Teacher Suspended – A “slave auction” is held at the school

In January, a teacher at Margaret A. Neary Elementary School in Southborough, USA, held a history lesson for fifth graders.

But it was not an ordinary lesson.

“The teacher asked two black students to stand up. The teacher then discussed their physical attributes such as teeth and muscles.School Superintendent Gregory Martino writes in a letter to parents of the school's students.

The teacher conducted a “slave auction” with the class to show how this would have happened during the era of slavery in the United States.

“Conducting a mock slave auction is unacceptable and violates the school’s core values. It is not appropriate to teach students about historical atrocities and trauma through role-playing. Gregory Martino writes.

He writes that these types of teaching methods “minimize the experiences of victims” and are “traumatizing” for black students.

“this is unacceptable”

The teacher has now been suspended following a second incident in the classroom.

In April, a teacher read aloud from a book and then used a racial epithet — even though it was not in the text.

One of the students reported this to the school administration. This led to arranging a meeting between the teacher and the students' parents where the teacher had to express his opinion on the two incidents.

The day after the meeting, in front of everyone in the class, the teacher singled out the student who reported the incident with a racial epithet.

“this is unacceptable”“, writes Gregory Martino.

The school is investigating the incidents.