I teach U.S. History to 14 year old kids for a living. I have to share what happened yesterday because it’s the first time I’ve seen it and given the current political/social climate, something tells me it won’t be the last.
Our current unit is over the Am. Revolution and the Declaration of Independence. I asked my students to write from the perspective of a founding father in regards to the grievances against the King listed in the Declaration of Independence...
I had an African American female student request not to do the assignment because it was “offensive”. I asked her to explain why she felt that way and she told me that our founding fathers had white privelege and since they supported slavery it was offensive to her to take their perspective.
I won’t waste your time on explaining the historical inaccuracies of her over-generalized claim, but I couldn’t believe that a 14 year old would make this statement. It wouldn’t have happened 2 years ago... maybe I should be grateful she’s at least keeping up with current events? Now I’m just waiting for the parent email accusing me of being a white supremist.