crying all night and keeping her child out of school; you know that she's planning and plotting. Just wait and see.
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11-21-2009 @ 8:40PM
Lyn said...She just happened to be looking for a reason to sue.. America is to sue happy! I guarantee to you within a few days there will be an update on this article.. woman sues school for an undisclosed amount!! People just make me mad!
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11-21-2009 @ 8:30PM
phillyrican00 said...once again black people using the race card.if the picture would have been of a toothless white guy,i assure you she wouldve had no complaint if anything she herself wouldve laughed at the image.its amazing how blacks try to act like theyre so sensitive or non racist.theyre just a bunch of hypocrites who know how to hide their racism.black people are very very racist themselves trust me they just know how to hide and try to use someone for a scapegoat.the fact is about 80 percent of blacks hate whites but act like they dont.
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