Author Topic: Pittsburgh Public Schools Investigating ‘Inappropriate Homework Assignment’ Given To First Graders  (Read 773 times)

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Offline mountaineer

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Pittsburgh Public Schools Investigating ‘Inappropriate Homework Assignment’ Given To First Graders
By Meghan Schiller
September 26, 2019 at 12:09 pm
Quote
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Pittsburgh Public Schools is investigating an “inappropriate homework assignment” given to first graders. According to a statement released by the Pittsburgh Public Schools district on Facebook, first grade students at Pittsburgh Linden K-5 were given homework that has been causing controversy on social media.  ...

The worksheet says:        â€œTom will run. He will run from the cop. Tom will run with Rob. They will not stop. Look at the cop. The cop has a big mop. What will he do with the mop? Tom falls on a log. Rob falls in the pond. ‘Get them!’ yells the cop to his dog. The dog gets Tom and Rob. Rob’s socks is wet from the pond.”   ...
Full story at KDKA
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Offline Applewood

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Ok, maybe it's me, but I don't see any reference to race in that paragraph, so why it is offensive? 

I would, however, want to know what was the point.  Was this supposed to teach the kids to read?  It was rather lame.

And by the way, the last sentence teaches improper grammar.

So glad I don't have kids.  if I did, they would not be going to a public school.

Offline musiclady

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Rob's socks is wet??   Who wrote this crap anyway??

Here's an interesting thought.  First graders shouldn't even HAVE homework, appropriate or not......... they're six years old.  Let them play.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline catfish1957

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Ok, maybe it's me, but I don't see any reference to race in that paragraph, so why it is offensive? 

I would, however, want to know what was the point.  Was this supposed to teach the kids to read?  It was rather lame.

And by the way, the last sentence teaches improper grammar.

So glad I don't have kids.  if I did, they would not be going to a public school.

I don't see the race issue, but I do take exception to the putting law enforcement officers in poor light.   Those guys have. a tough enough job without Teachers turning kids against them.
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Offline musiclady

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I don't see the race issue, but I do take exception to the putting law enforcement officers in poor light.   Those guys have. a tough enough job without Teachers turning kids against them.

It looks like from the article that that's what at least some people were objecting to.

And I agree.  That was a lousy assignment in more ways than one.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline GtHawk

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Rob's socks is wet??   Who wrote this crap anyway??

Here's an interesting thought.  First graders shouldn't even HAVE homework, appropriate or not......... they're six years old.  Let them play.
And exactly what age/grade are children supposed to actually learn? I would argue that too many children for too many grades have been left to do nothing but play and that is why we have such a dirth of competent literate children and adults. Now to address this so called homework assignment, I don't see any overt racism in it but I do see an effort to put the fear of police into young children in the guise of a reading comprehension lesson. I have no doubt the the 'teacher' has an agenda to promote.

Offline Sanguine

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Rob's socks is wet??   Who wrote this crap anyway??

Here's an interesting thought.  First graders shouldn't even HAVE homework, appropriate or not......... they're six years old.  Let them play.

That was my thought.  I wouldn't give homework until many grades later. 

Offline musiclady

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And exactly what age/grade are children supposed to actually learn? I would argue that too many children for too many grades have been left to do nothing but play and that is why we have such a dirth of competent literate children and adults. Now to address this so called homework assignment, I don't see any overt racism in it but I do see an effort to put the fear of police into young children in the guise of a reading comprehension lesson. I have no doubt the the 'teacher' has an agenda to promote.

An agenda, and a very poor grasp of basic English.   *****rollingeyes*****

Kids at this age are supposed to learn in school and play when they get home.  Six is WAY too young for homework.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline Applewood

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An agenda, and a very poor grasp of basic English.   *****rollingeyes*****

Kids at this age are supposed to learn in school and play when they get home.  Six is WAY too young for homework.

I don't recall getting homework in first grade, but back when I was a kid in my neighborhood, we started school with first grade.  No kindergarten or any other pre-school then.  First grade was more or less the equivalent of pre-school, although we were taught reading, printing (not writing) and counting (not arithmetic).  I don't believe we had homework until second grade and it was very lighthearted stuff.  Certainly not something like this assignment. 

Offline Applewood

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And exactly what age/grade are children supposed to actually learn? I would argue that too many children for too many grades have been left to do nothing but play and that is why we have such a dirth of competent literate children and adults...

Well, when I was a kid, my parents started brother and me learning at home.  My parents read to us every night when we were little and when we were able to read for ourselves, we had plenty of age-appropriate books around so we did our own reading.  I think I was maybe 9 or so when Mom and Dad purchased our first set of encyclopedias.  My brother who was older needed those encyclopedias for his class assignments (no internet back then), but I would often pick up a volume and just start reading for no real reason other than I wanted to learn.  That desire to learn came from my parents and I still want to learn today. 

Because there are so many parents today who don't read to their kids, who have abdicated every aspect of parenting to the state (including education), the schools have taken upon themselves the obligation to teach kids everything and to start at a far too early age.  And like everything else the state does, education is a massive failure.

Offline musiclady

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I don't recall getting homework in first grade, but back when I was a kid in my neighborhood, we started school with first grade.  No kindergarten or any other pre-school then.  First grade was more or less the equivalent of pre-school, although we were taught reading, printing (not writing) and counting (not arithmetic).  I don't believe we had homework until second grade and it was very lighthearted stuff.  Certainly not something like this assignment.

If they had any understanding of children, they would realize that play is part of how young children learn.  It's part of learning how to manage life, to solve problems, to deal with others.

Having them color something at home, or finish what they didn't get done in school (only if they weren't working when they were supposed to be), is quite one thing.  An assignment with a political agenda and very bad grammar is quite another.

And as you have said in a later post....... the government doesn't do anything right.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline mountaineer

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I didn't see it as a racial thing, but definitely anti-cop. There have been a few instances in recent years of Pittsburgh cops killing black young men (all justifiably, in my opinion) which caused a furor among black agitators. Besides the poor grammar, I think it was a matter of a teacher trying to teach children that cops are mean.
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