Comments on: Teacher Ties Up Students In Slavery Lesson

White Teacher Binds Hands, Feet Of Two Black Girls

[roachcrusher]

"We encourage our teachers to deliver the curriculum in a variety of ways, to go beyond just reading the textbook," the superintendent said. "We don''t want to discourage creativity. But this obviously went wrong because the student was upset."

Wrong because the student was upset??? These are the idiots in charge of education. People wonder why I home school by boy. This is why. The superintendant thinks it''s wrong because the student got upset. Not because two young girls were tied up. Not wrong beause only two African-American children were chosen to display the wrong of slavery. Only wrong because a child was upset.

If any children should have been tied up, it should have been two Western European-American children. That would have driven home the point. Racism without a doubt.

The Reagan legacy of racism lives on in America.

[ocasanas]

I don''t know why some here are seeing the teacher as the culprit, on the contrary I don''t see that the teacher did anything wrong. She could however have said that this is just an enactment to be able to tell what the feelings of both sides are. In other words, kids could understand better the topic if the context was brought to the present time: what if it happened today? How would you react? What would you do to solve this problem? and so on.

Please, students don''t go cry wolf to your parents, even if you are upset. Just talk to the teacher directly and perhaps use the upsetting feeling to your advantage to think how much we have already advanced in our society that there is no slavery any more, at least in this country. However, there is slavery in many other underdeveloped countries that needs to be stopped. Perhaps that mother and daughter who complained should start a crusade to end slavery in the world. Then I would applaud them, but for the time being, these are the most pathetic people in society who cry when there is something they don''t like. Hey there are many things that I don''t like and I just move on with it. For example, cellphone users while driving .......... that''s a danger to society: I''m sure mom and daughter like to use their cellphone otherwise they''ll cry and pout.

[dj0114]

This teacher is a moron who, at the very least, should be suspended without pay for a week or two.

Teachers are seen as leaders. They are adults with the extra responsibility of schooling children. When Ms. Bernstein began tying these kids up the kids probably didn''t do anything to object- after all, you are taught to respect your teachers.

Ms. Bernstein did not respect her kids. A suspension would be correct in this situation and hopefully a lawsuit can be avoided.

[comeon11]

WAIT A MINUTE? ONLY 50 COMMENTS ON THIS PAGE, WHILE THERE IS OVER 530 COMMENTS ON THE OJ PAGE?


TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT YOURSELVES. YOU MIGHT JUST BE A BIGOT.

[dennisall77]

Where in the story did it say the were "forced" to participate? Many are reading that into it and then complaining. If the story had said they willingly participated and THEN gotten upset, it would not have the necessary impact and controversy, would it? If they freely participated and even volunteered, then I think it is a non-story.

[harbinger09]

I think that if the child was upset then she might have learned the lesson that was being taught. Slavery isn''''t exactly something that should leave you all smiling and giggling.
Posted by babalu59 at 02:32 PM : Dec 06, 2008


Black children learn about and are taught about slavery by their families. Stories are passed down generation to generation and such things as why a cousin (or maybe themselves) have lighter skin or longer hair or gray/green/blue eyes is explained. Particularly for girls,. stories are relayed about rapes by white masters, the selling of family, torture and beatings. They don''t need a reenactment. It is not simply a matter of humiliation but of consideration.

to find out the travails of rape, would we condone girls or boys being forced to reenact such events As for the trauma--why do it to black children who live with the reality and aftermath of slavery every single day--why not do it to white children? Who may have had familial ancestors who perpetrated such acts in the first place? Empathy is not taught to victims or to the decendants of victims--it is usually taught to perps or those who retain attitudes like the perps.

[harbinger09]

If they want to be called "Afro or african American" so what? They may be tired of being referred to as a color and being held up as the bogeyman/losers/least popular group. Maybe they''d like to define themselves on their own terms--for once.


As for the incident if anyone needed a teaching of slavery and what it was like--it was the white kids. White people have enslaved (at one time or another ) almost every race on the planet from Native Americans, to Asians, to Indians, Hawaiians, Africans--you name it.

WAIT--scratch that--whites also enslaved other whites--even in Europe. Maybe the teacher should have asked among the kids who thought slavery was not really a bad deal or irrelevant and THOSE kids should have been the ones to get the "empathy and humiliation" lesson inherent in slavery

[harbinger09]

macrec at 01:16 PM : Dec 06, 2008

Asian Americans and other ethnicities tie the AMERICAN label to their names to differentiate between themselves and the millions of people here who are NOT American citizens but who still resemble them. They may be tourists or visa''d people from other countries. Identifying by ethnicity is a way to tie the origin of ones ancestors while still proclaiming one''s present status as an American. We have Irish American, Greek american, Native American, etc. --why is it that of all the races and ethnicities the only 2 races described by color are whites and blacks and that is done by the choice of the dominant race? Why is that the case? We no longer call Native Americans--"red people" or Asians--yellow people" Who thought that up? We still separate/poll/statistic out by race. We are not all Americans because this country has built into it comparison and one upmanship. "Blacks are better dancers..or atheletes or lovers--blacks are the least healthy..." " "Asians are the smartest...the shortest.." "Whites live longer, are more successful..." ON and on and on, each time pitting the 2 that are described by color in the same category. The irony is--many "blacks" are lighter than many Hispanics or Asians and many are biracial or have European ancestry that they were never allowed to claim ("a drop of black blood makes a person --black" see next post

[twistedsister1959]

I think that if the child was upset then she might have learned the lesson that was being taught. Slavery isn''t exactly something that should leave you all smiling and giggling. Why was the NAACP invited to this meeting. I smell someone trying to get rich quickly. Teachers are in a paradox described best by Bart Simpson "You''re damned if you do and damned if you don''t". Middle schoolers are notorious for taking things and making a drama out of it. Hence the term "drama queen". I''ve got one of my own. There are two sides to every story. Let''s see how this unfolds.

[harbinger09]

I agree with you. Actually, we did this blindfold experiment when I was in grade school, ToolMangler.
Posted by Solarrays247 at 01:40 PM : Dec 06, 2008


How odd to compare an exercise YOU participated in and the effect it had on you to another event that was demeaning. But you did, and so it bears some analysis:

1. How would binding 2 black girls hand and foot and placing them under a desk help YOU or anyone else not blind to understand slavery?

2. did you volunteer for the "blind" experience or forced to do it?

3. Do you think people who saw you with the blindfold got the same thing from it that you did? If so, how?

4. Does being blind carry the same stigma, humiliation and enduring connotations of slavery?

Would you have felt the same about the "blind" experience, if it had included people teasing or beating the *** out of you while you were blind? Or maybe, if some of the old remedies for blindness were tried out on you in front of the class? The one where cow feces and baby urine was made into a poultice and placed on the eyes (Medieval medicine) comes to mind.

Compare apples to apples or don''t compare--you do not know how these black children view slavery so do not and CANNOT say how being forced to reenact such events affected them or their parents. NOr did you really learn what it was like to be blind. Darkness and needed guidance is only a very small part of it.

[solarrays247-2009]

If this same teacher had been talking about "BLIND" people, the best way to get the message across would have been to ''''Blindfold'''' students and ask them to walk about the room (escorted). This is a cheap shot by activist and the purest B.S. there is.

Posted by ToolMangler at 12:08 PM : Dec 06, 2008


I agree with you. Actually, we did this blindfold experiment when I was in grade school, ToolMangler. And it has always stayed with me, in a positive manner! It also helped to teach me the meaning of empathy, to try to place myself in someone else''s shoes.

There are so many lessons that could be gleaned from this teacher''s actions. Unfortunately, too many people are inclined to view this incident in a negative manner! Why not a positive relection so that this is never allowed to happen to anyone ever again regardless of their race, religion, or creed?

[macrec]

What the teacher did was wrong because in my opinion it is child abuse. She never should have tied up the 2 girls and made them go under the desk. I don''t care about the color of their skin. If they volunteered or not - this should not be allowed. None of us know what these 2 girls have been through in their short lives and what type of memories this could have brought back.

And now onto the race issue. Why does there have to be a race issue? Why african-american, mexican-american, asian-american and so on? Why are we not all AMERICANs? Mothers and fathers and even the school systems can teach their children about the different cultures while we are all Americans. In reality - what does the color of ones skin has to do with anything? We should all be smart enough to look past that and to see the person for who they are on the inside and not for what they look like on the outside.

[debinok1]

The students complain about classes being boring, then when a teacher in an attempt to jazz it up they scream and cry racism, next they will be complaining about something else and mom and dad will come running. I know kids who participate in these kind of classroom reenactments that thought it was a real learning experience and said they learned more from it than just reading about it. Nothing but more poor poor me garbage.

[ingram102]

stlouisman3
And I suppose YOU know what it was like?

[jbright9]

It is certainly not easy to be a teacher anymore. The parents are always complaining about something. Most of the time, the parents are totally off base. The bottom line is they don''t want their darlings to ever be held accountable, be disappointed or disciplined. Some parents want the teacher to email them about their child''s day on a daily basis. They have no idea what it takes to be an excellent teacher. The time for preparation and teaching the lessons as well as being responsible for every other thing that comes up during the day doesn''t leave time for reflextive correspondence on every child every day. These parents don''t care about that because they only care about their own children.

I am a white woman who is a great champion of miniorities. That being said, there are kids who will try to play the race card with their parents to try to shift the responsiblity for their own failings to their white teacher.

Obviously tying up two kids to make a point was a bad choice and won''t be done again. The mother needs to know she made her point and send her daughter back to school for an education.

[maedean]

Silly teacher tie up the white kids.. They can''t cry out about anything.Don''t give a kid of color any reason to make the news.Don''t matter what the reason they have to bring in race. Disgusting they can''t shut up to this day and get on with life and not use color as a feel sorry for me card...

[toolmangler-2009]

If this same teacher had been talking about "BLIND" people, the best way to get the message across would have been to ''Blindfold'' students and ask them to walk about the room (escorted). This is a cheap shot by activist and the purest B.S. there is.

[cheteunice]

This was totally inappropriate--why not tie up white student so you could see what it waslike?

[bjrober]

LET ME ADD ONE ONE MORE THING....MY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW IS A WONDERFUL MATH TEACHER,,,,SHE WAS ASKED TO REPLACE THE MAN IN THE 8TH GRADE WHO MOLESTED GIRLS IN ANOTHER SCHOOL......THERE ARE SOME BLACK BOYS AND GIRLS WHO TELL HER THEY DON''T LIKE WHITE PEOPLE AND THEY SIT THERE AND MAKE FUN OF HER. WHAT A SHAME FOR A WELL EDUCATED TEACHER WHO WANTS TO HELP THESE CHILDREN NOT BE ABLE TO. SHE CALLED THE PARENTS AND THEY SAID THEY WOULD TRY AND DO SOMETHING....ONE GIRL PUT A NOTE ON HER DESK AND THANKED HER FOR BEING THERE AND WANTING TO TEACH THEM........
GOD BLESS ALL THE EDUCATORS WHO REALLY DO CARE FOR OUR CHILDREN....

[bjrober]

I personally think it is time to get over all the slavery and problems we went through years ago. Teaching from the textbooks is one thing, but to go on and on has got to stop.
Let''s face reality, there will always be racism, ie,
blacks, jews, hispanic, whites, etc. and we have to teach our children and grandchildren not to be that way. Hate is horrible and our world is so full of it.
Let''s let the healing begin and get on with the lives of these children and let them enjoy some of things we never enjoyed because of segaration when we were coming up.