In NYC, a social studies teacher, Eileen Bernstein, bound the hands and feet of two 12 year old black girls in class, to
“enliven” a slavery discussion. WTF??? What the hell was this teacher thinking? Obviously, she lacks some serious sensitivity training, and obviously has some racial prejudices she needs to deal with. Can’t you have a”lively” discussion without humiliating two young students?
A white social studies teacher attempted to enliven a seventh-grade discussion of slavery by binding the hands and feet of two black girls, prompting outrage from one girl’s mother and the local chapter of the NAACP. After the mother complained to Haverstraw Middle School, the superintendent said he was having “conversations with our staff on how to deliver effective lessons.”
“If a student was upset, then it was a bad idea,” said Superintendent Brian Monahan of the North Rockland School District in New York City’s northern suburbs.
The teacher apologized to the mother who complained and her 13-year-old daughter during a meeting Thursday that also included a representative of the local NAACP. But the mother, Christine Shand of Haverstraw, said Friday she thinks the teacher should be removed from the class.
“I think the teacher should have gotten some discipline,” Shand said. “I know if that was me, I would be uncomfortable going back to that class. Why should my daughter have to switch?”
Monahan refused to say what, if any, measures were taken against the teacher, Eileen Bernstein, who was still working on Friday. The school district said she was not available for comment.
Gabrielle Shand burst into tears at home, her mother said. “There are other ways to demonstrate slavery,” Christine Shand said Friday. “It doesn’t matter the color of the kids, it’s just not right to tie them up. My daughter is still upset, still embarrassed. She didn’t go to school today.”
I agree with the mother, the teacher should be removed from class, forced to take sensitivity training, before being allowed to teach at the school again.
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