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Teacher Forces Students To Pick Cotton During Social Studies Lesson

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A teacher supposedly had most of his Black students pick seeds out of cotton to teach them about slavery. Now, the Rochester, New York, teacher has been put on leave.

An investigation is taking place at the Rochester School of the Arts.

The incident happened last Tuesday during a seventh-grade social studies class. Some of the students were handcuffed and shackled.

One parent, whose daughter was in the classroom, reported that her child was “angry,” “upset” and “appalled.”

After the occurrence, her daughter, Ja’Nasia Brown, brought home a cotton ball that her mother has shared a picture of on social media.

“How the hell you make my baby learn how to pick cotton seeds out of cotton. She’s traumatized; she feels belittled,” the mother wrote in a post.

The teacher had “made a mockery of slavery,” she continued.

Although the teacher hasn’t been identified by the school, the district has validated the occurrence.

Others have reported that the teacher is Patrick Rausch who has been employed at the school for 20 years. He is said to have called himself “massah” during the lesson while permitting white students to stop when they complained. However, he didn’t allow the Black students to stop.

Many parents are calling for the teacher to be let go.

“He needs to be terminated. He should not be getting this little break at our expense. We also hope that his teaching license can be revoked permanently,” stated Vialma Ramos-O’Neal, a mother of a student.

“In a district of Black and Brown students, it is important to be sensitive of the historical framework by which our students are engaged and learning,” said the school board president.



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