By Roger Barbee

A mother in Kannapolis complained on Facebook about her middle school child’s math assignment. It seems math questions asked students “to compare the values … of slaves with white people.”

One of the questions was, “How many slaves would be needed to equal at least 4 white people?” Nathan Davis, a resident of the area, said “It sounds to me like it was a blatant racist homework assignment.” The school system has directly apologized to the mother who posted her objection to the assignment and issued a written apology to “all who were rightfully offended.”

A few disclaimers: I am a 73-year-old white male, a retired educator,  have not seen the Facebook post, read the math questions or talked with anyone involved. But if the newspaper report I read this morning is accurate, then I am deeply troubled by many aspects of this event. 

I wonder if the mother spoke with the teacher concerning the assignment to understand the reasons behind the assignment. Did she bother to explore if the teacher was doing some cross-discipline learning with a history class? I also wonder if the administrators did the same or did they just react to a charge of racism.

I wonder why Davis called the assignment “blatant racist.”  Did he do so because it asked a historically correct question concerning slavery and the Three-Fifths Compromise? Did he read the entire assignment and discuss it with the teacher for the same reasons the mother should have? Does he think it racist because it mentioned whites with slavery?

I wonder what background information concerning the assignment the school system gathered before the decision was made to discipline the teacher. Much of the issue involved personnel, which is confidential, but the school system has stated, “we’re making sure the assignment does not count toward any student’s grade.” Well, if the assignment was so offensive, that seems to be a foregone conclusion.

But what if the teacher was reaching across disciplines and using a historical fact (the Three-Fifths Compromise) to teach math? What if the teacher required the students to solve word problems requiring them to use their knowledge of United States history and math? What if the teacher gave the assignment so the students could learn one of the awful lessons of slavery? 

Our educational system is attacked for too much rote learning and teaching to tests. However, when a teacher stretches to go out of the box of memorization and use multiple discipline learning, the mean-spirited and ill-informed come out. 

Is the assignment “inappropriate” because it asked a question about slaves and whites? In my mind, it is not “inappropriate” or racist but a good beginning for class discussion on solving difficult word problems, talking about our shared history  (good or bad)  and real-life application of math.

Finally, I see “racist” used all-too often as a hammer to beat down actions or words that are in opposition to a particular way of seeing or thinking.

The assignment used the only words it should, white and slave. That is not racism.

I encourage any parent who has a question about their child’s schoolwork to go see the teacher first in order to get a better understanding of the work. And if he or she is not satisfied, then go to the administration for help.

Going to Facebook stirs the issue, resolving little, if anything.

Roger Barbee lives in Mooresville. Contact him at rogerbarbee@gmail.com