On behalf of Our Redeemer Lutheran School, we sincerely apologize for the fact that an assignment given to a fourth-grade class yesterday was not clearly explained to students and their parents.
The result was a strong call to action to address the situation. We understand that, as presented, the words used showed a lack of sensitivity and were offensive.The purpose of the assignment was not, in any way, to have students argue that ANY slavery is acceptable — a concept that goes against our core values and beliefs about the equality and worth of people of all races. …
This particular assignment is no longer a part of our curriculum and we are committed to working with our families and our teachers.
Brown-Berry shared an update on Facebook stating that she met with the principal who had promptly responded to her concerns, and that he agreed to mandate “cultural diversity/cultural competency inservice [training for faculty] to prevent this from happening again.”
She ended it by saying “the moral of the story is, the only way to teach our kids to stand up for their rights and respect is to model it. With all of your support I was able to give my child a personal life lesson about how change starts with you.”