A Texas teacher no longer has a job after giving a group of seventh graders an assignment laden with insults and racial slurs. The worksheet was intended to be a word scramble for students to solve. The problem wasn't with the work itself. Instead, it was the words the teacher included that caused outrage.
The teacher, whose name has not been released, worked in a special education classroom at Rancier Middle School in the Killeen Independent School District. Superintendent John Craft addressed the media at a news conference Friday, confirming that the district was made aware of the assignment on Wednesday and noted, "The assignment does not reflect our core values." Even so, concerned parents and community members want to be sure it never happens again.
The district promptly contacted parents.
After being notified Wednesday evening, the district began its investigation early Thursday morning. Craft explained during the news conference that parents of students in the classroom received a personal phone call regarding the situation, and all school parents received a letter.
"We are terribly upset and sorry this occurred. This has no place in any classroom, I think I can safely say, across the United States, particularly here in Killeen ISD, Craft said, according to KCEN-TV. "We will not condone this kind of behavior, activity, and much less lesson planning and instructional activities."
The details of the assignment are disturbing.
Barbara Foglesong shared photos of the assignment sheets on Facebook on January 18, and it is clear why parents would be upset. Words such as "stupid," "idiot," "fat," and other slurs appeared on the papers. The "trigger word scramble" seemed to be an activity to help children identify colors and match words with definitions.
"This was given to a student in KISD as class work. Shellbie happened to see what she was working on and took it to her parent who works for Boys and Girls Club," Foglesong wrote. "I told her I’d be at the school door first thing tomorrow morning, then I’d be at the district ABSOLUTELY NOT ACCEPTABLE KISD."
The district contends this was not part of its curriculum.
The superintendent emphasized during the press conference that district personnel were unaware of the assignment and never would have approved it.
Craft confirmed the teacher "is no longer an employee with the district," adding that it was the teacher's first year employed by the district. The assignment did not receive prior approval from administrators — nor would it have, according to him.
The school district is made up primarily of minority students.
The fact that the assignment includes a racial slur is particularly shocking because most students within the district identify as minorities. According to the Texas Department of Education among Rancier's 785 students, 90% are minorities, with a majority classified as Black or Hispanic. Additionally, 71% of students are "economically disadvantaged" and at risk of dropping out.
This isn't the first time a teacher has made such an egregious error.
This assignment is not the first misstep by an educator including inappropriate content in an assignment. A controversy brewed last year in Westchester County, New York, at Somers High School when a teacher taught a lesson in an English class that some say called out students as being "racist."
A Spanish teacher in Williamsville, New York, passed out a worksheet to students that read, "You are Mexican and ugly."
These types of assignments are insensitive and unacceptable, and districts are not standing for them. Regarding the most recent incident, when asked why the teacher assigned the work, Craft said, "I just can't understand and begin to fathom how one would think that this would be appropriate in any shape or form."
