The state of Michigan’s educational curriculum “requires and values the teaching of African-American history and issues of race as part of our social studies instruction,” says Monroe Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Barry Martin. Monroe Middle School teacher Alan Barron was doing just that, giving a lesson from the social studies textbook how black people had been stereotyped and made fun of. He illustrated his point by showing a 29-second historical video of a minstrel show — white actors in blackface acting out those stereotypes. Assistant principal Melissa Provo, who was in the room “observing” the lesson, ordered that the video be stopped, and Barron was suspended for showing the “offensive” video. As part of the suspension, Barron was kept from attending a special dinner for retiring teachers, even though he himself was retiring after 36 years on the job. Students and other teachers supported Barron, but he was kept out of class for two weeks while the district “investigated” the incident. Barron was reinstated for the final three weeks of the school year — and his career. ...The Holocaust was “offensive” too. Does suppressing the fact of its existence make it more likely, or less likely, to happen again? Discuss with examples.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 10:11:14 +0000