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Georgia parents upset over new case of math homework referencing slavery

Summary: Parents from Jonesboro, Georgia were angered by their children’s homework assignment that referenced slavery. The students at James A. Jackson Elementary School were given a math problem that read, “A plantation owner had 100 slaves. If three-fifths of them are counted for representation, how many slaves will be counted?" This came after another similar event occurred at Beaver Elementary School in Norcross, Georgia. Students in third grade were given an assignment that had multiple references to slavery. Christopher Johnson, a parent from James A. Jackson Elementary School, said, "I was just shocked because y'all did a story on this before and I thought they took it out of the schools.” His son, a nine year old student who was given the assignment said, “Us blacks, we had to do slavery. Most of the whites, they were free and they owned us. We were treated as property." Relevance: Slavery plays a huge role in American history. Most slaves were of African descent and were owned by whites. From the 16th century to the 19th century approximately 12 million Africans were shipped to the Americas to become slaves, with about 645,000 of those working in what is now the U.S. The 1860 census showed the slave population to be about 4 million. Slavery was a large topic of debate when it came time to draft the Constitution. It was only until after the Union prevailed in the Civil War that slavery was finally deemed illegal by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Evaluation: I don’t understand why, of all things, the math problem had to be in relation to slavery, especially given the location of the school in question. The students that were given this assignment were in third grade, and therefore between the ages of eight and ten. Giving them this math problem not only would confuse them but would also lead them to believe that the inclusion of slavery in that context is acceptable. Next time, the teacher should just stick with counting apples and oranges, and leave out controversial material. Questions: "Georgia Parents Upset Over New Case Of Math Homework Referencing Slavery | Fox News." Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2012. . "Slavery in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2012. .
 * 1) Now that the media is involved and awareness had spread, what action will be taken against the school/teacher?
 * 2) Since the information is not provided, does the race of the teacher who assigned the homework make a difference in the degree of offensiveness? It would be nice to say that it didn’t matter, but in reality it probably does in the eyes of the public, whether that change in opinion is a conscious choice or not.
 * 3) Does the location of the school have an impact on media attention?
 * 4) Was this math question in the school’s curriculum or was the problem created by the teacher?