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“Georgia parents upset over new case of math homework referencing to slavery”


 * Summary**: In Georgia, a boy brought home his math homework but did not want to answer one of the questions. When his father, Christopher Jackson, saw what the question was, he too was outraged. On the homework assignment the teacher had put a bonus question that said, “A plantation owner had 100 slaves. If three-fifths of them are counted for representation, how many slaves will be counted?” Jackson claimed that he was in shock when he read that, because in January a teacher had made multiple slave references in her math assignment and eventually resigned because of the controversy. It was hard for Jackson to believe that something like this could still be happening, he said, “We were treated like property” in reference to how blacks were treated as slaves. Although Jackson and his son were not the only ones who didn’t like this question, several other parents had told FOX that they too thought the question was inappropriate.


 * Relevance**: It’s no secret that slavery was a huge part of United States history, but we should not still be dealing with aspects of slavery today in the 21st century. African Americans were mistreated as slaves and faced harsh discrimination, and they still feel the sting of slavery when questions like these are given to their children in assignments. The three-fifths compromise that was mentioned in the homework assignment was real, stating that each slave counted as three-fifths of a person in terms of the population numbers for Congressional representation. This was just one way that African Americans were considered less than human beings, and although congress abolished slave trade in the Compromise of 1850, aspects of it still continued; particularly in the south. And even though slave trade had ended, the discrimination had not. Even in the 1900’s discrimination was still a huge part of America, because African Americans were still looked down upon even if they weren’t slaves any longer. Martin Luther King Jr. was an activist for the African American Civil Rights Movement who assassinated in April of 1968. He died because he was trying to put an end to the discrimination, and even though he was non-violent, it still caused outrage for whites to even think about seeing African Americans as equal beings.


 * Evaluation**: It’s clear to me that African Americans have been facing many hardships in America, from slavery to being discriminated even today. But to me, the article doesn’t seem offensive. I understand that parents wouldn’t want to have their children reminded of the cruelty that once occurred, but to a certain degree I think that the homework assignment was acceptable. Though true, it is not a history class, the teacher had not put any bias into the assignment and the reference wasn’t what we today would call “racist”. Since the three-fifths compromise was a real thing, I think that a teacher should not have so many parents going ballistic over the assignment. It’s not as though she was trying to say that African Americans are still only three-fifths of a person. But unfortunately, when you make any kind of racial reference these days, someone is going to get offended. In the end I think that all teachers need to watch what they do and say because slavery is a harsh topic to be making references to, and once the media gets involved there’s no going back.

1.) Would there have been such an outrage if this question had been on the boys history assignment instead of math? 2.) Will schools begin to keep a closer eye on teachers so that things like this don't occur again? 3.) Would it had been different if it was an African American teacher who had given the assignement? 4.) Was it truly the boy who didn't want to answer the question, or did the father see the question and not want his son to answer it? 5.) To what extent are teachers allowed to make slavery references until it is seen as "inappropriate"? 6.) Will discrimination and conflict like this in America ever end?
 * 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. [].
 * Works cited**:

"Martin Luther King, Jr. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2012. [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.].

"Slavery in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2012. .