Are We Teaching “Racism” in Kansas Schools? Andover Middle School?---WILLIAM HOSTON

When is white America (and black America alike) going to realize that racism is embedded in the fabric of this country?

The recent Andover Middle School case of a white seventh-grader, that made a board game glorifying the Ku Klux Klan is disturbing, offensive, and racist. What is more troubling about the entire incident is the failed leadership of the language arts teacher, school principal, and Andover Middle School administrators that would have sweep this under the rug if an African-American parent had not taken a photograph of the board game at a school open house forum.

School officials claim that the teacher was trying to be innovative while teaching history and assigned the students a task to create board games. They indicate that the student involved was not attempting to be offensive and was only creating a learning module based on the information gained in class from the reading of “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry,” a novel about the bond of an African-American family and their ability to overcome racial injustices and discrimination that plagued southern blacks during the 1930s.

The assignment was entitled “Changing the World for the Better” and students were to choose an historical figure. Did the teacher and the student believe that the Ku Klux Klan was a historical figure that changed the world for the better? While it may be difficult to decipher the intentions of the student, the teacher should have recognized that the assignment turned in did not meet requirements and the potential impact it would have on other students.

Who is to blame in this situation?

What type of information is the teacher disseminating to the children in the class? Is the teacher not explaining the materials to the students? Is there a gap between what is read and how it is interpreted? If so, it is the teacher’s responsibility to make sure that the students understand the materials taught in class. In this case, it appears that the teacher failed the student.

Where were the parents of the student? Do they condone this type of behavior? Were they at the open house? Did they help create the board game? These rhetorical questions are vital in gaining information to identify if the parents played a role in encouraging or discouraging their child from creating a board game that others would deem offensive. Did they not see the child carry this large board game out of the house? If not, they failed their child.

As an educator, we should encourage students to be innovative in the creation of ideas, give them the creative freedom to birth ideas and we give them direction to make the ideas come to life. We should carry out this duty with integrity and a sense of responsibility. So when our students display their work to the general public it will convey a sense of understanding, not ignorance.

William T. Hoston is an Assistant Professor at Wichita State University in the Department of Political Science.