'If Fred Got Two Beatings Per Day...' Homework Asks

Source

Third graders in in Gwinnett County, Ga., were given math homework Wednesday that asked questions about slavery and beatings.

Christopher Braxton told ABC News affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta that he couldn't believe the assignment his 8-year-old son brought home from of Beaver Ridge Elementary school in Norcross.

"It kind of blew me away," Braxton said. "Do you see what I see? Do you really see what I see? He's not answering this question."

The question read, "Each tree had 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?"

Another math problem read, "If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?"

Another question asked how many baskets of cotton Frederick filled.

"I was furious at that point," Braxton said.

Well...

I'm not really sure how these questions could not be taken as racist.

Slaves? Beatings? Wow, is this the first half of the 20th century? And even if it was, should we be teaching our children maths this way? To associate mathematics with savagery is brutal to begin with.

Just when I thought this crazy world couldn't get any crazier...

Any thoughts?

Pred...

If you wanted the question to be more real in everyday life it should have asked "little tommy shot 45 people everyday online for 7 days, how many people did little tommy shoot for the week?"

So um are you still mad at the slave question or does mine bother you more lol. cause lil tommy is shooting more people than he is telling to pick oranges I imagine.

reply to post by Foxy1


Why cannot we not use something like 'how many triangles are in an octagon?' or something mathematical rather than trying to stereotype all the masses into one sort of image?

Just leave math alone, no need to bring any of that stuff in to any equation.

Pred...

reply to post by predator0187


There is only one appropriate answer to this issue. Fire whoever wrote that and whoever approved it and the Union be damned.

reply to post by predator0187


If 10,000 idiots paid attention to this sidetacking issue and of them 100 decided it was a stupid thing to worry about, what percentage was actually working and thinking of the real problems currently happening?

maybe they have not updated thier test from the 1900 's
not funny but really in georgia ? dont see this going unoticed

reply to post by Blaine91555
Well said. I cannot see this as anything remotely resembling good judgement in any way, shape, or form - political correctness not even figuring in.

Simply astoundingly, amazingly stupid.

We're all slaves. We all have to work, to pay the bills, feed the kids, and make a living. If we don't, we will be homeless and starving.

reply to post by Manhater
Fine. You get a star for that, since I definitely consider myself a wage-slave and whore to the system.

When am I going to go find my mountain top to sit on?

Originally posted by Praetorius
reply to post by Manhater

 

Fine. You get a star for that, since I definitely consider myself a wage-slave and whore to the system.

When am I going to go find my mountain top to sit on?

When you rob a football player.

This has already been posted by the way. Have to do a thread search now.

Maybe we could ask Fred from a few days ago.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I really do dislike the new search function here.....The old one was better.

From what our local new said the teacher didnt show for work today.

But the answers 7, right??

See, regardless of how insensitve the question, at least we still learn....

Maybe it's inappropriate to make jokes.. srry if I offended..

So would the question have been more palpable if it was more like " each pyramid had 100000 stones each egyptian slave had to move 20 stones a day how many days did it take to build one pyramid?"
Egyptian slaves arent black and dont live in my neighborhood so that makes it more acceptable?

reply to post by predator0187


yea they should have just gone with triangles. but somebody had to build those huge pyramids right? jk

Originally posted by PollyPeptide
But the answers 7, right??

See, regardless of how insensitve the question, at least we still learn....

Maybe it's inappropriate to make jokes.. srry if I offended..

2 beatings a day...7 days in a week...I would say it is 14 beating total!

Where did you get 7?

Originally posted by jerryznv

Originally posted by PollyPeptide
But the answers 7, right??

See, regardless of how insensitve the question, at least we still learn....

Maybe it's inappropriate to make jokes.. srry if I offended..

2 beatings a week...7 days in a week...I would say it is 14 beating total!

Where did you get 7?

Each tree had 56 oranges total, if 8 slaves picked them equally, how much would each slave pick.... It's in the pic...

Originally posted by jerryznv

Originally posted by PollyPeptide
But the answers 7, right??

See, regardless of how insensitve the question, at least we still learn....

Maybe it's inappropriate to make jokes.. srry if I offended..

2 beatings a day...7 days in a week...I would say it is 14 beating total!

Where did you get 7?

edit on 10-1-2012 by jerryznv because: ....

I think he was talking about the slaves picking oranges from the trees, not the amount that Fred receives beatings.

I actually thought this article was kind of amusing, it's crazy that some people actually think this way...

Pred...

my guess is Christopher Braxton is probally not from egypt but african american. I dont know maybe it was unwise of them to not specify what kind of ethnicity the slave was in the math question.
if the question said it takes an african american slave 4 days to pick the fruit....well all hell would break loose! But what if it said eqyptian slave. maybe if that was a question in a eqypt school all hell would break loose no? Apparently the word slave is a big no no even though its a part of many cultures history. in fact it should be taken out of history books all together! lets ban the word slave! that way we never make the same mistake twice!

Originally posted by PollyPeptide

Originally posted by jerryznv

Originally posted by PollyPeptide
But the answers 7, right??

See, regardless of how insensitve the question, at least we still learn....

Maybe it's inappropriate to make jokes.. srry if I offended..

2 beatings a week...7 days in a week...I would say it is 14 beating total!

Where did you get 7?

Each tree had 56 oranges total, if 8 slaves picked them equally, how many oranges would they have.... It's in the pic...

Ohhh...okay...I though we were talking about the question in the thread title!

In the case of oranges...yep...7 is the answer!

Question is though...why so many slaves on one tree?