Education
Massachusetts elementary school teacher placed on leave after reports of holding mock slave auction, using the “n” word
A Massachusetts teacher has been placed on leave after incidents that the Superintendent of Schools says are unacceptable.
According to Gregory Martineau, during a history lesson in January on the economy of southern colonies at Margaret Neary Elementary School in Southborough, which included slavery, an educator was teaching about the triangle trade, and slave auctions were discussed. During the lesson, the educator held an impromptu mock slave auction. The educator asked two children sitting in front of the room, who were of color, to stand, and the educator and class discussed physical attributes (i.e., teeth and strength).
The second incident occurred in April when the same educator was reading a book aloud that was recommended by a colleague. The book was not part of the fifth-grade core English language arts curriculum. In reading and discussing the text, the educator used the ‘N-word.’ It was later brought to the District’s attention that the ‘N-word’ does not appear in the book.
Martineau stated that the District began a formal investigation and the educator was placed on paid administrative leave. Additionally, Principal Valenti was placed on paid administrative leave from May 6, 2024, to May 16, 2024.
According to Martineau, he was made aware of both incidents through parents on April 24 and the unnamed teacher is still on leave with all personnel matters remaining confidential.
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Sorasomary Chan
June 1, 2024 at 8:00 am
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paul lachapelle
June 1, 2024 at 11:14 am
Hell Yes Sorasomary
Lula mckenna
June 1, 2024 at 10:02 pm
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Michael Lombardi
June 2, 2024 at 12:59 pm
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Mel
June 2, 2024 at 1:43 pm
I dont see an issue with holding the mock auction. Schools need to start teaching real history. Teach the stuff that happened, the way it actually happened without leaving important & difficult to hear truths out. I’ve learned so much on my own in my adult Yeats that was skipped over or downplayed when I was originally learning about slavery. A mock auction is being hands on & will help generate feelings and Critical thinking that you don’t get with reading a passage in a book. (That’s if you’re even paying attention & reading a long .) I don’t know what the percentage is for her class when it comes to skin color, but I assume there are more than just black kids and if there is, then picking 2 people for the auction, with both of them being black, shouldn’t have happened unless you asked for volunteers and they were the only 2 to volunteers. There are a few different ways that she could’ve gone about this Without the potential of making your black students and other POC feeling some type of way.