Before bullying became a cultural epidemic, it was once commonplace for children to wear “sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me” like a protective shield. Shields are designed to repel harm but in the real world of sophomoric cruelty and cultural insensitivity, dependence on the idiom is largely ineffective. I’ve always thought what a crock the idiom was because truth is, words hurt, whether they sting for a second or imprint a long-lasting scar.
No, this isn’t about another bullying incident but the social marginalization suffered by African-American third graders in Georgia when teachers injected slavery into the mathematical homework mix. Here are examples of the inappropriately crafted questions that left their parents in an OMG state of mind:
(1) “Each tree had 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?” (2) “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week? Two weeks?”
Rather than maximize academic excellence, the attachment to a dehumanizing period in African-American history likely induced feelings of inferiority and minimized the well being that post Civil Rights equality was supposed to bring. These children were undeserving of this callous divisionary tactic that teachers defended as a reinforcement of a previously taught slavery lesson. In a flash, these so-called educators succumbed to the role of self-esteem deflators.
Granted, the expectation that children adopt communication protocols at a young age is extreme but learning environment-entrusted adults shouldn’t require a reminder that some words are the crushing kind just like sticks and stones.
Link to Fox News’ original report here: http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/news/School-Assignment-Offends-Parents-in-Gwinnett-County-20120106-pm-pk_16863644
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