Offense at its most ridiculous
Well, hey....I thought modern education was all about instructing our kids on diverse lifestyles, anyway:
Shocking Elementary School Test Question
Students at an elementary school in Baltimore, Md., did what most kids across the state do at some time during the academic year: practice for the upcoming state standardized tests that are given annually in March. But one question on the practice worksheet has raised the ire of parents.
The Associated Press reports that the question, called "The Four Robbers," tells the story of four people who get away with robbing a house. The point is to teach kids about the importance of event sequencing, but this particular lesson has drawn criticism from at least one mother who sees it as promoting criminal activity.
"This is being given out to inner-city children," Kenyona J. Moore, the mother of a 9-year-old, told The Baltimore Sun. "The assumption is they can relate to this, and that's wrong." Her child knew right from wrong, telling her, "I don't wanna rob a house, Mommy." Moore told the Sun that the underlying message the worksheet sends to the kids is, "This is all you'll be able to do anyway."
The instructions tell the children about a card trick with four jacks. "Imagine that the four jacks are robbers. They're going to rob a house." Each of the four cards, or robbers, has a specific job: The first one goes into the house on the first story, the second and third go in by the second and third stories, while the fourth card is on the roof looking out for the police. "Just then, the wail of a siren is heard. The robber on the roof says, 'Cops! Let's get out of here!'" AP notes that the person peels off the top cards in the deck, showing that "the robber-jacks have magically migrated to the top of the deck!" Principals at 27 elementary schools in Baltimore have been told to stop using the worksheet.