Parents: Howard Middle School Teachers Fired for Teaching Black History

[riversedge]

Source: nbc



Parents: Howard Middle School Teachers Fired for Teaching Black History
By Kristin Wright




Updated at 10:05 AM EST on Saturday, Jan 31, 2015

Three social studies teachers at a D.C. public charter school were fired for teaching black history lessons beyond what’s in the curriculum, students’ parents told News4.

.............

"If you know your culture, if you know from whence you came, it tends to build your self-esteem," said Lateefah Bilal, a grandmother who heads Parents in Action, Howard Middle’s parent group.

D.C. Council Education Committee member Anita Bonds and Council member Brianne Nadeau are looking into the claims that the three teachers were fired for teaching too much black history.

...........

Parents said they are also upset because the teachers were fired and escorted out of the building in front of the kids.

Read more: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Parents-Howard-Middle-School-Teachers-Fired-for-Teaching-Black-History-290400981.html

---

My cawd----officials marched the teachers out like criminals in front of the students.


Howard Charter Middle School Teachers Fired for Teaching Black History http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Parents-Howard-Middle-School-Teachers-Fired-for-Teaching-Black-History-290400981.html … This is horrible for kids and teachers

[LaydeeBug]

1. Should your title say "Parents" as opposed to "Partents"? nt

[valerief]

4. Most of us gracious readers already understand a typo was made. nt

[LaydeeBug]

5. Bless your gracious heart. I was trying to be helpful, not rude. nt

[valerief]

6. If so, you would have sent a PM and not made a post, darling. nt

[LaydeeBug]

11. Maybe *YOU* would have, but I didn't. But thanks for substituting you for me. nt

[valerief]

13. Hence the difference between...oh, I might as well stop. But this was fun, wasn't it?

[LaydeeBug]

19. No. nt

[SoapBox]

36. LaydeeBug...

I agree with you...I saw the title earlier and thought it was someone's name...wish I was as smart as others.

[caraher]

2. And this was at a Howard University-affiliated charter?

If you can't teach Black history at a school with ties to a renowned HBCU like Howard, where can you teach it?

[valerief]

3. Fuckin' scam charter schools trying to bust the teachers union and promote racism yet again.

Don't tell me it's Howard. It's a charter school first.

[caraher]

7. True

but it makes the act that much more poignant

[Spitfire of ATJ]

12. Their site is a tad busy...

http://www.howard.ocps.net/

[font size=5]The connection has timed out[/font]

The server at www.howard.ocps.net is taking too long to respond.

The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments.
If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network connection.
If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.

[valerief]

15. That's not for the DC middle school in the article.

This is it.
http://www.howard.edu/ms2/

Here's the contact page.
http://www.howard.edu/ms2/about/contacts.htm

[Spitfire of ATJ]

16. I pity that other site. It popped up on a google search....

They're getting clobbered.

[valerief]

17. I know!!!!

[Starry Messenger]

8. k&r

[geretogo]

9. So when does the book burning start out in the public square under this Neo Nazi Fascist State .

[hughee99]

10. I'm going to reserve judgement until I can find a white republican

to hold responsible for this.

[7962]

14. Winner of the day so far.....

[lobodons]

18. Well, DUH!!

They should have known Black History is only for February.

[bigworld]

20. Anyone have a site with a little more meat?

There's very little detail here. I suspect there's more to the story.

[riversedge]

21. seems some view the principle as a prick!

....After all three of the school’s social studies teachers gave their two weeks’ notice last week, parents say the new principal, Angelicque Blackmon, confronted all three with pink slips Tuesday, in front of students.

“While students are still present in the classroom? How unprofessional,” said parent Delrica Battle. “These children are crying. They said they couldn’t say goodbye. The teachers are upset, the students are upset.”

Parent Michelle Payne added, “They were given to them in front of our children and I think that our children do not deserve to see that type of behavior.”

(MS)² is a public charter school on the campus of Howard University. Some parents describe Principal Blackmon, who came from Atlanta, as abrasive.

Read more: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2015/01/howard-u-middle-school-parents-say-principal-fired-social-studies-instructors-for-teaching-black-his.html#ixzz3QQwChLAv
Follow us: @ABC7News on Twitter | WJLATV on Facebook

[George II]

31. I posted a little more down below....it turns out that the three turned in their resignations....

....a week earlier and gave two weeks' notice. No information about why they resigned, though.

However, employers asking employees to leave prior to the end of a notice period is not uncommon. Since they had already resigned, could it be that they were being disruptive? We don't know, but we do know that they weren't "fired".

[riversedge]

22. Teachers Fired Over Teaching Black History In 2015?-more curriculum details & questions.....

http://urbanintellectuals.com/2015/01/30/teachers-fired-over-teaching-black-history-in-2015/


Teachers Fired Over Teaching Black History In 2015?

“I swear, school isn’t about how smart you are. It’s about how well you can remember things and suck up to teachers. I’ve gotten tired of all this BS! What’s the purpose of school anyway when I can learn anything I need to know from reading and the internet?”

- Maury Brown, “Riverview High: Circumstances”

I try my best to make my various novels and written works applicable and reflective of what’s going on in society at large. One broad topic I continuously tackle is the occurrences in the school systems of America, particularly public schools. I’ve been a public school student since my 1st grade year and have had many occurrences that have shaped my writing style and the voice of Aaliyah Anderson from my debut novel The Diary of Aaliyah Anderson. However, this news story out of Washington D.C. is something even I couldn’t imagine. It’s surreal to say the least.

Several news outlets report that Howard University Middle School’s three social studies teachers were abruptly dismissed from their jobs by principal Angelicque Blackmon, much to the disapproval of many of the parents of the students that attend the school. The reported reasoning behind this controversial decision is the fact that these teachers integrated black history centered topics such as Kwanza and deceased Washington DC mayor Marion Berry into their classroom instruction, going against the MCPS curriculum the school put in place. Ms. Blackmon even issued pink slips to these teachers in front of students, a move that was overtly unprofessional.

This story is rather odd for several reasons that the news outlets that have broken this story obviously haven’t picked up on yet. One thing is that Howard U. Middle School is a charter school that has several members of their board of directors from various career fields. Being at an accredited charter school this school year, I know that a principal of a charter can’t take swift actions such as firing teachers without consulting the respective board of directors. Nevertheless, it’s rather hard to get rid of teachers for acts that aren’t explicitly against school policy. What were these teachers doing so wrong that it warranted Ms. Blackmon to forgo their two-week notices and controversially issue their pink slips in front of their respective students?
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org uploadedFiles curriculum socialstudies middle grade7 7.2 ...........

[George II]

32. The three teachers resigned and were asked to leave before the end of their 2-weeks' notice period.

They weren't fired.

[McCamy Taylor]

23. Eeks! Howard U. needs to strip its name from this school.

[n2doc]

24. Not much Black History on Standardized Tests

And the sole purpose of these 'schools' is to teach to the standard test.

[oberliner]

43. You'd be surprised

Those reading comp passages almost always relate in some way.

[Fuhrmantime]

25. You can fire a teacher?

That is news!

[Skittles]

26. omg yet another one

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Fuhrmantime]

28. Another what?

We must seek to speak truth to power. I hope that does not cause anxiety

[Skittles]

29. LOL

let's all guess where you get your "truth to power"

[Fuhrmantime]

38. You seem like a bully

[LanternWaste]

47. Foolish bumper-stickers masquerader as rational though often causes anxiety.

Foolish bumper-stickers masquerader as rational though often causes anxiety.

[greiner3]

27. At least AZ spells it out up front;

NO ethnic subjects are to be taught...period!

[George II]

30. As I suspected, there was more to this than the three teachers simply being "fired"....

...the three resigned a week earlier and gave two weeks' notice, and it seems that the school administration decided to terminate them a week before the end of that two weeks.

It's not uncommon for people who turn in resignations with proper notice to be asked to leave immediately - I've seen it many times over the years. Of course, those people still received their pay for the two weeks or so that they weren't permitted to work.

It should be noted that the principal who ultimately requested that they leave one week early (i.e., "fired&quot is an African American woman.

I'm sure there is a lot more to this story than that. I think we need to find out more about the circumstances in incident before assumptions are made.

[wingzeroday]

34. great

Great post. Thanks.

[NaturalHigh]

39. Yes I thought so as well.

[Judi Lynn]

33. Our schools have never been in the business of teaching actual history, anyway.

The right-wing, through its "visionaries" like Lynne Cheney prefers to rewrite what little real "history" may have slipped through be rewriting it altogether with their own history rewrites.

Eventually NO ONE will have been aware of the genocide of the Native Americans, or the enslavement and brutality used to break the hearts and spirits of African people they kidnapped from their own lives, own world to serve them without recognition, or even the slightest degree of humanity, not to mention respect.

It is absolutely NOTHING to be proud about, rewrite it forever. The truth will STILL get through, one way or another, in time.

[kwassa]

35. The MCPS 8th grade social studies curriculum is very good.

Montgomery County is immediately north of DC, has 140,000 students, 11,000 teachers, and is often listed among the top ten public school systems in the country. It is interesting that a DC charter is lifting their curriculum.

The last quarter of the year is focused on the Civil War and Reconstruction.

here is the curriculum website, you need to download a Word document to read it.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/socialstudies/middle/grade8/

some excerpts:

Historical Knowledge I: Unity and Division
You must be able to identify and sequence each of the following key events, and explain how they contributed to American unity or division.
• Mexican American War
• Compromise of 1850
• Kansas-Nebraska Act & Bleeding Kansas
• Dred Scott Decision (Scott v. Sandford (1857))
• Election of 1860
• Secession of Southern States and Formation of the Confederacy

Historical Knowledge II: Fighting the Civil War
You must be able to explain the significance or role of key events or people that contributed to the goals, strategies, and outcomes of the war.
• Battles of Fort Sumter, Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Sherman’s March to the Sea
• The Emancipation Proclamation
• Surrender at Appomattox Court House
• Leadership of President Lincoln, General Lee, General Grant
• Contributions of African Americans and women to the war effort

Historical Knowledge III: Reconstructing the Nation
You must be able to explain how much Americans accepted or resisted the cultural changes of Reconstruction, particularly the extension of rights to African Americans.
• Goals of Reconstruction
• 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments, Freedman’s Bureau
• Tenant farming and share cropping
• Ku Klux Klan, voting restrictions, methods used to limit rights to African Americans
• Significance of the election of 1876

[SoapBox]

37. Damned outrageous.

[oberliner]

40. Story definitely smells like BS

Betting there is much more to this.

[Igel]

41. Check out up-thread.

However the purpose of many articles is to provoke outrage, with understanding being something reserved for a lot later when nobody cares any more.

Perhaps it was the version of black history being taught; it's not black history its the choice of facts for black history. Or perhaps it wasn't the choice of facts included but the choice of facts excluded, or the conclusions. Perhaps they weren't teaching the required curriculum at the required time. (Some districts have what amount to scripts: every day there's the same assignment for a team. Others just have a scope and sequence.)

Lots of possibilities for why the teachers resigned or were asked to resign. (The difference may be trivial to the teachers, but important legally. I've known teachers who were asked to resign: if they resigned, they'd get a good recommendation, if they didn't resign and were fired for cause their paperwork would reflect that and include details.)

[oberliner]

42. Yeah - still not a lot of additional details though

It is also worth noting that the principal is an African-American woman who appears to have rubbed some parents the wrong way.

The fact, though, that this story is cobbled together just based on a few comments from disgruntled parents seems like bad reporting.

Feels like a click-bait type thing.

[George II]

44. I agree....it is a baiting post for sure. I don't know about the motive..........

.....of the article in particular, but it is lacking in facts and reality.

Unfortunately in cases like this the originator never acknowledges a possible rush to judgment.

And things like this are happening more and more on this site.

[knitter4democracy]

46. I have a few questions on this snow day.

When I should be updating my lesson plans and grading....

1. Making 3 teachers resign and then booting them early is practically unheard of, even in the private schools. One or two, sure, but three? That means three subs finishing out the year--something difficult to find. What did all three do to get into that position?

2. Teaching materials in addition to the curriculum? That's normal. The curriculum is a base, and as long as we cover the curriculum, we can add to it as needed. That's in our professional purview. What on earth could all three have added, materials-wise or lesson plan-wise, to result in this kind of consequence?

3. Firing them in front of their students? That sort of thing always backfires. Parents don't like their kids to be traumatized, and students watching their teacher (even if not beloved) fired and then forced to leave with police escort are traumatized at least to some extent. Why the unprofessional conduct over something teachers are allowed to do per their contracts?

Something is fishy here. I wouldn't be surprised if the three teachers were talking with students about the inherent racism in the charter school movement or something that one of the board members didn't like, and that's what all of this was about.