Teachers at Patrick Marsh Middle School in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, have been placed on administrative leave after giving students an unapproved lesson about slavery.
What We Know:
- Sixth graders at the school were assigned homework discussing ancient Mesopotamia. This assignment included a question about how a slave should be treated, the school’s principal said in a letter to students on Monday.
- The question under fire meant to educate students on the Code of Hammurabi, the code of law that set punishments in the ancient region of Mesopotamia. It read, “A slave stands before you. This slave has disrespected his master by telling him ‘You are not my master!’ How will you punish this slave?'” as seen in a photo shared on a parent’s Facebook page. “According to Hammurabi’s Code: put to death,” the assignment read.
- The homework upset multiple parents, who then voiced their concerns to the school’s administration. Sun Prairie Area School District apologized in a letter sent to all families in the district on February 1.
“We are writing today to apologize for a grave error in judgment that occurred during sixth-grade social studies instruction at Patrick Marsh Middle School,” the district wrote in the letter. “A small group of our teachers developed and used an activity that was neither racially conscious nor aligned to our district mission, vision, values, curriculum, or district equity statement.”
- In the letter, the district assured parents that the lesson was halted and they are investigating the assignment. Additionally, they stated that the teachers who assigned the work had been placed on administrative leave. They also warned that no student should complete or participate in the assignment.
- In a separate apology, Patrick Marsh Middle School acknowledged their lack of sensitivity and awareness in saying, “We regret that this assignment was not racially conscious and did not align to our district’s mission and vision of equity,” the letter read. Then they explain why the activity was assigned, “to help students understand how order was kept in the early civilization, how the laws that were developed, and how unjust they were.”
The timing in which the homework was assigned also adds to the damage done as it was sent to students on the first day of Black History Month.
